Centennial House is a charming and historic vacation rental home that is located in tranquil downtown Beulah, only approx. 200 feet from beautiful Crystal Lake. The house has actually been owned by the same family ever since it was bought by Robert Wellman more than 100 years ago! The house was closed for renovations for most of 2020, but was re-opened in May, 2021 with several new enhancements including A NEW SECOND BATHROOM, some new flooring, and 2 new water heaters to support large groups.
GUEST INTERACTION:
We meet guests when they arrive and give them an overview of the house. After that, we try to leave them alone unless they need assistance with something.
NEIGHBORHOOD:
The house is located in an incredible location! It's right on Benzie Blvd. in the heart of the cute little northern Michigan town of Beulah on Crystal Lake. It's very close to a number of wonderful attractions in the area:
* It's less than 100 yards from beautiful Crystal Lake and the back deck, four seasons room, and two of the bedrooms all have views of Crystal Lake.
* It's one-half of a block from the Beulah fishing pier on Crystal Lake. The lake is renowned for yellow perch, rock bass, and smelt fishing. Coho salmon, smallmouth bass, and brown, lake, and rainbow trout are also catchable in the lake.
* It's one block from the Beulah Beach. With its sandy bottom and sandy shores, the lake is great for swimming and the beach is very family-friendly with a shallow shoreline.
* It's basically across the street from Five Shores, a very nice local microbrewery in downtown Beulah.
* It's two blocks from Betsie Valley Trail, which is great for biking, rollerblading, hiking, dog walking, and snowmobiling and cross-country skiiing in the winter.
* It's two blocks from Beulah Park, which has music in the park every Thursday evening during the summer.
* It's two blocks from Cold Creek, a cute little creek that goes right through downtown Beulah and has contributed to the success of smelt in Crystal Lake.
* It's two blocks from downtown Beulah, which offers an eclectic smalltown mix of shopping and dining, including restaurants, a coffee shop, a bakery/delicatessen, and several art and specialty shops.
* It's four miles from the Cherry Bowl Drive In Theater, a fun family tradition in northern Michigan for more than 60 years and one of just a handful of drive-in theaters that are still in operation in Michigan.
* It's five miles from the start of internationally famous Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and of the natural beauty and splendor that the national lakeshore provides.
* It's eight miles from the lovely beach town of Frankfort and Lake Michigan. Frankfort has its own beach on Lake Michigan, several marinas, and its own unique selection of cute shops and restaurants.
* The hilly terrain in the area results in the Betsie River as well as the Platte River both winding through the nearby area and they provide great group and family opportunities for kayaking, canoeing, tubing, and fishing.
* It's a 45 to 60 minutes drive (depending upon exact destination) to Traverse City, which is the cultural, dining, shopping, entertainment, and business hub for northern Michigan
GUEST ACCESS:
Guests will have access to the entire home, except for the basement which is kept locked off and is just used for storage.
THE SPACE:
This vacation home was closed for renovations and COVID concerns for most of 2020, but was remodeled during that timeframe with some great new additions:
* A new full bathroom on the second floor was installed to provide two full bathrooms in the house
* Two new 50-gallon hot water heaters were installed to provide plenty of hot water even for larger groups
* A new electric range and refrigerator was installed in the kitchen
* New flooring was implemented in the kitchen, downstairs bathroom, and the four seasons room
The vacation house is approximately 2000 square feet in size. It has four bedrooms (all of which are upstairs and two of which have views of Crystal Lake) and two full bathrooms (one upstairs and one downstairs). Two of the bedrooms have queen-size beds in them, one of them has two twin-size beds in it, and the fourth bedroom has one twin-size bed. One of the bedrooms that has a queen-size bed in it also has a baby crib in the bedroom.
The downstairs bathroom has a tub/ shower combination, toilet, sink, and mirror. The upstairs bathroom has a shower, toilet, sink, and mirror. Bedding (sheets and comforters) as well as towels are provided free of charge! In addition to the bedrooms (which sleep 7), the house has two futons downstairs that sleep an additional 4 people as well as a fold-out bed that sleeps one additional person. (Thus, in total, up to 12 people can sleep in the house.)
This vacation home also has a large kitchen with a sink, new refrigerator, new electric range (stovetop and oven), microwave, toaster, and coffee pot. The kitchen also has a portable dishwasher that connects to the kitchen sink. (Directions for its use are provided.) There are a good selection of cooking and dining utensils in the kitchen that are all available for guests to use. Near the back door there is also a stackable washer and dryer.
The Centennial House has a large living room and a large dining room that seats up to 8 people. It has both a front porch with a view of Benzie Blvd. as well as a newer back porch which has a nice view of Crystal Lake as well as a gas grill and outdoor chairs. Right next to the back porch is a lovely four seasons room that also has a nice view of Crystal Lake. With Crystal Lake just west of the house, both the back porch and the four seasons room provide beautiful views of the sun setting on Crystal Lake.
This vacation house comes equipped with high-speed wi-fi as well as a television with live streaming via Hulu, Netflix, and PureFlix. (Hulu provides the equivalent of cable television, including local network channels.) The home does not have air conditioning (which is rarely needed given the proximity to Crystal Lake), but all bedrooms have portable fans.
TRANSIT:
There is free parking in the driveway! Public transportation is rather limited. A car is recommended if you wish to venture outside of Beulah.
