Original Cottage, recent upgrades, Beach 100'' ,Pool, 4 Bed, and 2 Ba

After reading mixed, we decided to take a chance. Big mistake. We arrived at to a filthy house (slept in beds, dirty linens & bathrooms, etc). We contacted the daughter of the owner. She couldn’t get in touch with the cleaning company, so she booked us two rooms at a local hotel. We only had a mini refrigerator, so we had to keep our food in our cooler overnight. She contacted me late that night to say the unit was being cleaned, fresh linens would be delivered, and we could move in the next day. We lost an entire day of our vacation (couldn’t shop for groceries or unpack until Sunday) The house had been cleaned, but we did have to purchase cleaning supplies for very dirty sliding doors, counters, tables, etc. The coded entry way has a very rusty doorknob that scratches your skin when opening the door. It opens to the basement area where the washer and dryer are located. This area stayed damp, musty, and moldy the entire week we were there, making it unusable for us. The stairways leading to the first floor of the house and the one leading to the second floor don’t have a handrails for the bottom three stairs. With mobility issues, this may be a problem. 1st floor bathroom tub doesn’t drain well, so we all shared the shower on the second floor. The doorknob sticks and I was stuck in the bathroom several times. We stopped closing the door to prevent this from happening. There was a brush behind the toilet that had been used to unclog the toilet. It was covered in dried feca

Cottage beach charm that feels like coming to a well loved family beach home where years of memories have been made. The host was super attentive and helpful when a minor issue arose, they had it fixed in a snap and communication was exceptional. The short walk to the beach was perfect and the pool was a nice bonus and enjoyed multiple times. The book of everything binder was a very personal touch and gave use some great recommendations for the area. The aminities were some of the best we have had at an OBX rental. The drive to some fun activities is super convenient from this location. If we come back to Corolla in the future, we will be booking the Mermaid Cottage again to make more memories. Thank you for being such a great host and letting us enjoy a wonderful week at the OBX in your cute beach home!

Our family has stayed at Mermaid Cottage many years. Two years ago, it was not available, so our family stayed at a very modern, really big house in a similar location. Funny, though, everyone (4 adults) preferred Mermaid Cottage. It was perfect for what we needed. It was, and should be, a Beach House!!! Exactly what we loved!

Property was perfect location from all activities. Loved the private beaxh area. Owners responded promptly to a issue.

We all loved this property and were so sad to leave. Perfect location with the porch looking over the nature preserve, quick walk to ice cream and Harris Teeter, 2 min walk to the beach and an amazing pool to cool down in.

This was our second stay, we came back for the proximity to the beach, neighborhood and pool, all of which are excellent for the price. We were disappointed this year with the cleanliness. When we arrived, the floor was sandy, the dishwasher wasn’t emptied, one of the beds had sand in it, and one of the trash bins wasn’t emptied.

The Mermaid Cottage was so much better than we had anticipated re: the poor reviews. The house was perfect for our group of 2 families with 4 under 8yo between us, and it was as clean as any of our other beach stays other than some sunscreen on a patio table. The layout was 2 bdrms & bath in one section of the first floor (along with kitchen, dining area, and sitting area in the other section) and then 2 bedrooms and a bath upstairs. There's also the typical outdoor shower. The decks were in great shape with plenty of chairs and great views including an ocean view from the top floor balcony (though it is off of a bedroom). We don't go to OBX to sit inside, so the small size and well loved decor were welcome touches. When were weren't at the beach, we were in the smallish but clean pool. There were a ton of games, books, and even colored pencils and a coloring book. The location can't be beat for the price. It didn't feel like an effort at all to walk to the beach a few times a day. The beach itself was never crowded and since it's private, we saw many of the same folks all week. Overall one of my best beach stays and will try to book again next time we're in OBX.

The house was very nice. Simple 1 minute walk and you’re on the beach. Pool was nice to relax in

We enjoyed the very close proximity to the beach, the pool, 3 tv’s each with Apple TV devices, outside shower, grill area, like-new washer and dryer, and availability of high-quality beach chairs and 3 coolers. Some things that disappointed us: there was a strong urine odor in the first floor master closet and a similar but lesser smell in the bunk bedroom next to that closet; perhaps from the pack-and-play or bedding that was in that closet? It seemed that some areas in the house could use a deep cleaning, but overall, we enjoyed our stay. We appreciated the phone calls from the owners whenever we texted with questions.

Cottage was perfect for a family getaway. It isn't anything fancy but certainly just right for family with kids. Owner was quick to respond to all correspondences and also worked with me as I booked unusual days. The VRBO app didn't correct me to do a Saturday to Saturday rental and she worked with what I booked even though it threw off the cleaners and the rental schedule. The cleaners however I would say are subpar. I did find their info on a paper under a side table on the third day. Had I seen it the first day I'd have contacted them. I do know the owner would have made arrangements if Id have complained to her but after a 12 hour drive I didn't want to pack back up and sleep somewhere else because the cleaners did a garbage job. Besides the cleaners sucking it was a really nice time. Kids lived in the pool and the beach was a hop, skip and a jump away. The neighborhood was also mostly quiet and we appreciated that as well.

Owner was great. She went out of her way to accommodate our last minute booking. Everything as advertised.Location was great. Short 2 minute walk to beach. 8 minute walk to grocery. Perfect for our family of 6.