Very nice house. Seemed to be very clean. Reducing to 3 stars because of the feeling of being watched by all the cameras and someone needs to call an exterminator.
We had the best time at A Better Place! Plenty of space & everything was well stocked & nice. Our kids loved the pools, playground & basketball courts & beaches - we loved the golf cart (rented) & beach chairs provided.
Itâs worth noting that the beach chairs are at Beach Access 5, which is also the beach front pool - wasnât easy to figure that out at first. The golf cart made getting there a breeze, but it wouldâve been quiet the haul had we walked it with our kids each time.
Crab hunting was also fantastic - 113 was a nightly record for us!
We loved the little Beach Cafe in the morning & the Mojitos at the pizza place at night, both within walking distance.
Overall, we canât wait to go back!
We loved this house and Carillon Beach - Great layout and so nicely decorated.
Kitchen was very well stocked. Nice patio for dinner and games + big front porch too. Plenty of parking and room for yard games. too. Quick bike ride to beach. And, short walk to shops and pool.
This is a nice, comfortable house and appeared to be clean. However, a few things ruined our stay and we ended up leaving early. It is the first house when you turn right after the guard shack. It seems every car that comes through, turns right, after the guard shack. Lots of traffic. Also the road noise at night is very loud coming from the main road behind the house. Several cameras gave us an uneasy feeling of being watched and wondering if thereâs so many outside, are they inside too? Are they listening to our conversations while we sit on the porch? We were interrupted by a guy coming to change light bulbs that couldâve been done before we got there. Not sure why it was so urgent. The fans on the back porch didnât work either but no one said anything about that. Later in the week we were informed the owners were coming to âget something out of the garageâ. On top of all that, the house has the largest cockroaches Iâve ever seen and spiders in the upstairs bed. As I stated, itâs a nice house but needs the help of an exterminator and better, more thoughtful management . Until then, I suggest looking elsewhere.
We 3 couples had a perfect week stay in Carillon at a Better Place. Very clean, comfortable, well equipped homeâŠespecially the kitchen. Very comfortable bedsâŠkings in the 3 bedrooms⊠perfect for us. Large TVs to watch sports, etc. The porches were also comfortableâŠfront porch for coffee drinking in the morning, back screened in porch for lunch and evening. With a nice outdoor grill. Large tables for dinner and games.
Easy to walk or golf cart to walkovers to the beach. Close to heated pool and Tennis courts.
We truly enjoyed our stay. We love Carillon and will be back soon!!
House was just the right size for 9 of us. Decor and layout was great. Location to wedding venue was just a simple walk around the corner. Beach and walkability for daily exercise was perfect. Did get tired of constant emails as it became difficult to search and find each email for information about codes, instructions for community, arrivals and departure request. One email with all plus reminders along the way would be easier. Here is a list of items that need repair and/or suggestions: downstairs thermosat unusable as code was not provided, kitchen sink faucet floppy and needs tightening, at least one box of Kleenex, soap bars, more TP for a house that sleeps 13 for 4 nights. (only 1 extra in each bathroom and we ran out), same with only 2 pods for dishwasher (reason last dishes left in dishwasher was not run, sorry about that), master bathroom vent not working and shower floor had black mildew, master bedroom door squeaky (especially for person sleeping behind drapes). Outdoor steps risers kept falling in and out as already broken. Just mentioning all of the above to be helpful as we were not dissatisfied with stay.
We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at A Better Place. We had small children and the large driveway, screened porch with table, grill and large front porch were great. The kitchen was well stocked and the house was very clean. We had a wonderful stay!
The house is beautifully decorated! Minor items in need of repair. The layout works well. The carriage house is a great convenience. Rarely do the houses at Carillon have SIX chairs at the beach, but this one does. Housekeeping needs to clean a little bit better, such as dust on the ceiling fans and items left under furniture. Otherwise, clean. Kitchen is well equipped. We really enjoyed this house and would stay there again!
We had such a wonderful stay! Carillon holds a special place in our hearts as we got married there 8 years ago this September. This is the first time we have stayed there with the kids (5 year old and 8 month old) and it was a great fam vacay! We had awesome weather and crystal clear waters the entire week. The house was lovely. We loved sitting out on the front patio in the mornings enjoying a cup of coffee or at nights after the kids went down for a nightcap. Our son LOVED his little hide-a-way room with his own TV. All bedrooms were very spacious. Kitchen was great as we did a fair amount of cooking. We even did a shrimp broil one night and the screened in patio dining table was perfect for that spread. All and all, we had a great stay and look forward to coming back!
