About Us
The family behind Hilltop Haven and the DaVina story
DaVina Vista, Hilltop Haven, and Four Generations on Sylvan Lake
We're David Harges and Christine DeSavino. We founded DaVina Vista, our family-owned hospitality company, to share thoughtfully designed homes with guests the way we've enjoyed them ourselves... starting with Hilltop Haven, our flagship property on Sylvan Lake.
This isn't a vacation rental we bought as an investment. Hilltop Haven has been in our family for over 50 years. Sharing it with guests is a way of carrying forward something my parents started.
How We Got Here
In April of 1974, my dad Lee was asked by a friend if he'd like to buy a small piece of land on Sylvan Lake. He said yes, and within a few weeks the property was his. I was two years old at the time, and over the next several decades my parents (Lee and Sanna) and I spent every summer turning this property into something special.
For the first sixteen years, we didn't have a house on the property at all. Every summer weekend, we lived out of a camper on the land, working to develop it bit by bit. We built a new footbridge to the island. Then a small metal garage. It wasn't until 1990 that the original house went up. In 2004 we expanded with a game room, an additional bedroom, and a full garage replacing the original metal one.
In 2018, the entire hillside was transformed with new landscaping. In 2024, after a two-year renovation, the home was reborn... an upscale lakefront home with natural finishes, live-edge furnishings, an indoor cedar hot tub, and a complete refresh of every space.
Through all of it, the house was where our family came together. Christine and I started bringing our two sons, Aidan and Tristan, when they were small. They grew up at this lake... summers, holidays, every season we could get there. My aunt Bea joined us for many of those summers, and her partner Bill continues to come to the lake even after my uncle passed.
That's four generations of family woven into this place. Now it's a place we're honored to share.
The Story of the Island
The original house on this property stood on the island itself, connected to the mainland by a low footbridge. Several families had enjoyed that house over the decades.
The connection to this lake goes back further than 1974, though. In the 1930s and 40s, my grandparents — my dad's parents — used to come up to Sylvan Lake from Fort Wayne to dance at one of the old lakefront dance halls. My dad was on this lake as a boy too, camping on Camp Big Island with the Boy Scouts. He got homesick and my grandmother had to come up and bring him home early. And then he bought land here in 1974. Some places just pull a family back.
In April of 1974, the Palm Sunday tornadoes ripped across the Midwest. One tornado came directly across Sylvan Lake. It took out the original footbridge and the house on our island, then continued northeast across the lake and took out another house on Round Island, and continued across Camp Big Island taking out the same Boy Scout pavilions my dad had slept under as a child.
The destruction extended into the lake itself. Sylvan Lake is actually a large reservoir, dammed in the late 1800s, and the tornado drove debris from the destroyed homes into the water. The state lowered the lake for several years afterward so the debris could be cleared from the lake bed. In those same early years, our family spent countless weekends clearing tornado debris from the property and from the island.
The tornado had taken down all but two of the trees on the island. What you see standing there today — the mature canopy of trees shading the fire pit and the Adirondack chairs — grew almost entirely from the root systems of the trees that were destroyed. They're a little over 50 years old now. The island rebuilt itself.
When my dad and mom bought the property weeks after the tornado, only the foundation of the island house remained. They chose not to rebuild on the island. The space stayed open... a quiet green place that grew back on its own terms, and now belongs to the guests who stay here.
We rebuilt the footbridge. We didn't rebuild the island house. Some decisions make more sense with 50 years of hindsight.
In Honor of Lee and Sanna
My mom passed in 2016, and my dad in 2026. They built this place with their hands, their time, and their love.
Christine and I, with our family, are honored to carry it forward and share it with guests who'll create their own memories here.
Every time a guest checks in, every time someone tells us they had the best week of their year here, every time we hear about an anniversary celebrated on the island or a family reunion on the deck... it's a way of keeping what my parents started alive.
Our Philosophy
We want other families to enjoy Hilltop Haven and Sylvan Lake the way we've enjoyed it for half a century. That means a few things to us.
Real privacy. Whichever layout you book, the entire property is yours. No shared spaces, no other guests, no surprises. The home, the island, the pier, the grounds... yours alone for the length of your stay.
Quiet hospitality. We respond fast, we know this house and this lake well, and we love helping guests make the most of their stay. Whether that's a dinner reservation, a winery recommendation, or just the best spot on the property to watch the sunset.
Genuine care for the property. This place has been a labor of love for our family for 50 years. Every detail of the renovation, every piece of furniture, every system in the house was chosen with the next 50 years in mind. We hope guests feel that.
Respect for our neighbors. Sylvan Lake is a quiet community. We keep the lake quiet for our neighbors and ask the same of our guests. It's part of why this place stays special.
DaVina Vista's Future
DaVina Vista is a hospitality company we founded to share thoughtfully designed homes with guests. Hilltop Haven is our flagship property. As we grow, we plan to add other properties under the DaVina Vista brand... places we believe in, with the same care, design, and hospitality philosophy that defines this one.
For now, it's just Hilltop Haven... and we're glad you're considering joining the long list of families who've made memories here.
David and Christine