I was unlucky enough to stay at this establishment. We booked out all the cottages so we would not have to worry about disturbing anyone. We had booked it out for a wedding party, including the bride and groom. We had the right number of people booked to each cottage and maintained those numbers throughout the weekend.

So the first thing you do on arrival is read the manual of rules, regulations and guidelines. Second we get nagged by the witch who owns the place (as the comment below, The Wicked Witch of the West is right!!) about parking, number of people and paying. Throughout the weekend she would go into our cabins and find things that were wrong, dirty, out of place or anything she just didn't like and bring them to our attention. And who knows what else she did in there! She called the police on us twice, both times blaming the neighbors. The cops explained she had called, they are used to her calling and she does this all the time. (Sunappe Police Officers are very pleasant by the way!) Both times she called the police we were simply sitting on the porches having some drinks. No music, the music was inside with the doors shut. I guess the sound of people talking is too loud.

At the end of the weekend I believe she overcharged every single person, My fiance and I actually cancelled our credit card to prevent her from illegally charging us and sent her an e-mail if she needed to charge us to bring it up with our lawer (she never wrote back). Even if you follow every rule in the rule book you read on arrival, she will still find something to charge you for.

Ex: Too many people walked in and out of your cottage so she will charge for an extra couple for the entire weekend. Your curtain has a "red" spot that will never come out and she will have to buy an entire new set. You walked through or touch her garden and she wont even charge you, she might just hunt you down and do who knows what.

My point is, I wish I could spread the word about this scam artist and her decieving way of drawing innocent people to her "beautiful water front property" (not waterfront by the way!) only to over-charge and ruin their vacation. Please spread the word about this place... Its sad to think other people have to go through this.

We had a really bad stay at this place. We were caught at several "major" infractions like letting the screen door slam too hard, allowing balls to roll into the flowers, parking across the white line and asking for too many garbage bags (2 is enough for a week). Usually attended by the manager hanging out of her door and yelling at us from 20 yards away.

The manager stated repetitively that we were disrespecting her. I think the young folks call this "dissing." I thought I was going to stay with a nice New England Inn keeper, not Snoop Dog.

Many of the negative comments below apply to our stay as well. And you can read another detailed review at http://battlefieldbiker.com/A-Great-Trip-Ruined-by-Sunapee-Harbor-Cottages as well.

From the outside and from the website you would think this is a calm, quaint place, but do not be fooled. Entering the grounds will remind you of accidently walking into some kind of Oz where at every turn you may be confronted by the pointy black hat. By the end of the stay I would not have been surprised to see a flying monkey or two.

In a similar experience to the reviews below, our group was stalked and harassed and pestered by the owner of the place. As noted below the owner called the police for no apparent reason and illegally withheld the security deposits. Based on the comments below this seems like part of her normal operating procedure.

I have traveled to hundreds of places in the last 20 years, and not once have I received complaints from the owners of the various establishments concerning the actions of my family or the group I was with. The proprietor of this place is in a class by herself in terms of erratic behavior.

In addition to issues with the owner, the cottages themselves are not waterfront as advertised and one of those who posted below is correct in saying that you can barely see the water from the cottages, you have to cross a fairly busy street and a park to even reach the water, and when there you can not swim in that portion of the water.

This place is also not family friendly. The proprietor repeatedly yelled at the kids in our group and later tried to bill us for items like dirt on the railings because or her claim that the kids were playing on the railings.

So don't take the kids, don't go yourself, and if you do choose to stay here, bring along the ruby slippers so you can escape if need be.

First I need to say they need to add a 0 to the rating chart, because thats what Sheila deserves! We stayed at the cottages for the weekend for our friends wedding so all 6 cottages were rented to close friends of the couple. We checked in and were told to read the nice 20+ page binder, because she doesn't want anyone asking her ANY questions, she was not helpful with anything! Then we were told we were to loud she called the police on us all many times, acused us of having more then 2 people sleeping in our cottage so she charged our credit card. The lake is across the street but that section of lake is NO SWIMMING ALLOW.The picture of the beach on the website you have to DRIVE to it is not across the street! You can barley see the lake from #6 only, the others are facing the parking lot across the street! I would not recommend this to anyone! My highlight of the weedend other then our friends wedding was meeting Steven Tyler after we left the witches cottages!

I absolutely love Lake Sunapee and planned my entire wedding around it. That being said, I thought I found the perfect place for my wedding party to stay... because I was naieve and only read the website posted by the psychotic inkeeper, Shelia. I was stalked and hounded by the inkeeper for the entire weekend... as if I didn't have enough to be worrying about!

