Oceanview Home in Rodanthe w/ Private Pool, Hot Tub, Game Room, Screened Porch

The location and home were nice, several screens were damaged, but nothing that effected our stay and was reported to the rental agency. unfortunately the weather was not nice so we did not have the true “ beach experience “, but that isn’t in any of our control.. also, first time using the coffee pot, the handle fell off, we purchased one and left it there for the next guests.

The house itself was perfect. It was clean, big, and beautiful. It had a great screened in porch to enjoy without getting eaten up by bugs. The pool was great! The hot tub was under cover which was good so you could use it in rain. The cover was broken and pieces of the cover were falling off into the hot tub. Not a big deal to us. We just used the pool net to clean it out before using it. The pool guy was super polite and said that a new cover was ordered months ago, but with COVID it was on back order. Now the downfall....... it rained, ALOT. Not the fault of the property owner or rental agency. And had it not rained, everything would have been perfect. The road that the house sits on floods in moderate to heavy rains. So much so that we couldn’t get out of the house. The house really was great, but take a vehicle with high ground clearance for if it rains.

So, this was our first visit to OBX, and we were very happy to find a house so close to the beach that also had a private pool and enough space for everyone. The location was pretty great, though stores and attractions are quite a drive from the house. Also, while this is not a dig on the house or the owner, the street that this house was on had HUGE potholes (Not sure that is even the best description) that were quite deep and filled with water when it rained. So deep that there was considerable concern driving over or through them. The check-in process was a little stressful because they don't actually send your access code for the house until the house is ready. That makes sense, but there is no communication day of saying that they are preparing the house or anything like that. You get a window of time between 4-6pm that your house may be ready. We didnt get the code until 6, so we were just sitting around wondering if it was ever coming. Not a huge deal, we did get the code, but I would have appreciated some contact to let me know things were still on track. The biggest disappointment, by far, was the cleanliness of the house. First, the house is carpeted, which is in TERRIBLE need of cleaning/replacing. This seems like a mistake for a beach house that is regularly exposed to water and sand. The house had a very must smell, particularly on the bottom floor. They changed out all of the sheets for the beds, but I don't think the bedspreads have ever been washed. Also the kitchen counters had not been wiped down and they do not provide kitchen towels at all. They left a welcome bag of toilet paper and hand sanitizer, but only 3 rolls of TP for a 4 bathroom house, and there was NO TP already in the bathroom. Not to mention, no hand soap, paper towels or garbage bags provided. I wish some of this had been outlined in advance, given the distance to grocery store. On the positive side, the pool was very well maintained as was the hot tub. The house was close to the beach which was very convenient.

Pros: * short walk to the beach * plenty of bedrooms * great pool area Cons: * house wasn’t beet clean upon arrival * found roach in bed * poor quantity linens * poor quality kitchen utensils/pots/pans * road to house was flooded and in disrepair (thankfully we had a truck) * very slow drains

Checkin process was a pain. We showed up and everyone was done cleaning and we contacted the property manager and told them everyone was already there and gone. So we waited for 2-3 hours for them to sign off on the house. Also wasn’t a fan of the area.

The whole process of even booming the house was a hassle with surf or sound. Donna Crawford is what ruined the whole experience. Was overcharged, refunded, overcharged , refunded. Their accounting makes this process feel like I went through a McDonald’s drive through to order a vacation house.