We had stayed at another East Texas lake house the week prior, and loved it so much we scrapped other plans and booked at Holly Lake Ranch. It’s a gated community with lots of scheduled activities, two outdoor pools and several lakes. We loved using their canoe and our paddleboard off the dock each morning. The first day we paddled to the swim beach and then swam. Then we learned it’s alligator territory! The HOA keeps an eye out for gators that make their way to the busier end of Holly Lake, and rehome them if they get too big or friendly. I was told they’ve never had any incidents, but it did inspire us to check out the pools! The pool nearest the cabin (on the West side) is less busy and we loved it! Pool toys included. We saw deer, raccoons and a blue heron, all in our yard! We also saw a white egret (I’m not a birder, so that’s just a guess) and a turtle while canoeing. The house was lovely, and if the owners ever want to sell, I’d love a chance at it! It does need the gutters cleaned out; I was so tempted to do it myself. And the garage door needs help, but since we didn’t have garage access, I didn’t worry about it. There are lots of lights and switches, so I appreciate they were labeled well. We loved the porches—air conditioned with windows, screened and open. So great! Joe also helped us get the dates we wanted. We wanted Sunday through Thursday, but as we were booking, it stopped showing Sunday (the following day) as available. I didn’t want to miss out entirely, so I booked Mon-Fri and reached out to Joe. He was quick to respond and make the change for us. I was glad, because we had driven to find wifi in order to change our plans. Anyways. Long review, but I highly recommend this place! Oh, and Circle M Crawfish is a great restaurant relatively nearby.