Bella Vista does not disappoint! This was our second stay and it was equally as lovely as the first. We are a group of three families that have been taking retreats, to hike and spend time together, every year since our kids were babies. As the kids grew, we needed more space, and Bella Vista fit the bill and delivered with plenty of comfortable beds and lots of refrigerator & storage space for the mass amounts of food that our growing teens consume! We thoroughly enjoyed the fire pit, and watching the sunrise and moonrise reflected on the lake from the porch. Stunning! During the day, we crafted at the large dining room table, played board games, and zipped over to Trough Creek for a gorgeous day of hiking. Our group also enjoyed Raystown’s amazing biking trails and 18-hole disc golf course. State College/Penn State was about an hour away, so if we chose to go to a football game or shops we could. Nearby there were also small shops where necessities and bags of ice were available to keep beverages cold during our stay. The kids enjoyed soaking in the hot tub at night, too. Our hosts were very responsive, kind, and accommodating. We will be back! Thank you so much!

Bella Vista was a phenomenal choice for our long family weekend. It was a very central location for a family with members across the state. It was a gorgeous, freshly renovated home on a beautiful property with amazing views of Raystown Lake. Sunrise is a treat! From the first minute to the last it just felt “like home.” The house was thoughtfully stocked with all the things needed to make our stay comfortable and enjoyable, and even small things you wouldn’t expect to find like games, firewood, cleaning supplies, kitchen accessories, coffee and spices. Dawn, our host, went far out of her way at every turn to ensure our stay was all we hoped it would be. She was so personable and genuinely concerned about our time there. She had great suggestions on area events, sightseeing options, restaurants and possible catering options for our stay. I would highly recommend this property to anyone looking for a beautiful quiet and peaceful stay away from the “hustle and bustle” of daily life.

I have globaly stayed at owner rented properties and Dawn and Anna are the most responsive and professional hosts i have ever had the privledge to work with. They worked with me to ensure I had everything I needed to chef for our executive, other team members, and business guests. Kitchen is one of the best equipped that I have enjoyed cooking in and they went out of their way to have their local service team inspect grill propane tanks and a vase for fresh cut flowers! The only regret is that we did not rest from our labors to enjoy the game room, fire pit, hot tub or putting green. But debriefing while relaxing on the deck was awesome way to end the day!

Very good and beautiful house

We stayed here for our Girl Scout Troop's mother/daughter weekend! The house had plenty of room, and had everything you could have imagined to need! The only downfall is it is about a 30 minute drive to everything in the area and it's a little much young kids with so much driving, but it's definitely worth it!

Spacious, beautiful home with a great view of the lake. House activities: Campfire, hot tub, cornhole and basketball. Lake activities: boating, fishing, water park, and beach. Our family enjoyed it all and had a great vacation. Dawn and Anna could not have been more attentive to our needs...Best VRBO vacation yet......The Shubert's.

Stayed here over the 4th of July and I can say is This place is awesome! Dawn and Anna the hostesses are very accommodating to your stay and everything for our trip was great. We have stayed her now several times and it has always been nothing but the best. Highly recommended!

Love the house , beautiful view

Stayed for 3 nights from June 16 with 4 kids and 8 adults. I only have good things to say about this place. Property is huge with plenty of spaces ( read comfortably) to sleep and hang around. There are several games for kids to play - foosball, basketball, slide , each of which were fully enjoyed by the kids. The toilets resemble that of a hotel with all necessities taken care of already. There are two kitchens each with a stove, microwave and fridge that helped us cook different meals and stock supplies. Kitchen is well stocked with cookware and some basic starters like oil, spices etc. The major point for the house is the view of the lake from each of the floor. We watched sunrise everyday with coffee in the morning. Hot tub, grill and bonfire ( with included firewood! Yes no buying firewood everyday) adds to the luxury. Along with the amazing amenities of the house , you get brilliant hosts . They have a booklet with all the necessary information of the house and surrounding area with activities in the area ( so you benefit from their research). We took 4 of their recommendations for kids few of which we couldn’t have found ourselves ( eg feeding the fish) . In addition they are always available on messages and text for any queries or requests. I have been to amazing homes or amazing hosts before but this was the first time when both were together. Cheers to Anna and Dawn! Keep up the amazing vibe!

