We had great weather all week. It is a beautiful home. We reports the minor issues and they were addressed.
Loved the pool and the direct access to beach along with the convenience of plenty of space with our family.
Positives: Large house; Lots of driveway parking; Awesome views; Very close to the beautiful beach; Generally clean; Fully equipped kitchen; Nice small swimming pool; The property manager, Amy, was mostly responsive.
Negatives: Immediately after booking, you are not allowed any type of refund (we knew this); Six bedrooms, but can accommodate only 12 people (we knew this); A new house was being constructed immediately next door creating lots of noises AM and PM (no one's fault, but it would have been nice to know prior to booking); The swimming pool will be heated only if you pay a large daily fee (this was NOT disclosed to us until after booking); The house provides only one beach umbrella (tiny) and a few crappy beach chairs (2 of them broke on us); Most of the inside chairs and outside deck chairs wobble significantly (one inside chair broke on us); The wooden deck and especially the wooden walkway to the beach is in serious need of maintenance (lots of cracked boards and rusty nail heads). Overall, the house is in desperate need of maintenance. The 2nd full day and 2nd night of our stay, the two air conditioners failed and the house temp rose to 82 on the 1st floor and 86 on the 2nd floor. Amy informed us that the HVAC repair techs couldn't help us until the next day. WE solved the problem by inspecting the return filters which were in disgustingly dirty condition. The HVAC repair techs inspected the filters and said they weren't changed in a year or more!
This is the second year we have stayed at this property. My hope was that the property management would provide some much needed maintenance coming into 2023. Unfortunately, this was not the case.
To be fair, the listing for the property is accurate, everything mentioned in the list of amenities is indeed present. The home is clean, all towels/linens were provided and pool was maintained as scheduled.
My biggest concern was the state of the stairs/walkway off of the house and down to the beach. The missing multiple slats on the steps created a hazard for the youngsters we had staying at the property.
I do realize that being so close to the ocean takes a toll on the outside of a home but annual maintenance seems to be a cost of doing business for a homeowner. A bit of carpentry work, gutter repair and paint would go a long way in enhancing the overall stay.
We had a great time. The property manager was always responsive. The house had tons of room for 4 families. The beach is beautiful and the pool is perfect for the kids and a place to relax after the beach. The beds were all comfortable. Ice maker and additional garage fridge were awesome!!!! Perfect house for a large group. The walk way and decking needs some work but Iâm sure the wind and salt produce a ton of wear. Overall a great stay.
Lovely setting. A few things didn't work but management got people out quickly to fix them. It would be nice to have a "House Information Book" and to label various light and electrical switches. The hurricane shutters do need to be re-secured to stop banging in the wind. The home had a lot of nice amenities and a well stocked kitchen. As previous reviews have noted, many of the beds are very soft. We would stay again!
We all had a wonderful stay. Everything was nice and clean. I would tell you to update your photos online because they donât really do the house any justice! The pictures portray it to be dark and that is not true. The house is light and bright. We had everything we needed for a great vacation!
Second stay at this property. Great location on the beach with amazing outdoor features including private pool, grill, deck, direct beach access. We thoroughly enjoy staying at this house and will be back again, but interior and exterior needs a little TLC; fresh coat of paint, cleaning walls, fixing broken pieces on exterior.
Our family has traveled to Ocean Isle for well over 30 years. Our children are now grown with children of their own. This house was by far the best we have ever rented. Two refrigerators and an additional ice maker were a plus. The beds were so comfy and we loved having sheets already on the beds. The bedrooms are large and easily accommodate a pack and play, two in some cases. Lots of beach and pool toys available as well. Missy quickly responded to an internet issue we had- so easy to work with!
The home was spacious well appointed. There were a few items that should be addressed. The toaster was from the dollar store..extremely small and the bottom was missing. A hand towel holder in one bathroom was hanging from the wall. It could be an extremely beautiful home given some extra attention. The pool and surrounding area was really nice and the walkway to the beach was super. Some of the mattresses need replaced. My husband and I had the queen bed attached to the Jack and Jill bath and you rolled into the middle. Really bad mattress!! Over all we had a pleasant stay.
