Pros: Because we have family that own property on Bow Lake we wanted to find something on or near the lake that would work well for 8 people, my wife, our daughter, her husband and four kids, ages from not-quite-two to 10. This four-bedroom, two-bath house on Koowaukee Island fit the bill. Well-equipped kitchen, laundry, lots of outdoor play things, a play room and plenty of board games as well as three kayaks to choose from kept everyone busy. The private, small, Island beach that is intended for homeowners is just the right size for younger children and a great place to enjoy your morning coffee. The owner was very responsive through the rental process and returned a portion of our damage deposit promptly. The price is right.

Cons: The house is an older house that has been renovated to some degree but you will find that several of the interior doors don’t close either because of being poorly installed or uneven floors. The casement, crank-out windows are also aged and don’t work smoothly. The bi-fold doors to the laundry appliances were typical, inexpensive doors that didn’t operate well in their tracks. The louvered slats were loose at the bottom when we arrived and as the week went on, several came loose and fell out. The screen door to the patio is not child-proof. It has nothing to protect it from either a child or adult walking into it. The screen was sprung slightly when we arrived but it only took our 20-month grandson one attempt to walk through it that pulled the cording from its groove. The house does have a portable A/C (I think it was an LG model) suitable for cooling up to 500 sq feet, certainly not sufficient for this four-bedroom, split-level design. We decided not to use it at all and were stunned when the owner informed us after our departure that their repairman had to spend time trying to fix it, for which a portion of our deposit monies were held. That was also the case for the screen door and bi-fold door slats. The reason for sharing all of this is to simply suggest that if you decide to rent this property, be sure to take plenty of pictures when you arrive.