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Overview
Amenities
Policies
Location
Host

8.6

Excellent

7 bedrooms3 bathroomsSleeps 14223 sq m

Popular amenities

Pet-friendly

Washer

Hot tub

Barbecue grill

Outdoor space

Kitchen

Explore the area

Albany, Ohio

Athens, OH (ATO-Ohio University)6 min drive
Ohio University13 min drive
Court Street14 min drive
Lake Hope State Park29 min drive

Most relevant reviews

8/10 Good

The place was nice .. but half the lights didn't work, there was a hole in one of the bedroom walls, the lower bathroom ...

Kristy K.

Mar 29, 2024

Rooms & beds

7 bedrooms (sleeps 14)

Bedroom 1

1 Queen Bed

Bedroom 2

1 Queen Bed

Bedroom 3

1 Queen Bed

Bedroom 4

1 Queen Bed

Bedroom 5

1 Queen Bed

Bedroom 6

1 Queen Bed

Bedroom 7

1 Queen Bed

3 bathrooms

Bathroom 1

Bathtub or shower

Bathroom 2

Bathtub or shower

Bathroom 3

Bathtub or shower

Spaces

Deck or patio

Porch or lanai

Kitchen

Garden

Dining Area

About this property

Island Retreat Cottage Overlooking 5 acre Lake on 20 acre Nature Preserve

Relax and stargaze around a firepit, or watch an amazing sunrise. The 5acre Lake offers some great fishing, canoeing or kayaking, and some muchneeded R&R. Take a 45-50 minute drive from your cottage/retreat to visit Old Man’s Cave, Cedar Falls, Ash Cave, Rock House, Conkle’s Hollow, or Rock Bridge located in Hocking Hills State Park. No matter the season, you and your guests won’t be disappointed when visiting all the beauty Hocking Hills offers!
Grab 14 of your closest friends or family because our Island Retreat is the perfect destination for you in Albany Ohio! You and your guests will be amazed with this two cottage three suite retreat that sits on a private 5 acre lake. Spacious living in this two story cottage/retreat with living room, open kitchen, dining area, 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. The second cottage/retreat has two suites with 10 person occupancy full bathroom, living room and kitchen areas. If you have three families wanting to spend time together this is the perfect spot for you! The property is located just off the road of State RT 50 in a quiet setting that offers plenty of relaxation for you and your guests.

Property manager

1st Choice Cabin Rentals

Premier Host

Languages

English

Amenities

Hot tub

Kitchen

Washer

Dryer

Pet-friendly

Free WiFi

Hot tub

Kitchen

Washer

Dryer

House Rules

Check in after 4:00 PM

Minimum age to rent: 25

Check out before 10:00 AM

Children

Children allowed: ages 0–17

Events

Events allowed

Weddings & private parties

Pets

Pets allowed: dogs less than 9 kg per pet

Pets by arrangement

Smoking

Smoking is not permitted

Important information

You need to know

Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy

Government-issued photo identification and a credit card, debit card or cash deposit may be required at check-in for incidental charges

Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges; special requests cannot be guaranteed

Parties and events are allowed on site

Note from host: Weddings & private parties

Host has not indicated whether there is a carbon monoxide detector on the property; consider bringing a portable detector with you on the trip

Host has indicated that there is a smoke detector on the property

Safety features at this property include a fire extinguisher and a first aid kit

We should mention

A car is required for transport to and from this property

About the area

Albany

Located in Albany, this cottage is in a rural area and on the waterfront. Dairy Barn Arts Center and Hot Dog Museum are cultural highlights, and some of the area's activities can be experienced at Shade Winery and Fun Barn. Travelling with kids? Consider Hocking Valley Scenic Railway, or check out an event or a game at Convocation Center. Make sure you get close to the area's animals with activities such as game walks and birdwatching.

