Our week at "Wickwood" (during the first week of October), in expectation of "leaf-peeping" to our hearts' content, proved to be less than spectacular. Part of the problem was Mother Nature's fault--she just did not bless us this year with a vista of trees in full color around the lake. Nor did she provide any hungry fish that were reachable from either the dock on the property or from the dock at the public access site around the corner. The fact that I never saw one fishing boat on the lake during the whole week suggests that this body of water does not provide fish for humans, just some loons who take up residence there. (Some locals I spoke to confirmed that they had never heard of anyone's catching fish on the lake! No wonder that I never had even one nibble in two days of fishing!) Oh, there was a rowboat available for use, but not for an 81-year-old who is no longer fleet of foot anymore to be able to access the boat situated overturned on a very steep bank, several feet out of reach above the water. Prior to taking occupancy of the cottage, I had inquired about the boat and was told it was there for use. The owner did know of my age, yet made no provision for making the craft more accessible to an old codger such as I. (I guess I could have called for help with it, but there did not seem to be any point, considering the fishability of the water.)
The cottage itself was very clean, the furniture was comfortable--even the beds--and the kitchen was well stocked with good utensils and pans. The flat-screen TV, cable, and internet were very good. The cabin itself makes good use of its small area, even though the dark '60's, '70's paneling in the kitchen/great room, hall, and master bedroom simply accentuated the gloom of a cloudy or rainy day. The dark bamboo shades didn't help either.
The owners may want to consider adding a couple of safety features to their cabin--smoke detectors, bathmat or safety appliques for the bathtub, and even perhaps a couple of grab bars on the interior walls of the tub area.
(Incidentally, two very good restaurants in the area were The Iron Skillet in Mancelona and Trout's in Kalkaska, each over 10 miles away.)