We were attending a wedding in the area so we’re looking for a VRBO for us and several family members to stay. This is a gem of a place for families to enjoy- inside and out! We loved sitting on the back patio watching the sunset, as well as hanging out on the large sectional in the living room enjoying the view. Would be great for a longer stay- I just wish we had more than a weekend wedding planned. Joe and Nancy are great hosts.

Great stay at Joe and Nancy's look forward to booking in the future

The home was clean, updated, beautiful & had a heck of a view! Each room had plenty of space to spread out for a couple, as well as a ‘kids bunk room’ option if you bring the children. I think I counted 4 bunk beds?! The town of Elysian is 5 min down the road and a great watering hole, bowling alley & more!

We stayed here during our wedding weekend at Ahavah Cottage and it was absolutely perfect! Highly recommend staying here!

Excellent for our family. Plenty of room. Only downer was we should have brought slippers to keep our feet warm since the hardwood floors got a little cold.

Beautiful lake place, lot of rooms, comfortable beds, very clean, great spot with bunks and crib for kids, nice sandy beach and dock, nice firepit area, great large kitchen with everything we needed, and lots of area to sit in big groups. Owner was out of town but very easy to get in touch with and very helpful figuring out a few very minor issues. Lots of parking space across just across the road. Overall it worked great for us, we had a fantastic time, and hope to visit again.

This home is well set up for families- with toys and games for kids onsite. We enjoyed meeting the owners and staying in their family vacation home. Would recommend for families seeking a quiet lakefront place.

Had a fantastic time at this place. Exactly as described.

We were disappointed in the condition of the lake house and the beach area. The price of the stay was much too expensive for the quality of cleanliness of the house and grounds. Joe waited until we were ready to leave and had someone vacuum the side of the house for spider webs!!! The day before we left while we were on the beach he mowed the area, cleaned the seaweed from the beach and sent someone to spray for bugs. It would have nice if that had been taken care of before we spent the week there. The fan used in the bunk room was filthy and should have been taken to the dump. There was a hole in the front screen door and dead lake flies were everywhere around the door. The fire pit was full of grass where sand should have been, the bricks on the steps were loose, the chairs on the beach were cracked, the ceiling fans were filthy, the grill was pathetic and could easily have caught on fire, the smoke detectors weren’t working, and there were spider webs and dead flies behind the tv, there was leftover food crumbs on the couch, the bikes that were supposed to be part of the package were a mile away at Scoops. Joe intruded on our family time by coming out so often to visit with us while we were fishing. We were very disappointed in our stay.

Joe and Nancy were great hosts. The property was very clean and in an awesome location on the lake!

A group of 6 friends come together every year to renew, laugh and relax. Being our 9th yr gathering, this year stands out as our favorite. The design of the home is perfect for gathering and offers the perfect amount of space and bedrooms. Ray Lake is beautiful and perfect for kayaking. Joe even provided a boat ride tour of the lake. The hosts, Joe and Nancy are welcoming and available to answer any questions. We enjoyed it so much we hope to return next year. Thank you Joe and Nancy for making this the best vacation so far.

Joe and Nancy were wonderful hosts! Even when we messed up on the parking situation, Joe was very gracious. The weather and water were perfect and the littles caught a ton of Blue gills off the dock. We are excited to come back next year!!

Joe and Nancy were great hosts and the house was perfect for our stay! The kids had a great time swimming and playing on the sand beach. We had the lake practically to ourselves for tubing and wakeboarding. Riding bikes to the ice cream shop was also very convenient.

Joe’s place was the perfect getaway for our family, 7 adults & 6 kids ages 4 to 14. The house was roomy & well-appointed. The kids loved the lake, the sandy beach & especially the kayaks. Joe was great!! Very responsive to our needs! I highly recommend this place for a family vacation! Our family also enjoyed Kamp Dells Water Park & the Farm America Museum!

Very nice place! Beautiful view of the lake. Comfortable, roomy, well stocked. Nice beach and swimming area. The grandkids loved the kayaks! Joe and Nancy were great hosts and very accommodating. Would definitely stay again!

Of the 10(?) properties we've rented annually, this was the best in meeting our needs. Why? Some reasons: Cottage: it met our needs very well - 4 families - 8 adults - 6 children. Lake - Beach: clean - even in mid August, good depth for kids to play - jump off dock, no weeds, sandy. A few respectable small mouth bass were caught and released from kayak. Pontoon: Rental from separate business available - reasonable rates. Restaurants - Bars: Several within 1 mile and more within 10 miles Golf: Nice course at Janesville - 10 minutes. Hosts: Joe was very accommodating throughout the entire process. Bike Trail - Playground - Etc: Good options within a mile. Area: Seemed like it was central/western MN or WI - but much closer - for us. Rates: Rates were reasonable. Private: It felt like we were alone on the property. Interacted with owners only a few times - no problem. Overall: Rent it again? Definitely.