Albany, Ohio

What's nearby

Ohio University - 13 min drive
Court Street - 14 min drive
Zaleski State Forest - 18 min drive
Lake Hope State Park - 29 min drive
Hocking Hills State Park - 46 min drive

Restaurants

‪Lake View - ‬5 min drive
‪Ray's Harvest House - ‬10 min walk
‪Albany Cafe - ‬3 min drive
‪Pleasant Hill Vineyards - ‬13 min drive
‪Subway - ‬13 min walk

Frequently asked questions

Is Island Retreat Cottage Overlooking 5 acre Lake on 20 acre Nature Preserve pet-friendly?

Yes, this property allows dogs with a maximum weight of up to 9 kg per pet.

What time is check-in at Island Retreat Cottage Overlooking 5 acre Lake on 20 acre Nature Preserve?

Check-in begins at 4:00 PM.

What time is check-out at Island Retreat Cottage Overlooking 5 acre Lake on 20 acre Nature Preserve?

Checkout is at 10:00 AM.

Where is Island Retreat Cottage Overlooking 5 acre Lake on 20 acre Nature Preserve located?

Located on the waterfront, this family-friendly cottage is within 12 mi (20 km) of Zaleski State Forest, Hot Dog Museum and Ohio University. Court Street and Dairy Barn Arts Center are also within 12 miles (20 km).

8.6

Excellent

Reviews are presented in chronological order, subject to a moderation process, and verified unless otherwise labelled.

Learn more

8.2/10

Cleanliness

9.0/10

Amenities

8.8/10

Property conditions & facilities

9.2/10

Check-in

9.4/10

Communication

10/10

Location

8.8/10

Listing accuracy

8/10 Good

Kevin L.

16 June 2024

Liked: Communication, location, listing accuracy

Riding the windy nine.

Great setting very quiet & private. Place needs some updates. House keeping needs improvement.

Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2024

10/10 Excellent

Katie B.

17 Apr 2024

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Pretty Property

Beautiful location and plenty of things to do with teens. Nice lake, hot tub, the setting is beautiful, plenty of space and seating for a large family. Lots of towels provided and a nice laundry provided too. The lower bathroom needs some love and there are some minor repairs needed to make this property a smidge better but I would book again.

Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2024

10/10 Excellent

James B.

11 Apr 2024

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great stay

My family and I had a great stay. The house could use some updates, but nothing that made our stay bad. More than enough room for people to be together in a big group, while at the same time there is space if you want to break away into smaller groups. Cool to be able to fish off the porch.

Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2024

8/10 Good

Kristy K.

29 Mar 2024

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Island retreat

The place was nice .. but half the lights didn't work, there was a hole in one of the bedroom walls, the lower bathroom floor was soft, it needs some tlc. But the location was nice the outside was amazing and beautiful. Would return

Stayed 5 nights in Mar 2024

10/10 Excellent

Gail S.

17 Mar 2024

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Lake Retreat

This place is wonderful. Great for fishing and just sitting on one of the decks watching the geese. My family and I really enjoyed ourselves. We will come here again.

Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2024

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

4 Jan 2024

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

NYE Weekend

The property allowed enough room for our family and a few friends to come together at one location to enjoy the NYE Weekend. It was nice having separate living areas to be able to spread out. Some updates/upkeep would put this place in another price bracket as the location was on point. We would stay again and recommend to anyone.

Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2023

10/10 Excellent

Debra E.

7 Dec 2023

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Family Thanksgiving

We came together to have a family Thanksgiving. We all enjoyed downtime together. The house was the perfect size and the apartment above the garage was nice to put the older kids in. If i was to give any critiques it would be the bathroom in the lower end of the house definitely needs redone......floors are smushy. Everything was very clean.

Stayed 3 nights in Nov 2023

10/10 Excellent

Randall C.

6 Nov 2023

Liked: Cleanliness, communication, location, listing accuracy

Dad’s weekend!