Expectations not met for the price: Issues with the house.
For the price I thought the property was not as well-appointed as I had expected and some of the kitchen accoutrements were lacking. For example the pots and pans were in such poor shape that the property manager sent a new set of pots when we complained. The cookie sheets should all be thrown out as they are appallingâdirty and dentedâresulting in poor cooking/baking results. The property overall looks to need some serious maintenance. Deck nails had popped up everywhere making walking without sandals hazardous at best. One mattress bed spring popped through and tore one of the linensâwe managed to shove the spring back into place. Thereâs evidence of water damage on the ceiling in the lower level master bedroomâunsightly at best and suggestive of other underlying issues (structural as well as possible mold). The cooking burner next to the grill did not work. Unfortunate as we tend to cook a lot on vacation. Also for a property that sleeps 12, the dining room table only had nine chairs, odd. Although there were a number of stools that we ended up using. Also an odd agglomeration of old
and worn beach equipment to say the least. In general a little TLC and some paint and cosmetic repair is definitely in order, especially for a property that charges as much as this one for a week. Please pass this message onto to owner and encourage him to step up.
We were so torn on how to rate this property as there are some aspects that were spectacular but also some notable drawbacks.
Pros:
-Beautiful views from the living area and both master bedrooms
-Master bathrooms were suuuper luxurious
-Layout of living space was perfect for our group (6 adults and one toddler) and had plenty of seating. Plenty of space all around actually and every bedroom has an en-suite bath (one is shared Jack and Jill w kids room)
-Direct beach access was SO nice and itâs the ideal beach section on the west end
-Pool gets sun all day so didnât need heating
-sheets and towels provided via linen service were great and plentiful
-The house feels solid & sturdier than new construction materials; bedrooms were nice and quiet
-Tons of beach chairs, towels, toys, etc
Cons:
-In a nutshell, it just doesnât feel well maintained. Granted we were at the end of the season, but the cupboards and drawers were all stuffed full, disorganized, and had âten spatulas but no cheese graterâ syndrome. Not well thought out. Same with the beach chairs and toys - there are a ton, but they are just stacked/thrown in the inner stairwell. Some of the pool toys were so buried in the big bin they were disintegrating.
-Many loose boards, spindles and nail pops on the outdoor stairs and walkway (wear shoes and watch kiddos). There was a paint can holding up the bed in one of the master suites, water stains and bowing in the ceiling, pictures just set on the ground
-Beds uncomfortably soft
-There was also a peculiar lack of outdoor furniture on the decks - only 2 rocking chairs (plus one for kids) and one small hightop. There wasnât seating for us to all hang out outside together. There are 3 lawn chairs at the pool, and another round table with 3 chairs, one of which is broken.
-On the other side of the empty lot (west of the house) is a wedding rental. This is not something the owners can help of course, but the music is loud and disrupts the tranquility; there was a wedding the day we arrived and another party moved in and weâre whooping it up the following Thurs & Fri. There is a noise ordinance requiring cut off at 11pm which was adhered to.
-We called with a few maintenance issues: toilet running, sink backing up, exposed wiring from an outlet, etc. It took a few hours to get a response; someone did come out the next day and fixed the sink, left to get a part and never returned
With some TLC this place could be great!!
The house is beautiful and the location perfect. Plenty of room for the 12 of us. Some nice surprises were the supply of books, games, and beach chairs. The property was clean but is beginning to show wear and tear. Hairdryers are not provided and the bed pillows (at least in our room) were horribly thin - even when new they were bad. Oh, and no crockpot. Even with these few deficits I would stay here again.
We have been taking this house for several years and always have a great time! Kevin and Missy make it all so easy. The house is a perfect beach place-itâs comfy and we love the location. Being oceanfront as well as having a pool are musts for us so this house is a great spot for us. We will be back!