Kah-Nee-Tah Cottages, Lutsen

My husband and I have been returning to Kah-NeeTah for probably over 10 years now. We bring our dog and that is one of the reasons we keep coming back. She is like our baby so it is important to us to bring her on our vacations. We have stayed in the 2 bedroom and the 1 bedroom cottages and have never had a complaint in either. The owners have always been friendly with us and provided good service. In fact, a couple years ago my husband broke a tooth and they helped us find a dentist in the area to take care of that for us. It was great! The cabins are always clean and odor free. I have even recommended this to other friends and co-workers who have also stayed and enjoyed the relaxation. The dirt road in front of the cabins provides a nice walking place or running. You have a view of the lake in either cabin and can hear the waves crashing down below. It is very peaceful and the most relaxing place we have stayed. Once in a while you will even see deer walking by the cabins. Taste of nature at your door! I would truely recommend staying here to anyone!

I initially chose this place (the smallest cottage of the three, farthest in from the road leading to all three cottages) because of the dog friendly attitude declared in print ads, and because a lake view was alluded to. Upon arrival, I found the front door needed repairs, which the maintenance man came and did, but only after I insisted that it be dealt with. The place was plagued by mice; I had to empty a trap under the sink each morning, with a new corpse in it. One night, on Night Four, the mouse wasn't killed, but merely caught struggling, and I had to free it by opening the trap outdoors...it was unsavory. There was no lake view (only from the middle cabin, and I wasn't staying in that one). There was also no shoreline access, as other property owners owned the land near the lake. The owner of this place is more interested in running an art gallery that fronts the property than in maintaining and providing service to the three cabins. I got the feeling that the cabins were there to support the art gallery. The owner did not respond well to my requests for maintenance and for steel wool to close up openings in the sink area; also, a leaky pipe had drained under the sink and had to be cleaned up before I could move in. I saw signs inside the cabin asking that pets be kept off the bed and other furniture. (This doesn't strike me as pet friendly. Try explaining that to a small dog that is used to sleeping with you in your own bed.) I would never go there again. (The art gallery is lovely, but that is not why I come up north. It features various art media by local and non-local artists.) I left five days into my two-week stay and grabbed a motel room at a nearby motel along 61, which permitted dogs and allowed a partial view of the lake. I had to pay something for the Kah-Nee-Tah cottage I was leaving, of course. The owner said she had to give me the daily rate, as I was leaving before the weekly rate could take effect... She "negotiated" a fee I needed to pay, which was six hundred dollars. I think any vacationer who arrives and finds things not right deserves the respectful attention of an owner that is willing to maintain the property. If I have paid my money, as promised, where is the maintenance that should have been attended to between lodgers? This was my only chance all year to get away for a vacation, and the motel I landed at, even with its paper-thin walls, was better than dealing with mice each night. Perhaps the other cabins are nicer; I don't know. I now stay each year at a nearby resort with wonderful cabins (mouseless) and a marvelous view of Lake Superior.