We finally got to have our family vacation after waiting two years!!! A Better Place was a beautiful, large home that was a perfect place to make memories with family. Our senior grandson enjoyed having his own bachelor pad above the garage while the rest of us had plenty of room inside. The walk to the beach wasnât too bad and it was nice to be near the shops and gate at the front. Carillon never disappoints!đ„°
Pros:
1. House was well appointed; beautiful decorations and finish out.
If you like to cook, the kitchen had most everything a home cook would need - plenty of big knives (we brought a sharpener), 2 stock pots, 4 big skillets and several smaller pots and pans. * Viking gas range wasn't at full speed; see below
2. Bedrooms were as cold as you wanted, which is a huge plus. 3. Having the separate carriage house studio was needed for our 2 17yo teen boys - and most appreciated by all!
3. Location made store runs super fast, and Carillon downtown and family pool/tennis courts are easy walking distance.
4. Phat Crab has the BEST pizzas! Expensive but convenient (35 mins for pickup on a Friday vs. 2+ hours for delivery with a national chain) and the bartender taking my order over the phone and giving them to the kids was so sweet and lovely. The Cafe was a bit pricey but employees lovely, with great casual food. Gratify is understaffed - but good food and good-natured employees.
5. The amenities are great - we loved spending time at the beach pool, with shade, pool, and beach chairs (4 included with 2 umbrellas with the house). We could watch all our kids and adults with ease, with a restroom conveniently underneath the complex.
Cons:
1. House is only 1600+ sq feet; the pictures online make it look much larger. Great for 5 people, but that's about enough that can comfortably move around and have alone time for days on end. A double bed is in a cubby at the top of the stairs with just privacy curtains (and shutters- fully light before 6am). The separate studio apartment gave our other two the space they needed for a week. Studio was also fully lighted early in the morning.
2. Location: This house (only house left when we looked for this trip 5 months ago) is right beside the only entry/guardhouse to Carillon, and backs up to the highway. This means road and entry noise at any and all hours of the day. It's less noticeable in the main house, but loud nonetheless.
3. The carriage house studio was NOT well cleaned; not sure when the last time was when it was fully cleaned. The first pillow we found was on top of the W&D; when we pulled it down, it was black with months of soot. *I took a picture then replaced the pillowcase with another in the unit.
4. The studio had a big plugin fan; our son noticed that it was CAKED with soot and had the (rare) foresight to bring it outside before turning it on - it blew out blades from the inside and tons of black soot. *Took a picture and told them not to ever use it again.
5. Not enough pillows: this house supposedly sleeps 13 but didn't have enough pillows per bed (or pullout).
*Contact with Vacasa:
1. I brought pictures of the dirty studio and dangerous fan to the office; they expressed concern but did nothing.
2. I asked for more pillows, stating there were not enough for the guaranteed 13person capacity; they were without solution and said keep looking in cubbies for more.
3. Kitchen gas Viking range does NOT operate at full capacity - the popup vent fan is inoperable, and the gas is governed to be at medium-low, not high heat. This extended our first dinner by an hour as we couldn't boil water, had to keep adding half-full smaller pots on different burners and keep watching and waiting. We used 3 pots for another dinner and it took just as long, adding more and more hot sink water to help. * I told the office the first day; they weren't concerned and didn't offer to send a plumber to help.
4. Be aware of the peculiar "hurricane door" locking mechanism - for the first 2 days, our front and back french doors blew open as we couldn't figure out how to use the lock to actually lock the doors. The Vacasa office talked me through this - it's complicated: turn the fixed door handle up while spinning the lock, then turn the working door handle up then everything lo...
We loved every aspect of this home. Thank you to the owners for opening it up to us. It was conveniently located, easy to access 98 and was so cozy it made us feel like we were at home. The back screened in porch was out most favorite spot. We invited local friends who live in the area over for a fresh caught seafood grill. It was amazing and the table outside provided us a perfect evening outside but without the bugs. We will definitely stay in this area again! Or kids enjoyed the freedom of bike riding and night swimming. They couldnât get enough. This was definitely our most favorite location by far.
We had the best time on our girlsâ trip. The house is beautiful and accommodated our entire group comfortably. Easy access to the beach and the pools, we loved A Better Place!
Loved the decor and no stains on the upholstery! Very clean!(except for the pullout in the guest apartment over the garage).We had a few mishaps, but could happen anywhere.(electrical, clogged drain, dishwasher was being replaced). Mgmt company was very prompt in responding to each of these items.-Bottom line is it was very comfortable and well equipped. Would definitely stay there again!
I love staying at this beach rental! It's always really CLEAN & cool! It's nicely upgraded and furnished! It had everything we needed for the week. I love the location of it within Carillon-easy to get to-in & out! Close to shopping & eats, as well! Can't wait to go back!