We wanted a special place to celebrate our parents 80th birthday and have a surprise party. One of their favorite places is Raystown Lake and we were so fortunate to find this house. This property is THE BEST. The photos don’t do it justice. It is on the top of a mountain with views that will take your breath away. It actually hampered the surprise, because as we yelled it, my parents we still in awe of the view they were witnessing. The house is huge inside. Most houses on vrbo the pictures make the rooms look big but then they are small in person but NOT this one. The rooms are bigger! It was so spacious and did I mention STOCKED! It has everything. There was nothing I couldn’t find that we needed and it was stocked for a lot of people. The hosts were a dream to deal with. Very responsive, very quick and helpful, I truly could go on and on about this property. Our parents kept dropping hints that they wanted it again next year! Dawn thank you so much for this incredible and unforgettable experience! We will be back!

Awesome views, clean home, everything was well-labeled and easy to find. The homeowner was very nice and got back to questions immediately. We had a great time.

The house was lovely, just as described in the post. The views of the water and mountains were incredible. Dawn was fantastic as a host, super responsive and helpful. Would highly recommend!

Can't wait to come back

Beautiful property with stunning views! Many places to spread out and enjoy the home. We had 13 people and were very comfortable. The hosts were great in communicating with us and making the rental process easy. Drove to local sites for hiking, disc golf and mt biking. Made good use of the the fire pit, and spent hours enjoying the view!

Great.

The house is located on top of mountain overseeing the beautiful Raystown lake. Amazing scenery. House is clean and spacious. The host is extremely responsive. Always reply immediately to any inquiries and offer help right away.

The house is lovely. The view is just stunning. Absolutely worth it to get up for the sunrise. Be aware that it is not simple to get to nor to get around. The roads closer to the house are narrow and windy. You don’t want to arrive at night, and low, smaller cars should be careful. Getting to anywhere is a hike. Such is going to a mountain home, but keep it in mind. Also worth noting that the spaces meant for kids may not work for smaller ones so plan accordingly. The bunk beds are just in a hallway (and you can get turned around in the basement easily). The loft has no door and the stairs down are also narrow and windy. The bugs are incessant. We tried hard to be quick going in and out doors and to not leave anything open and they were still everywhere inside the house. Overall, the home is beautiful. It has everything you need. The location is beautiful. The owners are wonderful and responsive. Definitely an amazing trip!

I organized a group of 14 staying at the Bella Vista property for a long weekend and the experience was excellent! The view is even more stunning than it appears from the photos. PLENTY of room to spread out for everyone, and the second kitchen downstairs was very nice. The outdoor area and fire pit were in great shape and were the highlights of the stay. Dawn was fantastic to work with and very attentive to any questions we had. We would certainly stay here again. The only recommendations I could make to the ownership would be the following: - the fridges were on the smaller side for a house set up to accommodate up to 26. We had to rely heavily on coolers to keep our food and drinks cold because of the limited fridge space. (Fridges appeared to be apartment sized or similar) - another set of bunk beds would help with accommodating the larger groups.

Smooth as silk!

We were a group of 6 adults and 6 kids. The house had plenty of room and every part of the house was clean and recently renovated. The kids loved sleeping in the loft area which left lots of areas in the house for the adults to hang out after bedtime without worrying about waking them up. We explored the local trails, went fishing and rented a pontoon boat within 30 mins of the house. We all had a blast!

Our extended family of fifteen thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Belle Vista. The home was immaculate and the view extraordinary!!