The place is absolutely beautiful. The water, beach, yard, dock, and house are all very clean. Lots of games, bikes, and things to do but the kids enjoyed the lake most of all. Scoops, just over a mile away, had a band and lots of choices for ice cream. Joe and Nancy are absolutely wonderful hosts. Joe communicates his expectations and rules very well. We hope to come back soon!

The property was clean and well appointed. The lake was small, but quiet. We had it pretty much to ourselves for the week. The kids ran jet skis all week and we trolled around and caught a few northerns, bass and some smaller sunnies off the dock. The owner Joe lives in the adjacent home and was always available for any questions. Thank you for the use of your lake home. We had a good week.

We have been going to a lake place since our children were young, now they are marries and have children. We have continued this tradition with our entire extended family of 17

This was the perfect place to get together with adult children and grandchildren! The accomodations were clearly set up for family gatherings and worked so well for 8 adults and 7 children. The lake is small but not too small and so quiet. Kids learned to kayak and enjoyed swimming without worrying about safety from other lake goers. Joe was a great host and very responsive to our needs. I'd love to gather here again!

Lovely home and lakefront. Kitchen easy for large group. close to activities, biking, hiking as well.

Our family had a great time at the beach house. The children particularly enjoyed playing on the beach and in the water. It's a lake, not an ocean beach, so it's not large, but you have thought it was a mile wide the way the children made a town with inlets and buildings. It was elaborate enough for the dads to have to help "restore" the beach - lol. There was a little kid-powered sit-down shovel that provided hours of enjoyment as they worked. Our hosts were always helpful and offered any assistance you could imagine, even taking the family photo for us on our phones. Note that the home is tandem, so you have half of the patio and the beach (Plenty big, though!!), and share the dock... but it was so friendly and neighborly, we enjoyed the atmosphere. The beach chairs need to be replaced, and we discussed that. You do need to vacuum before you leave, which was new for us at vacation homes, but our bunch handled everything handily. All in all, beautiful vacation spot and Joe and Nancy were wonderful hosts! Don't forget to try Scoops in one of the cleanest towns I've seen in a long time, about a mile from the beach house. Also the bakery next to Caseys has awesome breakfast and Carmel rolls!

The owner (Joe) was insanely rude for our entire stay. We rented this unit for a golf weekend with friends and family, Friday through Monday. Joe was in the unit when we arrived and proceeded to go through the RULE BOOK with us, speaking to us in a condescending manner. Joe explained that quiet hours were at 10pm and he Didn’t want to have to get the sheriff out here. Joe left our unit and returned to his home which is attached to the rental property. Friday was spent playing yard games behind the house on the deck by the lake. As night came, we started a bonfire and some of our group hung out by the bonfire. We turned our music off by 10pm and were trying to be as polite as possible by keeping our voices down, especially while outside. About 11pm Joe came outside and stood by the fire, making all the guests very uncomfortable. Everyone stopped talking and observed his behavior as he stared at us. After a few minutes, he went back into his house and all of the guests were wondering what he was doing watching us. We were not being loud and were speaking at a normal volume. We continued to chat. Around midnight, Joe came back out and told us that we now have a noise violation. Joe came out on Saturday around 11:30 PM to once again complain about noise. Joe asked when we were going to bed and at this point we were getting somewhat sick of being treated like children. 5AM Sunday the fire alarms went off multiple times. No fire. Had to Remove Batteries. Joe will frustrate you!

If you love lakes, this is a nice place! Joe and Nancy were great hosts and we even got to stop by their own "Scoops!" for ice cream and hotdogs! Our son graduated from St. Olaf when we stayed and it was nice to have our whole family together in one serene spot over the 5 days we were there. The weather was so gorgeous. Thank you, Joe and Nancy, for sharing your space for the 10 of us!

Joe and Nancy were absolutely amazing hosts. The house and property were absolutely beautiful.

Everything went well

We celebrate Christmas as a family. This property gives us the space we need to enjoy our time together.

Very comfortable accommodations for 8 adults and 4 children. Joe was very helpful, explained all we needed to know about the house, and was immediately available for questions. Beautiful location, well furnished and equipped. We would absolutely go back again!

We had a great time! Great house!

Wheelchair accessibility was good. Communication was easy and quick.

going back

We had family traveling from CO, ND, and NE to attend a wedding… the kitchen island was our morning and evening spot… great hosts, roomy house, and gorgeous view of the lake!