My family spent the long Labor Day weekend at one of the newest Tiny Houses at the Haven. For two adults and two kids, 6 & 4 years old, the smaller Tiny House (the brown one) was just enough room with two separate lofts. While it is tight on space, this was actually a benefit to our vacation because it prevented anyone from spending too much time inside rather than enjoying the lake & outdoor activities. Even at the kids' bedtime, my wife & I sat outside while they fell asleep, which was very pleasant in the evenings even after 95deg+ daytime temperatures.
The staff overall was just fantastic. Angelique lives onsite and was immediately available to take care of anything we needed, or just to stop & chat while passing by. She has the common areas well-stocked with games, activities, and some fun equipment for kids (like a trampoline & tree swings). She also had a good knowledge of nearby restaurants, because they are pretty sparce in Nice proper. Randy was also super-helpful with the equipment rentals. We used the pontoon boat one day and two jet skis the next day. The weeds in shallow water can be troublesome for the boat motors, but Randy took the time to walk us through everything and literally got in the water to show us how to clear them out for optimum performance. And he is also standing at the ready in case there is trouble - he told us a story of towing some other guests back to shore when they had trouble on the lake. Finally, even the three "workers" who are onsite maintaining & bringing up even more cabins were super-friendly and let our kids play on the equipment at the cabin they were staying in. They even clued us into the fact that the Lake Country Fair was going on that weekend, which ended up being a great time for the kids.
There was another reviewer that gave a 1-star review and complained about a number of things. It seems to me that person had some unrealistic expectations of where he & guests were vacationing. Nice is a small lakeside village...there is nothing "fancy" here and that's not what you should expect from this area. If you're looking for spa treatments, chain restaurants, and big-box stores, you won't find them here. And with any little town in a rural area, you will find some folks who don't look as clean-cut as city slickers like me. But we felt completely safe the entire time. Angelique used the word "glamping" in a conversation with me, and that is pretty accurate. You will be in a semi-wooded area right by the lakeside...bugs, flies, and therefore spiders who eat them are to be expected. But if you go into your stay at Angelique's with the right set of expectations, you will have a great time. Oh, and the price is definitely right as compared to other spots within a 3-4hr drive of the Bay Area!
If you've made it this far, you can tell I had a lot to say. But the bottom line is that I would return with my family and even encourage another family or two to join us next time and get a couple cabins/tiny houses at The Haven. read more