I should have known that I as in for a terrible experience when I had to beg for my $900.00 deposite to be paid by the date in writing. I was suposed to get my deposite back on March 1. After asking her repeatedly through email, she claimed that the check "got lost in the mail" (words spoken by a true scam artist). After finally calling her again in MAY (2 months later) and reading the contract over the phone, she finally agreed to send an additional check minus the $25.00 charge for stopping payment on the missing check. In June, along with the check was a letter stating, "if the missing check does make it's way into your hands, kindly rip it up as I did not charge you for the stop payment fee on the first check that is missing..." (TOP QUALITY SERVICE, WHEN RENTING OUT ALL 6 COTTAGES AND PAYING HER MORE THAN $2,750.00 FOR THE WEEKEND)

After the wedding I had to deal with her calling the Sunapee Police two times to complain that my wedding party was "out of control." She never once took it upon herself to kindly ask me or my husband to quiet down (funny considering she found time to rummage through my cabin and my wedding parties cabins leaving rediculous notes and locking their doors during my wedding ceremony across the street!!!!!) When the Sunapee Police showed up the second time, they informed my husband and me that we were infact not being too noisy or disturbing the area neighbors. They then proceeded to tell me that they have had so many complaints from Shelia, that they don't take them seriously anymore.

If you are looking for waterfront rental property, exceptional service, your required deposite to be applied to your final bill, clean sheets without sand grit left from the last guest who stayed there, lectures about reading the rules and regulations binder before you bother the inkeeper, then the Sunapee Harbor Cottages WILL NOT FULFILL YOUR EXPECTATIONS.

I am still dealing with Shelia and her bogus claims about phantom destruction on the property. And when asked for a final walk through with her, our groomsmen were denied the opportunity (sounds like someone who knows what they're doing and has scamed people before). My attendants are so nervous about her charging their credit cards for missing or destroyed items in the cottages that they have asked her for detailed photos of the damage with each claim.

STAY FAR, FAR AWAY FROM THE SUNAPEE HARBOR COTTAGES!

The Cottages are darling and well kept.

We would not return due to the VERY rude Innkeeper/Owner. The website is misleading. The cottages are NOT beach front...and the innkeeper doesn't know the first thing about hospitality. She made each member of our party feel like we were putting her out for basic requests(ie: clean towels). When checking in each cottage is handed a thick binder with restrictions and rules. Our stay was interrupted repeatedly by the owner stalking us...this is not a family friendly establishment.

BE AWARE....the security deposit($150.00) that is made at the beginning of the stay may be kept by the innkeeper(scam artist) for bogus reasons. Would highly recommend you find another place to spend your vacation!

Ditto - the review by R. Nugent. Just add the mouse droppings in the kitchen drawers and cabinets and the accusation by the owner that they have never had mice before and that maybe we brought the mice in one of our bags. That sums up our stay.

I love Lake Sunapee, but Sunapee Harbor Cottages is awful for one major reason: the horribly rude and offensive woman that manages them. Hands down, she wins the award for "The Most Miserable Innkeeper in New England". She is someone that is so obviously NOT meant to be in the hospitality industry. She acts put-out over anything and everything. A simple request of asking where to eat, or what activities were available seemed to tick her off. The website eludes to wonderful services (concierge, babysitting, etc.) that, after meeting the manager, you would be afraid to even ask her about. Not welcoming, not friendly. I would never recommend this place, even to an enemy.

My wife and I were actually excited to stay here after reviewing the website. Afterall, they are the "only waterfront lodging on Lake Sunapee" (by the way...they are definately not on the waterfront). The cottages were actually perfect if it wasn't for the "staff". Once you get there, you'll see that the only thing they are concerned with is your payment and their rules. Your lucky if you make it past your car upon arrival before they are hounding you to sign receipts and rule agreements. Then we just sat back and relaxed as the manager interrupted our first day on no less than 5 seperate occasions. The best was a phone call at 10:30 pm as we sat in our cottage with another couple and their baby. I was lectured that if our friends intended on staying the night, I should have coordinated that earlier and an additional charge would be billed (mind you, the cottage had two bedrooms and 5 beds). You'll quickly see that everything here is an additional charge. BEWARE: the price you are quoted is for one person staying alone, no visitors, and minimal use of toilet paper, electricity, and water. Don't forget to begin your vacation by reading the 20+ page rule book prominently displayed on your coffee table. If you don't, its okay, you'll be promptly nagged and reminded of the rules everytime you pass the office just like a teenager coming home late after curfew. Enjoy the additional hospitality in the form of one parking space per car (barely..and if it's a compact car only), taking out your own trash, and the rude attitude of the manager (completely complimentary). If you are looking for a beautiful cottage, horribly overpriced, and run by your high school vice-principal...then look no further.