Bracewood Cottages

I've been hesitant to write a review because I am cognizant of impacting a family's business. However, after spending a weekend here and being disappointed with the owner's response to our concerns, I feel it is warranted. We stayed at the Lodge a few years ago and enjoyed a lovely family break with no concerns. This weekend, we booked a different cottage and were told we had been "upgraded" to the Lodge due to a long-term renter at the cottage we had booked? We have also rented many cottages on Lake Erie over the years, so we are aware of issues that can crop up and do not consider ourselves to have unrealistic expectations. On arrival, everything seemed OK. However shortly after we noticed things that were somewhat troubling...empty water bottles around the cottage, toilets that appeared not to have been cleaned, sparse supplies (including watered down hand soap and almost empty dishwashing soap), hairs in various places throughout the cottage. We were looking forward to using the BBQ, having brought specific food for this purpose. The website shows 2 propane BBQ's available. There is actually one very run-down BBQ. We were only able to get the temperature to 200 degrees and ended up resorting to using the oven. The second day, I went to prepare the tub for my granddaughter to have a bath. I was disgusted to find it covered in hairs and sand. At this point, I decided to let Samantha know.  The response I received was less than favorable, but she did say she would come and talk to me. When Samantha arrived, she was very confrontational and wanted to know what we were looking for. At that point, I really wanted to let her know how disappointed we were and had presumed there was a miscommunication somehow with the previous occupants and cleaning schedule. We were told that we had been upgraded to the Lodge at the reduced rate, so the implication was that we should have been grateful, including accepting a lower standard of cleanliness?! Apparently, the tub is non operational in any case! There were other issues that impacted the enjoyment of the cottage, for instance, having trees chopped down one morning and placed over the firepit, making it unusable. Again, if Samantha had been more amenable and responsive to our concerns, this would have been less of an issue. Overall, this is a lovely location and a beautiful beach, and we did have an incredibly reasonable price for the cottage. As a family business that appears to have many repeat customers, it was rather surprising not to have any of our concerns taken seriously. We did receive an apology about the tub. Also, that next time, they could do better. There will not be a next time!

We rented the unit “Lower Serenity” from October to December 2020. We are a couple of professionals and needed a quiet place to work remotely during the covid. When we moved in, the place was not as clean as expected (especially during covid), we found mice droppings at several places including in the toaster, there were dozens of live bees flying in the apartment including dead ones on the floor, spiders webs and bugs were also very much present. We met the owner Samantha who was nice, and mentioned to her the state of cleanliness and she did not seem surprised about it. She offered to put a bee trap on the building. We still got live bees coming in the apartment for more than a month after moving in. We found a mouse eating and making a mess in our food at night. We had to put mice traps around the place. The microwave was so ancient we decided to buy our own. The unit shares a wall with the garage and there is a door (not sealed) leading to the garage in one of the bedroom. When the weather was windy, we got strong gasoline smell in the house coming from the garage. We mentioned it to the owner but things stayed the same. One day we got strong winds and there were several power outages in the area. Because the small company deserving the place for running water relies on electricity to do so, we ended up with no running water for a couple of days (meaning not able to flush the toilet). On top of this, the place is nowhere close to be soundproof and we got "lucky" with loud-noisy upstairs neighbors. The 7-8 year old kid kept running and dribbling balls over our head, waking us in the morning. We had difficulty concentrating while working and had a hard time attending online meetings with regular crashing sounds of heavy objects over our heads. Not to mention regular screaming and violent shouting making us consider to call the police. We brought up the issue a few times with the owner, with very little improvement. After 2 months we had enough and left even though the third month was fully paid in advance and not reimbursed. We had a discount on the rent because we were off season but it wasn’t worth all the troubles. We are very decent people and always try to adapt as best as we can, but living there felt more like a challenge that a relaxing time. They call the place “Serenity” but don’t take it for granted.

Excellent cottage rental, clean and beautiful inside. We had the Lodge which slept 7 and was huge. WIFI was good especially with one daughter in her late teens and one in her 20s. Steps from the beach, great owners. Thanks for the fantastic stay.

We've been renting at these cottages since I was a baby! Our Labor Day week in Long Beach is easily our favorite family tradition! The cottage is what you make of it, and a week at the beach is always just what you need. Add your friends and family to the mix and you're set for a GREAT vacation. Sam and Dave are great hosts, and very responsive. The cottages are clean and have just what you need. Bring your bedding, your beach towels, some games and your bathing suit. The rest is just details!

We've been renting here since before the Brace family took over. They have continued to update and improve the cottages to make sure our stay is always clean and that the cottages provide all the necessities for a nice vacation. They are a friendly family that are also easy to communicate with to coordinate the rental. We look forward to many years of continued vacations at their cottages.