Sandy Beach Cottage on Torch Lake, in Alden

I thought I would start with positives. Everything outside of the“rustic cottage” was lovely. The lake, sunset, neighborhood, location. I spent the first two hours I arrived cleaning spiders out corners everywhere. Food on floor in kitchen and dirty dishes in dishwasher. I can do old and rustic but not spiders! Had to leave a day early because my daughter had a huge spider in the bathroom and wouldn’t stay any longer. Still haven’t heard from owner about a reimbursement for one night! It’s the least he could do. I’ve contacted VRbo twice about the matter. I do know I left it way better than when I arrived. Cleaned outside with broom swept entryway and not to mention cleaned all corners of rooms and the walls. Needs Terminix. Definitely not worth what we paid.

This was our first visit to Torch Lake & it did not disappoint. The lake is beautiful and we felt right at home in this spacious vintage cottage. Honestly was a little nervous because there weren't many pictures on line, but there was so much more room than we expected and so many original features (without feeling like we were missing any functionality). Chris & his family were nearby to address any questions & super responsive.

If you have "granite & stainless" expectations, this may not be the place for you. But if you're looking for a quaint cottage in a charming town in a beautiful locale, you can't go wrong. We loved walking to dinner, for ice cream, to the park & to the farmers' market!

We didn't really use the laundry facilities. And the path to the beach was a bit too challenging for my 87yo father. But we have no regrets. And hope our calendars allow another Torch Lake getaway next year.

Roomy house, large kitchen, dinning room, living room. Two bathrooms.

Great house for Up North feel and overlooking Torch Lake.

Appliances all in working order, dish washer, hot water heater, furnace, air conditioning.

Large refrigerator and freezer, great family house.

Quiet lane off the busy road, quiet and serene. Perfect getaway for peace and quiet.

Walk to town for dining, drinks, donuts, shops. Close to towns surrounding Torch, Elk, Clam Lake. Close to Charlevoix and Traverse City for day trips.

Feels like an old family cottage, very warm and comfortable.

Comfort Cottage is a great summer cottage to unwind & relax! It is walking distance to town for great meals, shopping, or just walking around. The owners live next door & are super friendly and, always helpful and making sure everything is great. We rented a SUP for the week and the owner even offered us to use their SUPs if we wanted to go out as a family!

The cottage has an amazing porch where we spent most of our time.

The kitchen is great and the added bonus of being able to do laundry is SO helpful! The beds were very comfortable and the dining room had a fantastic view of the sunset during dinner if we planned well (our typical late dinner!).

Overall, fantastic week at the cottage one of our most memorable vacations!

We are hoping to spend 2 weeks next time!

This home is beautiful and a GREAT location to downtown Alden, but could use a little clean up and maintenance. There were still leaves from the fall around the house when we visited on the 4th of July and the landscaping hadn't been updated in MANY years. The path to the water was treacherous and I fell one time at night trying to get down to the bonfire. The main shower did not drain the entire week we were there. The 2nd shower didn't work the first 3 days. The toilet in the 2nd bathroom had to be plunged almost every time it was used. The neighbors (who own the property) kept a CLOSE eye on you. We were being watched the entire stay. Their small children wandered over to the home and one time we found him INSIDE the house in a bedroom. The laundry area is shared as well as the yard, which is fine, but we were not there to keep an eye on young children as we had a group of adults with no children for the week. They were very firm on the no smoking policy, which I respect. But when they came over and complained because someone was smoking a cigarette down by the water at the bonfire, I felt that was a little ridiculous. We were definitely more than 500 feet away from the home. They asked us to walk downtown to smoke. All in all I would say this is a great location, but not inviting to adults with no children. For the price they could update some of the patio furniture (broken plastic chairs).