Entire home

What makes you happy?

Photo gallery for What makes you happy?

Fall
Summer sunshine
Coffee in the morning sun
Living room
Fully equipped kitchen

Reviews

10 out of 10
Exceptional
3 bedrooms1 bathroomSleeps 783.6 sq m

Popular amenities

  • Dryer
  • Barbecue grill
  • Washer

Explore the area

View map
Bethel, PA
  • Roadside America
    ‪8 min drive‬
  • Vraj Temple
    ‪10 min drive‬
  • Koziar's Christmas Village
    ‪19 min drive‬
  • Lancaster, PA (LNS)
    ‪57 min drive‬

Rooms & beds

3 bedrooms (sleeps 7)

Downstream bedroom

1 Queen Bed

Loft

1 Queen Bed and 1 Single Bed

Upstream bedroom

1 Queen Bed

1 bathroom

Bathroom

Bathtub or shower · Toilet

Spaces

Porch or lanai
Kitchen
Dining area

About this property

What makes you happy?

Looking for a tranquil place in the woods? Located on the Blue Mountain in rural pennsylvania a short walk downhill from the Appalachian Trail, this cozy little cottage invites you to sit down on the porch and listen to the creek burble. There's hiking, biking, fishing, canoeing, bird-watching, sight-seeing, but maybe you just want to relax and do nothing other than lie around chatting or reading. Either way, this is the place for you. All the amenities of home are here so you can drive up and instantly make yourself very much at home.

*Smoking is not permitted on or around the property.*

Note: GPS will get you only as far as the mailbox. The cottage is 3/4 of a mile down a winding single-lane dirt road and across a creek from Route 183.

Your vacation is more than an investment of money; it's an investment of your time and hopes. We take your investment very seriously. We want you to be delighted.

The cottage has a stone fireplace in the living room with firewood and kindling provided, AM/FM tuner, DVD/BluRay/CD player with iPod port, 22” flat screen TV, basic cable, and wifi. There are plenty of board games and a wonderfully eclectic library.

The kitchen is fully equipped with everything you need: electric stove, microwave, toaster, drip coffee maker, crockpot, full fridge, cooking utensils, pots and pans, flatware, dishes, glasses, and cups.  Basic staples like ketchup, mustard, mayo, butter, sugar, flour, olive oil, vinegar and spices are all onhand; not enough to make 17 dozen cookies or roast a horse, but enough to get you by for a week that you don't need to worry about the little stuff. A vintage, hand-cranked coffee grinder is just the thing for a home-brewed coffee to greet everyone if you're the first one up in the morning. Alas, there is no dishwasher. On the shelf to the right of the fireplace is a 3-ring binder of instructions on how to work basic home utilities (TV, cable, wifi password, thermostats, trash, etc) along with a long list of local attractions and activities, and map to the Secret Swing.

There are two bedrooms, each with a queen bed. The low-ceiling loft has a queen and a single bed. Bed linens, blankets, and an army troop of bath towels provided. There’s both a full size washer and clothes dryer.

The cottage is fully insulated, is warmed and cooled by a heat pump, and has individually controlled electric baseboard heat in every room.

Cabella's Sporting Goods is just 12 miles away.

Lancaster County Amish country is 40 miles or less.

Cottage is 163 miles from Washington DC, 130 miles from NYC, and 92 miles from Philadelphia. 82 miles from Gettysburg is 82 miles away, Knoebel's Amusement Resort is 30 miles away, and Hershey Park is 35 miles away.

Maps, brochures, and a custom-made notebook list hundreds of local activities, adventures, and amusements.

Much of the furniture was made by local craftspeople. The slab for the live-edge kitchen table, for example, is from a pin oak that was felled in Tulpehocken Twp by a pair of sibling sawyers, then kiln-dried for many months, planed, and finished by a furniture maker in Myerstown.

The cottage is 2½ miles north of the intersection of Routes 78 and 183 and about a mile from the Berks/Schuylkill County border.

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Amenities

Kitchen
Washing machine
Dryer
Pet-friendly
Free WiFi
Air conditioning

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House Rules

Check in after 9:00 AM
Minimum age to rent: 18
Check out before 7:00 PM
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Children

Children allowed: ages 0–17
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Events

Events allowed: family gatherings, birthday parties, weddings
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Pets

Pets allowed: limit 3 total
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Smoking

Smoking is not permitted
Guest must return completed rental agreement three days before arrival.
Bookings by Yvonne Sousa or family will be refused.

Important information

You need to know

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
Parties and events (including family gatherings, birthday parties and weddings) are allowed on site. Maximum attendees: 10
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

We should mention

A car is required for transport to and from this property

About the area

Bethel

Located in Bethel, this cottage is near theme parks and in the mountains. Pat Garrett Amphitheater and Golden Age Air Museum are cultural highlights, and some of the area's attractions include Frystown Lions Park and Koziar's Christmas Village. Water tubing and rafting offer great chances to get out on the surrounding water, or you can seek out an adventure with cycling and mountain climbing nearby.
Map
Bethel, PA

What's nearby

  • Roadside America - 8 min drive - 11.6 km
  • Vraj Temple - 10 min drive - 9.5 km
  • Koziar's Christmas Village - 19 min drive - 19.6 km
  • Yuengling Brewery and Museum - 25 min drive - 25.0 km
  • Blue Marsh Recreation Area - 28 min drive - 30.1 km

Getting around

  • Reading, PA (RDG-Reading Regional) - 27 min drive

Restaurants

  • ‪Love's Travel Stop - ‬12 min drive
  • ‪McDonald's - ‬12 min drive
  • ‪Dunkin' - ‬12 min drive
  • ‪Lake Wynonah Lodge - ‬17 min drive
  • ‪Burger King - ‬9 min drive

Frequently asked questions

Is What makes you happy? pet-friendly?

Yes, this property allows pets (limit 3 total).

What time is check-in at What makes you happy??

Check-in begins at 9:00 AM.

What time is check-out at What makes you happy??

Checkout is at 7:00 PM.

Where is What makes you happy? located?

Located in the mountains, this family-friendly cottage is within 6 mi (10 km) of Pat Garrett Amphitheater, Vraj Temple, and Strausstown Lions Park. Rehrersburg Lions Park and Golden Age Air Museum are also within 6 miles (10 km).

About the host

Hosted by Mike Najarian

Host profile image
Except for a short stint in Germany, I've lived my entire life in northern Berks County: first on a goat farm, then in a one-room schoolhouse in the village of Fetherolfsville (population 7!), and now in a nearby cottage elsewhere on the mountain.

Why they chose this property

Before you book, I'll send you detailed information on the amenities on hand, more photographs, a 14 page description of different activities in the area, a list of local grocery stores, and some restaurant suggestions. The blue binder in the cabin has even more information so that everything is covered. But that also means online payment is disabled. The folks that run Homeaway/VRBO have now decided that you should have less than a day to peruse this info. Guests really appreciate all this extra info and may take their time to read it before deciding whether or not they'd like to book. An alternative online payment method is available.

What makes this property unique

Peace. Quiet. Worry-free vacation. Everything is taken care of and ready for you. You'll feel your worries melt away and begin relaxing even just driving down the lane that leads to the cottage. But if you're looking for family fun and adventure, it's right around the corner. As one guest said, "You're in the middle of nowhere but next to everything."

Languages:

English, German

Premier Host

They consistently provide great experiences for their guests