This was an excellent home for our extended family to spend time together. There were enough bedrooms for each individual family. We enjoyed eating around the large table and chatting around the campfire. The view was amazing. The home was very clean and supplied with everything to make us comfortable.

Outstanding high points: top-notch communication/response from Dawn before and during stay. View exceeded expectations. Many separate sleeping/living/eating areas. Nice fire pit area. Outstanding low points: long, steep drive up the mountain to get to the property. No direct lake access from property as vrbo description implies. Only 3.5 baths/3 showers (one is an ensuite) for a house that can sleep 26. No safe yard area for young children. No one large gathering area for a crowd.

My family and friends planned a week long wedding at Raystown Lake and as soon as we saw this amazing property we knew it was one we were definitely going to rent. The pictures are stunning but they do not do the property justice. The views are breathtaking, the details in the house are top notch and having Dawn as the Hostess made the trip that much more of a 5 star experience. From the first day to the last day, our Hostess Dawn was so incredibly helpful, communicative, kind and made the whole process feel so easy. Dawn provided suggestions for caterers, hair dressers and photographers. She also provided us with some recommendations for things to do in the area - she is a GEM! The decks provided gorgeous views all day long. Some of us rented boats and the ones that didn't want to go out on the boat could sit on the decks and watch us boating around the lake from up high! There was ample living and sleeping space for our large party and the open concept kitchen/dining room/living space created such a warm atmosphere for us all to connect in! The fire pit was the perfect spot for us all to convene around and enjoy some laughs. The kids loved the slide outside and the loft upstairs! We watched the fireworks on July 3rd over the Marina from the top two decks - it was incredible! The house has everything you need! On the last morning we woke up in a cloud paradise as the clouds had settled in low over the lake and we were above them. I cannot say enough wonderful things about Dawn and her one of a kind home overlooking the lake. Raystown Lake is so special to my husband and me and this experience left us wanting for nothing to be different. If you want a luxury getaway with an incredible host - this is the property for you! Thank you so much, Dawn!

We had a fabulous time. Everything was very well organized and labeled. Would recommend again.

The house was perfect for our families' annual extended weekend trip. We played corn hole, put puzzles together, made smores around the fire pit, and enjoyed the hot tub, all while enjoying the view from the house which sits on top of the mountain next to Raystown Lake. We also took day trips to Traditions Restaurant in Martinsburg, PA as well as hiked at Trough Creek State Park with the suspension bridge, waterfall and balanced rock. We also enjoyed renting kayaks and pedal boats at Lake Raystown Resort. It is a beautiful area!

We had a fantastic stay here with our extended family. The views were gorgeous. Dawn was communicative and helpful with recommendations on things to see in the area. House was just as pictured. We were thrilled with all the space, cleanliness and well stocked kitchen. Thanks for a great stay!

We really enjoyed our stay on this property- the home is beautiful and well appointed. The hot tub is clean and very inviting. The owners are great to work with and very accommodating. We would definitely go back!

Our family and friends had a great time staying here. The house was spacious, renovated, and had all the facilities we were looking for. Our kids really enjoyed the hot tub and we all had a great time around the campfire. And cannot forget to mention the breathtaking views behind the house! We definitely recommend if you are looking for a beautiful lake house to stay in for your vacation!

We enjoyed our stay and would do it again for sure!

Dawn was incredible! Very accommodating and so easy to talk too. We were a rather large group of friends and family just trying to get away for a weekend and this house was exactly what we needed. The house itself was jaw dropping. The view from the backyard overlooking the lake is something you cant look away from. Plenty of space and sleeping areas for everyone. We took full advantage of all the perks this house offered. Wish we stayed longer! Highly recommend planning your next getaway here in James Creek.

Great views, plenty of space for our group. Loved the fire pit and the large dining area. Only things I'd have added was a dish drying rack and dish towels; unfortunately the grill never heated above about 275. None of that took away from the stay. Host was a great communicator. Would like to stay here again in the future.