We stayed at the largest of 4 rentals on Birch Lake and were blessed with a beautiful weekend! We were displeased with the horrible smell upon entering the home. We tried carpet fresh solid air freshners and candles which we brought with little success. We opened patio doors & windows to help air the place out. Their attention 2 detail is sad. Registers & vents are disgustingly black. I was afraid to sit on furniture etc. Shampooing carpets & using carpet fresh each time they vacuum would help. Got freaked out when a rodent ran under the stove Saturday night.
Exactly as pictured online!! Has all the kitchen necessities and a cute little body of water to swim, fish or just paddle around. Peaceful and mostly private. No pets was a bummer but I understand why. Dishwasher, washer & dryer were welcomed surprises!
A good get away. Don't expect good cell reception or fast internet.
Many bugs. Poor housekeeping. It is not a lake, more like a pondlook out for HUGE snapping turtles. Landscaping could be so much better, beaches overgrown and scummy lake. Fish bite however if you like bluegill and bass. If you have allergies to mold I do not suggest it.
We have been having a weeks "family" vacation for several years now..2 sons, spouses and 4 grandkids. We have rented different places in WisBirch Lake is our favorite by far! We rented Serenity Bay cabin with 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms. Check out the website to get all the details. We were right on the small lake, well appointed items in the "cabin". Many things to do right on siterow and pedal paddle boats with our own pier, 4 small but nicely kept sand beaches. Volleyball, badminton and corn hole game area. Gazebo next to pier on main beach with large water raft. Nice hiking path around the lake.
We went horseback riding at Red Ridge Ranch, half hour away.
Except for two nights we ate all meals in,,,nice Weber grill. Two great places to eat Peking Restaurant downtown and Smittys Overtime Inn a few miles outside.
Made s'more and sat around the fire pit almost every night. Awesome wrap around deck with tables and chairs so we could eat outside. Hot tub on lower level was a special treat. Attention was given almost immediately to a couple of minor issues. There are three other smaller cabins on siteeach having their own charm and nice lay outs all with hot tubs, pier.
Birch lake is a catch and releaseour group caught numerous large mouth bass and blue gillsmany were good sized; we were serenaded by courting bullfrogs at night, song birds each morning and had many laughs over the antics of the small pine squirrels. Found deer tracks but they were elusive.
We brought along our kayaks with the plan to take them over to Lake Tomah but ran out of days. We will definitely return.
Would I recommend this vacation rental to my best friend? Yes.
We found the Haven home at Birch Lake and thought it looked perfect
till we read the first 2 reviews. But then we read the rest of the
reviews and they were all 5 stars so we decided to take a chance. We
are so glad we did. We also noticed that the person who wrote the
"critter haven"review didn't type their name in, but instead typed
"anonyomous". It made us wonder if the wrriter may have been in a
competition business with the Haven. The home was gorgeous and very
clean and the grounds and the lake were beautiful. We caught lots of
fish. Our kids loved the swimming and especially the water trampoline.
We all enjoyed the hiking trail and the wonderful peace and quiet. We
will be back next summer and maybe even a short stay this winter.
Birch Lake was more than I expected it to be. Beautiful fishing and hiking areas, with a boat and swimming--just a fun wonderful experience
Just got back from a little weekend getaway Birch Lake getaway is a nice place, it's was our first time in a cabin so our expectations where not so high, but they were met and surpassed.
1st as the name says it, it's secluded tuck away in the middle of corn fields, little scream and other farms. Yet a 10 min drive puts you right back in the middle of Tomah.
2nd. We had read other reviews where they bash the place, all I can say it's don't go in hoping to get a 5 star service is a cabin.
3rd. We stayed at the Ranch cabin, it was only the wife and I and it had all we thought it should have a king size bed, running hot water, kitchen and fridge for a longer stay and even direct TV and WiFi good enough to whine down late at night.
Overall we loved it, I would highly recommended you stay here
My family stayed at the Haven this past weekend. We sent the following complaints (With more details) to the owners and were met with excuse after excuse
1. Let's start with WiFi - didn't work. My mother in fact called once because she just needed to connect to clear an error so that she could read her book. She was told to stand on the front porch.
2. The stove was filthy - so much caked on gunk that is smells like the place is burning down without any food in it (preheating) - I
3. The couch in the living room upstairs: we had to get a blanket from downstairs to cover it because it smelled like someone had pooped in their pants and left it sit.
4. The mold around the vents in the bathroom downstairs and stains on the walls shows that the place is rarely thoroughly cleaned - not to mention the dust bunnies everywhere.
5. Sheets on the king bed were crusty.
6. There was a pile of seeds sitting under the pillow in one queen room.
7. Sofa sleepers and everyone of them was covered with mouse poop when we took the cushions off.
8. The worst by far was the mouse infestation. My parents arrived on Thursday night and saw a mouse in the kitchen that night - Friday morning they went and bought mouse traps; there was a constant critter scurrying in the wall after dark. There was also tufts of mouse fur on the dresser in the game room. And then there was poop on multiple surfaces in the kitchen every morning. While we understand that mice come inside in fall - this has obviously been a problem for quite sometime given the amount of evidence left behind.
9. Wasn't a big issue but the whirlpool jets work - there are two that function but don't really push much out - the rest either don't work or barely bubble - plus the fan looks like it is ready to collapse.
At approx. $250.00 per night - we could have rented a suite in the Dells for this price and they are more thoroughly cleaned.
My fiancé and I stayed in the "Haven" was very spacious very nice relaxing secluded romantic.. Beautiful view of the lake from our deck.. Very relaxing atmosphere sitting next to the fire pit right next to the lake.. Hot tub was very relaxing Located in the middle of beautiful farm country Wisconsin The fishing was very good. Caught some nice Bass and bluegills I was a little disappointed about the catch and release policy at first But on a good note I didn't have to clean any fish The paddle boat and row boat were fun, Overall great place to stay!..
We ate at Perkins for breakfast one day DONT EAT THERE! Service horrible food horrible! Greenwood cafe was much nicer for breakfast.. For dinner we went to Sparta steakhouse Was excellent we had steak and crab legs.. Was better than expected.. Doesn't look like much from outside but overall very nice place to eat!