Island View Cottages 853 East Front Street, Traverse City, MI 49686

"We would definitely stay here again. Cozy and comfortable - though the bed wasn’t ideal it was still a great place to stay. A great location with beach access, and a short walk to a lot of great food and shops. Well worth booking for your trip to Traverse City. You’ll be comfortable having your own little space while you explore the city."

"Absolutely loved our little cabin. The beach was awesome. Perfect location. Everyone was so accommodating and friendly."

"First let me say you can not beat the location. You literally walk out the door and the beach is no more than 200 feet from the furthest cabin. The beach is very nice. Downtown is literally two minutes away. Obviously Sleeping Bear Dunes and the hiking trails are a little ways a way. But it’s still a relatively short drive. Regarding the concerns. I suspect all of the cabins are in the same condition, so I will generalize. The cabins are extremely dated and need to be updated. A little paint will go a long way inside and out. Our cabin was missing a screen in the door and had broken mini blinds throughout. These are fixes that literally cost Less than $100.00 from Walmart. Our cabin was in desperate need of a deep clean. There were cob webs in the corners with spiders. We had to move the pull out bed, when we moved it, there were crumbs under the couch. No way, had that portion of the floor been cleaned in some time. IOur cabin was a four person cabin. However there was one window air conditioner in a bedroom for the whole cabin.Therefore if a person wanted privacy and shut the door, the rest of the cabin would be without air conditioning. When you read the sleeping arrangements for each cabin on the website, take that extremely serious. I would not take a chance and bring like a queen size mattress. As I said previously, we had a four person cabin. Separating the bedrooms was the kitchen. The kitchen is extremely, and I mean extremely small. I recommend you bring a camping stove with you. One person can fit in the kitchen. Also, in the back of the kitchen is the bathroom. The bathroom is a half bath, and extremely small. If you are a taller, or larger person, it will be difficult to fit in the bathroom. Next to the bathroom, mind you, you are essentially in the kitchen, is the shower. Again the shower is very small. I would say about the size of a shower in a fifth wheel camper. Like I said regarding the sleeping arrangements. At the other room of the cabin is the living room which doubles as the other bedroom since it has a pull out couch and where the only tv is located. There is a small table, smaller than a card table to be used for the kitchen table which folds. So if it was a rainy day or inclement weather, you would literally have nothing to do in the cabin as you would not have the room. I would actually make the argument, if the sleeping arrangements say four, I would say two. I would decrease it by two people. The parking is extremely tight. If people are not parked in straight, or simply willy nilly park, it will be very difficult to get in and out. When you go to leave the parking lot, their sign is at eye level. Be very cautious when exiting the parking lot. One last thing about the beach. Being there are not many chairs, some of which are in poor condition, it is very easy for a family to monopolize the chairs. So if you want chairs, you need to get out there early or bring your own. All in all, our stay was without any major incidents. You are only using the cabin to sleep, so my concerns, may not concern you. Due to the cleanliness, as well as the other reasons I listed, we won’t be staying there again."

"This is my all time favorite summer vacation place. My family has been coming here for about 4 years. There is a beach with a fire pit and a play set for small kids. The cottages are small and nice. If you want to invite a lot of people you can get the beach house, it is much bigger and you can look out the window to see the lake. The best time to come is during the Traverse City Film Festival where you can go watch movies on a HUGE screen and buy concessions. Overall, Traverse City is wonderful and I would highly recommend staying there even if not in this hotel."

"The cottage we stayed at was very rustic. The nights were cool, so air conditioning was not needed. The other people that stayed there were super nice and loved their cottage. The caretaker bend over backwards to make sure your stay was memorable. Bed was comfortable. The appliances reminded me from the 1950's but worked well. Loved the privacy and the quaintness."