Our family of four enjoyed our stay in this home. The location was perfect: we were able to walk anywhere we wanted to go in St Joseph, and because we were two blocks from downtown, the area was quiet in the evenings when our girls went to sleep. The front porch provided "spillover" room--we often ate breakfast out there in the morning. The house itself is not fancy, but we had everything we needed. On two occasions we called the owner with small problems or questions, and he handled both immediately.
I worried that we might start to get bored staying a whole month in St Joseph, but we did not. We recommend the children's museums (we bought a membership, which let us come and go as often as we liked), Silver Beach, Kiwanis Park,
the carousel, Hidden Pointe (in Benton Harbor), and Mimi's Cupcakes. Check out the library's events: we attended two garden concerts and several events for kids. My husband and five-year-old went on a pirate adventure through the maritime museum in South Haven (definitely worth the money), and the Sarett Nature Center kept us busy for a whole day (bring bug spray).
We have two suggestions for people considering this house for a vacation:
(1) The only bathroom is downstairs and the bedrooms are upstairs, so everyone in your group must be able to climb stairs easily.
(2) The window units in the bedrooms and downstairs cool the rooms well, but they also block out a lot of sound. This was great for helping my kids sleep, but if you have little ones, you will want a baby monitor even when you're sleeping in adjacent rooms.
We look forward to staying in this house again next June.