A Swell Time - 4 br / 4 bath oceanfront cottage on the North end of Carolina Bea

TRAVELER BEWARE This is a true and honest review of a VRBO vacation rental that looks NOTHING like the photos. It sure wasn't swell for us. Within 10 min of check-in we called with issues. From bloody boogers on the bedding, writing all over the walls, glass in the driveway, overall lack of maintenance, to undisclosed parking issues (only 2 spots that won't even fit a regular SUV underneath. They have since fixed the listing to indicate heights of vehicles allowed but that didn't help us when we arrived. The only other parking was a mile away)that made it impossible for us to even stay there, this experience was a nightmare. The owner refused a refund, and we were left stranded—with no resolution, no where to stay, and a lot of money down the drain. Management team was responsive but unfortunately couldn't do much as the owner ultimately makes the call. House looks NOTHING like the photos on VRBO when you arrive.

When we arrived at the location we noticed it wasn’t very clean, silverware and dishes were dirty. The showers were stained and dirty 3 of the shower had hair in them, simply wiping them with a Clorox wipe would’ve made a difference. The shower heads were all covered with brown buildup. The showers also had no water pressure in all of them, very hard to shower constantly standing there scrubbing waiting for the soap to rinse off. The floors all had dirt here and there that could’ve been swept or vacuumed. The sliding doors upstairs moved very hard and unevenly. The porches and walkway out to the beach all had nails sticking up and multiple times we scraped our feet. There wasn’t any beach toys or chairs usable. All the beds were super lumpy and uncomfortable. The parking was in the listing so I do understand that and it is accurate you can only fit two small vehicle in the parking section and you can’t open your doors because of all the pillars in the way. Lastly there was barely any basic supplies such as toilet paper, paper towels, hand soap, trash bags, the list goes on but we essentially had to buy all the stuff after a day or two. The beach itself was beautiful.

If coming — PLEASE READ. If you drive a full sized truck, your truck will NOT fit in the parking area. A car (not even a large crossover) will fit in the first space (height of 6’3”). I drive a Ford Expedition and it just did fit in the second space (height of 7’6”). I don’t know what we would have done if we had driven our truck. The flex for this home is having FOUR BATHS! That was wonderful! The kitchen is well stocked. Plenty of seating with 2 couches and 2 chairs.

We absolutely loved this house and it’s location. The house was stocked well. Chairs and beach toys were also available for beach use. Beds were comfortable. We would definitely stay here again.