With a hot tub, this vacation home accommodates 16 guests across 8 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms. It includes 1 hot tub, a private pool, and a heated pool. Enjoy activities like personal motor watercraft, game walks, and kayaking, while nearby attractions include Lewis Smith Lake and Tiger Field.
Highlights
Dive into relaxation
Unwind in the top-rated pool, your perfect spot for relaxation.
Enjoy the heated pool
A rare find in this area - swim in comfort or have a relaxing dip.
NEW! Country Villa: Dock, Pool, Spa, Waterfall, Grotto, Firepit, Fishing hole.
This is a new property, finished in 2022. It is simply the best. Stay at The Blue Marlin Inn once and you will come back every year. The Blue Marlin Inn contains top shelf comfort and style within an unbelievable setting and a most convenient central location on the lake. The pictures will tell the story. It has a dash of fantasy about it. The ambiance is eclectic and interesting. It is a cross between French country and seaside village with a tropical flair reminiscent of Rio or Tahiti. Some have said, it's like staying in a museum. There is something interesting around every corner and the sunset view as seen from the hot-tub is spectacular. The house sits on the edge of a large rock peninsula, reaching out into the lake. In the summer the rock formation is submerged a few inches. In the winter it rises many feet above the lake, depending on the water level. A private slough brings the deep water back into a grotto tucked under the forested shoreline. From the porch, you can actually see schools of keeper sized bass swimming and feeding in the slough. The estate sits on approximately 4 acres and has over 750 feet of shoreline. The house is 12 easy steps down to the dock. Launch your own boat or jet ski and park it in the open slip. Boat rentals are available nearby. Explore the deep-water slough in your kayak and wash your face in the natural spring waterfalls filling the grotto at the back of the slough. The property is often visited by deer, turkey and beaver that come down from the forest to drink. Bald Eagles are making a comeback at Smith Lake. Fish for bluegill, crappie and bass along the very productive deep-water shoreline or cast plugs along the dark banks of Bear Cove. Gaze up into the dark and radiant night sky and behold the Milky Way in full splendor. Stay safe under the steel covered patios and witness fast moving Thunderstorms, flashing streaks of light and pounding the air with the following crash and rumble. Watch the downpour and wind pass over the lake. For the finest accommodations, there are five in suite bedrooms, two kings and three queens each with its own luxury bathroom. Three of the bedrooms have flat screen TVs. All showers have the standard wall faucet and also include a rinse wand for the hard to reach places. Single guests sleep in the basement bunkbeds and share a Powder-Room. There is a full bathroom by the pool in the garage. Enjoy everyone's company in the great-room, open kitchen and open patio complex or turn the lights low and enjoy streaming movies in the Theater Room upstairs. The house is on fiber-optics WiFi service, so the flat screens have good performance and so will your cell phones. Next to the Theater Room is the Game Room, a speakeasy style poker room made for gaming of all kinds and a Tiki bar for your Mai Tais and Margaritas. The Pool/Spa area is magical. After a hard day playing on the lake, relax and stay cool around the sparkling aqua pool. In the evening keep the party going when the waterfall and lights turn on. If heat is what you need, jump in the spa and drift off, looking up at the stars, while the waterfall plays its background serenade. The boat dock has a large swim deck and those who want to take it slow can hang out there for a tan and a drink and a dip in the lake. Get in touch with your inner chef. The kitchen features premium stainless Jenair appliances including a 6 burner gas stove top and two electric convection ovens, There is an under counter microwave and warming drawer, a toaster oven and a four slice toaster, twin dishwashers to clean everything at once and a large refrigerator/freezer, a wine chiller in the butler pantry, a full size refrigerator in the garage and a 80lb ice maker next to that, just to keep the pool party in ice all day long. Then there is a large stainless Blaze gas grill and griddle just outside the back French doors for the outdoor cooking enthusiast. It will be hard to find anything to match this culinary setup. Then there is the lakeside bonfire pit to gather around and cook like a caveman: ribs, weenies and smores, or just stare into the mesmerizing flames and tell stories and joke around. If you're lucky enough to be with your sweetheart, then trade romance and kisses. Bring your own firewood or order logs ahead of time. There are so many sweet corners to hide in and around the house or down by the rocky shore. Even with a large group you can find privacy somewhere on the estate. Duskin Point Marina is a mere 10 minutes by boat which, for this enormous lake, is right around the corner. The Blue Marlin Inn is centrally located on Smith Lake. The lake is about an hour from Huntsville and an hour from Birmingham. It's about three hours from Nashville and three hours from Atlanta. GPS is a must have to find your way here and for boating navigation. It would take weeks to explore the 500 miles of Smith Lake shore, ranging from Goat Island at the extreme east to Bankhead National Forest at the far west end. On your last night stay, you will begin to miss this place already.
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No diving or rough play in or around the pool area.
Do not use or keep glass containers in and around the pool area. Use the plastic containers provided.