Our stay was wonderful. The only drawback was the lockbox for the keys was difficult to find and also difficult to open. It also did not work when I went to put the keys back, so it would be much easier just to have the digital code on a door

Stayed 3 nights in Nov 2023

8/10 Good

Kim H.

22 Oct 2023

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Fall weekend Getaway with Family

We had a wonderful stay. I few minor hiccup, please change the cracked toilet seat, and the hot tub was not working. The location was very nice and the lake was nice, all and all we had a great time.

Stayed 3 nights in Oct 2023

6/10 Okay

Melissa S.

27 Sept 2023

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, location

Disliked: Listing accuracy

Did It's Job

It was my son's wedding weekend and we wanted the bridal party to be able to stay in the same house. It has plenty of room with a lot of bedrooms. Unfortunately, the wifi never worked and the hot tub stopped working after the first night. The air conditioner in the second building (above the garage) never worked. One of the rooms had a hole in the wall and another room had a leak in the closet. I called the property management 3 times and was told they would reach out to their maintenance team and get back to me but I never received a return call.

Stayed 3 nights in Sep 2023

6/10 Okay

Andy B.

22 Sept 2023

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Biker trip

The property was awsome. there were to many light switches that did not do anything. The kitchen light also turned on a Bd room waking up a friend at 4 in the morning. The hot tub had issues. The fishing was good

Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2023

8/10 Good

Nichole J.

20 Aug 2023

Liked: Check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great location, needs some TLC, but good vaue for the area

Overall, we had a great time with family. Accommodations were spacious. The location and lake were amazing. We had read in previous reviews about the hot tub not staying on, the bathroom floor needing replaced, and the cracked toilet seat. None of these were show stoppers for us, but the hot tub is a perk that is listed to gain attention. This needs to be fixed if you’re going to list it as an amenity And really? A $15 toilet seat? Just change it! Other than that and some quirky lights and switches, we had a great time and would consider staying here again.

Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2023

8/10 Good

Kathy C.

16 Aug 2023

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Island Retreat

We really loved the privacy and size of the rental property. The property needs some updates especially in the bathrooms and the hot tub but overall we all had a great time!

Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2023

10/10 Excellent

michele i.

9 Aug 2023

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

2nd time staying

Great spot!

Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2023

10/10 Excellent

Bob K.

3 Aug 2023

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

What a blast!!!

Great location, everything you needed for a large group was right there. Great hiking and national parks 40 minutes away. All ages always found fun things to do!!!

Stayed 4 nights in Jul 2023

8/10 Good

Michele D.

31 July 2023

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great location

This is a good location. Both buildings are in need of cosmetic, ac, hot tub and appliance repairs but management were sympathetic and made efforts to have maintenance come. Unfortunately maintenance were fully scheduled during our stay and we made the effort to have a great time anyway. These were minor issues that didn't take any fun away. Would definitely use 1st choice again. Very nice and immediate responses from booking to vacation completion.

Stayed 5 nights in Jul 2023

10/10 Excellent

Dan B.

8 July 2023

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Nice place... A lot of fun to be had here.

First of all, the rental company is very responsive. The issues you read about in other reviews have been addressed. There are life jackets available, steps have been taken for pests. Sheets and towels are clean. Yes this place needs some work, and there are some issues with one of the bathrooms. The deck is in no danger of "falling in". Yes it leans towards the water, but it's on a heavy duty welded steel frame. It's not going to fall in. The wooden railings of the upper deck definitely need some attention as they are loose. The hot tub needs refilled and evaporates rapidly, because that's how science works. My family loved this place. We would go back, for sure. Fishing was great (no license needed as it's a private lake), the kids canoed and paddle boated. There were inflatables provided as well. The interior was clean. Everything worked as expected. Laundry, dishwasher and hand soap are provided, plenty of towels, both bath and dish... Sheets pillows, and blankets, too. All in all, we loved it and would return.

Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2023

8/10 Good

Maria T.

