We recently sold our cottage, so I guess that I might have a different take on it than you. Over the years (14) that we owned it, we had a lot of fun with the family and friends. Our cottage was the "Hangout" for them all. Our kids grew up water skiing, swimming and in winter we snowmobiled. In retrospect, it seems worth it. It was a good decision for that time in our life.
Cottages are a lot of work though. It is another house to keep up and maintain. Just be sure that you are ready for that part of it.
Through it all, we always had our motorhome (3 different ones). We have decided to be more mobile now. I guess that I will only have the motorhome to work on now.:B
Another possibility would be to rent a cottage at the lake for a couple of weeks and leave the work to the owner. Or a condo on the water without the work.