No Parking on the street is allowed and do not park in owners parking spot.
Important information
You need to know
Property # 2527876vb
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card, debit card or cash deposit may be required at check-in for incidental charges
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges; special requests cannot be guaranteed
On-site parties or group events are strictly prohibited
Host has not indicated whether there is a carbon monoxide detector on the property; consider bringing a portable detector with you on the trip
Host has not indicated whether there is a smoke detector on the property
About the area
Arley
Arley is home to this holiday home. The Lily Pond an Art Gallery & Tea Room and Crooked Creek Civil War Museum are cultural highlights, and some of the area's activities can be experienced at Speegle's Marina and Cullman Golf Course. Jet skiing and kayaking offer great chances to get out on the surrounding water, or you can seek out an adventure with mountain biking and hunting nearby.
Crooked Creek Civil War Museum - 55 min drive - 56.8 km
Restaurants
Jack's - 51 min drive
The Grille At Trident Marina - 64 min drive
Arley Coffee Shop - 30 min drive
Subway - 51 min drive
La Plaza Bonita - 30 min drive
Frequently asked questions
Does NEW! Country Villa: Dock, Pool, Spa, Waterfall, Grotto, Firepit, Fishing hole. have a pool?
Yes, this property has a pool. Pool types include heated pools.
How much does it cost to stay at NEW! Country Villa: Dock, Pool, Spa, Waterfall, Grotto, Firepit, Fishing hole.?
As of 27 Aug 2026, prices found for a 1-night stay for 2 adults at NEW! Country Villa: Dock, Pool, Spa, Waterfall, Grotto, Firepit, Fishing hole. on 31 Aug 2026 start from AU$6,426, including taxes and fees. This price is based on the lowest nightly price found in the last 24 hours for stays in the next 30 days. Prices are subject to change. Choose your dates for more accurate prices.
Is NEW! Country Villa: Dock, Pool, Spa, Waterfall, Grotto, Firepit, Fishing hole. pet-friendly?
No, pets are not allowed at this property.
How much is parking at NEW! Country Villa: Dock, Pool, Spa, Waterfall, Grotto, Firepit, Fishing hole.?
On-site parking is available at the property.
What time is check-in at NEW! Country Villa: Dock, Pool, Spa, Waterfall, Grotto, Firepit, Fishing hole.?
Check-in begins at 4:00 PM.
What time is check-out at NEW! Country Villa: Dock, Pool, Spa, Waterfall, Grotto, Firepit, Fishing hole.?
Checkout is at 11:00 AM.
Where is NEW! Country Villa: Dock, Pool, Spa, Waterfall, Grotto, Firepit, Fishing hole. located?
Situated in Arley, this holiday home is steps from Lewis Smith Lake and 9.7 mi (15.6 km) from Tiger Field. Houston Historic Jail and Bankhead National Forest are also within 16 miles (25 km).
About the host
Hosted by Mike Deihl
Originally I'm from Los Angeles County, city of Glendora. My background is from 18 years in banking systems development (programing). More recently I worked in the hospitality industry as a general consultant. I bought the property in 2007, when it was bare land. I moved to Smith Lake a few years ago to focus on developing a unique and fun place to live. I built The Blue Marlin for that purpose. I will continue working to make it one of the special properties on Smith Lake. I love the lake and the region it's in and now I call it home. The property has the main house, by the lake, and a barn/ apartment that shares the same driveway but is 120 feet closer to the street. When the house is rented I live in the barn apartment. I make myself available for problems and basic maintenance. Also on a daily basis I look after the pool, boat and propane gas systems to insure guest safety and the health of the systems. I will never enter the main house unannounced and only when there is a risk of danger or damage that needs to be addressed.
Why they chose this property
Bear Branch Cove is in an ideal location on the lake. It is at the geographical center of the lake. By boat, it is about 10 minutes from Duskin Point Marina and 15 minutes from Dunkin Bridge Marina. It is 5 minutes from the main channel in a No-Wake zone. It is one of the deeper branches of the lake and known for its unusually good fishing spots. Arley with it's Coffee Shop and Son's of Arley Market is about 15 minutes away by car.
What makes this property unique
The pictures will tell the story. The property has a most unusual shoreline. It is surrounded by year round deep water. Sunset is directly across the channel creating many stunning nightfall panoramas. Even when the water drops 10 feet or more the shore stays where it is because the water simply recedes straight down the shore face exposing more of the underwater cliff. There is a large rock peninsula about 40 feet long. It pokes out of the lake most the year but sometimes becomes submerged when the lake is flooded in the spring and summer. Adjoining the peninsula is a year-round water slew about 30 feet wide that makes up a long entrance to a grotto which is about 280 feet in from the main body of the lake. There are two waterfalls feeding and shaping the grotto, which flow nearly year-round. It is common to see white tail, ducks, geese, blue egret, turtles, sometimes beaver, bluegill, crappie and many types of bass.