6 July 2023

Liked: Check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

4th weekend

We had a great time

Stayed 3 nights in Jun 2023

2/10 Terrible

Stephanie S., Charleston, WV

26 June 2023

Liked: Check-in, communication, location

Disliked: Cleanliness, listing accuracy

Posting is Deceiving/ Not enough room to write all I need to say. I will hit on the important stuff

This unit has potential, but in desperate need of TLC. Pros: Beautiful Location on a 5 acre lake, 1 mile from Lake Snowden, loved the paddleboat. Apartment above the garage was about the only semi-nice part of the place that didn't have an issue. Cons: There are mice in the unit. We left a bag of candy out on the kitchen counter one night and the next morning the mice had gotten in it. There was mouse droppings on the counter and kitchen drawers. Towels had yellow stains. The hot tub was dirty with dirt and pine needles and the hot tub would overheat to 109 degrees and then shut itself off with an "OH" error. The lower bathroom had a MAJOR leak under the floor. The floor is soaking wet and feels like a wet sponge when you step on it. Someone will eventually fall through the floor if it's not fixed ASAP. The towel rack in that bathroom is bent and laying on the floor. The toilet seat is split in two and glued back together with tape on the bottom of it. Metal trim on a step down area is missing and just leaning against a random wall. There are windows in some of the unit that if you open, they will fall off. One of them we noticed was taped from the outside to keep it on. Some doors don't open, shut, or lock correctly because the house seems to be falling forward towards the lake. The deck also has a huge tilt into the water. Trash around the premises. Still had a great time, but overpaid for what we got!! Two other units on property were nicer and cheaper per night.

Stayed 3 nights in Jun 2023

10/10 Excellent

amanda n.

20 June 2023

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Family/Friend getaway

Property was great very spacious loved having three separate units and being able to still be together! The inside of the property was wonderful and cleaned great. However outside area was missed near the fire pit from previous people staying not cleaning up their trash. But with the property being so large I think it was just overlooked by the cleaning crew since it was on the far outside area otherwise spectacular. The hot tub breaker did keep going out and we had to have the property manager send someone out to clean out and shock the hot tub. We brought our own kayaks but the kids loved the paddle boat. Fishing off the dock or off of the island was great got a fish every time even if it was majority bluegill they did still get some big fish!

Stayed 3 nights in Jun 2023

10/10 Excellent

David

23 Apr 2023

Liked: Amenities, property conditions & facilities, communication

Very nice retreat and spacious tuck away from the hustle bustle of the city. A great place to regroup.

Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2023

10/10 Excellent

Ed P.

12 Apr 2023

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Nice

Well done. Would go again.

Stayed 4 nights in Mar 2023

8/10 Good

Josh G., Chillicothe Ohio

28 Mar 2023

Liked: Cleanliness, communication, location, listing accuracy

Beautiful property

We had a really good time at the house! Everything was up to par and the properties manager was very quick to respond. The only issue we had was with the living room tv we couldnt get it to work but all in all was an excellent trip and look forward to returning!

Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2023

8/10 Good

Tracy H.

31 Oct 2022

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Scenic cottages for family gathering

The cottages were perfect for my group. Actually loved having multiple kitchens for preparing meals for the large group. Kitchens were well stocked with necessities. My family will definitely look at booking these cottages again in the future.

Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2022

About the host

Hosted by 1st Choice Cabin Rentals

Grab 14 of your closest friends or family because our Island Retreat is the perfect destination for you in Albany Ohio! You and your guests will be amazed with this two cottage three suite retreat that sits on a private 5 acre lake. Spacious living in this two story cottage/retreat with living room, open kitchen, dining area, 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. The second cottage/retreat has two suites with 10 person occupancy full bathroom, living room and kitchen areas. If you have three families wanting to spend time together this is the perfect spot for you! The property is located just off the road of State RT 50 in a quiet setting that offers plenty of relaxation for you and your guests.