Thomas Cottage: Oceanfront home with private pool, ocean views, outdoor shower, & beach access

Hi there, We loved the pool and general layout/ somewhat modern feel of the home. The elevator is such a plus! The kitchen is fairly well stocked and we spent a great amount of time around the enormous island area. The beds are comfortable. However, we’ve stayed at Thomas Cottage for the past two years and unfortunately, for the price increase and mediocre quality of our stay, we will not be returning next year. The coffee table was broken and pushed against the wall when we got there (a leg was dangling), posing a hazard to our kids. Some of the walls are filthy, as are ALL of the baseboards. I am not just talking about the normal wear and tear scuff marks, but literal dirt/stains on the walls that I wiped off myself. The vent at the top of the steps in front of the elevator had a thick layer of dust all over it; how a cleaning person doesn’t see that is beyond me! I had to wipe down the baseboards in my kids’ bunk bed room, as well as clear as day boogers off the walls next to their beds. Half of our sheets were put on inside out. If you opened any of the closet doors, dust balls flew out at you. I tried to sweep around as some rugs were still covered in sand, but the sweeper is so jammed/brush roll indicator light is on, it was impossible to even use (no wonder there was still sand on the rugs). In terms of outdoors, the weeds by the pool are out of control. This is basic landscaping/upkeep. Almost every door was so rusted you couldn’t open them. We had to have maintenance come to replace knobs on two doors in particular that we used most often. To pay this amount of money and not have a 5 star stay, is simply ludicrous. Please do better housekeeping. You, alone, will put these homeowners out of business. This is not my intention with this review, but I do want to make renters aware of the kinds of issues they are facing for the price they pay, as well as to gain Vacasa’s attention on the housekeeping situation. I realize the cleaning companies only have so much time before the new renters come through, each week, but even so, the condition of the home was unacceptable. Yes, I cleaned what I could and just rolled with it, as I am on vacation, but I will not be accepting this moving forward. We are hoping our stay next year, elsewhere, is better. We’ve been coming to Holden for 20 years and this year, we truly felt taken advantage of (again, the cleanliness of the home nearly ruined our stay). Thanks.

I loved the location, decor, comfortable beds and a bathroom with every bedroom. Perfect arrangement for our family of 10.

The Thomas Cottage was amazing! Great location, very clean and easy access to food and recreation.The gas grill did need a good cleaning, which we did. Others this was very noice place to stay. Would stay there again.

We’ve been renting beach homes for 30 years and this home was the absolute best! Really loved the neutral colors inside which accentuated God’s beauty outside. Highly recommend!

This is second year at Thomas Cottage for girls trip. Home is exactly as described and will return again!

House us very pretty. Would like more chairs with backs.

I had reservations about working with a company rather than individual owners for our rental but everything about vacasa worked really well. There were a few items that needed attended to regarding the house, and Vacasa was prompt in reply and maintenance. The house is beautiful and the beach was great! Having a pool was awesome too. We recommend this house for a big family. The floor plan is a bit weird but very beautiful!

Location on beach and pool adjacent to house.

Our major issue with this property was it was advertised under the Amenities as having 1) Private Pool 2) Heated Pool. We stayed over Memorial Day Week and the pool was far from Heated. The adults could not swim and the 2 children swam a little but froze to death. I had contacted the Relators 2 weeks prior to confirm the pool would be heated and to find out if we had to pay an extra fee to have it heated and were told that NO we couldn't pay the 85.00/ DAY EXTRA fee for heat as the owner would ONLY allow heating from November - April. My point is that it was falsely advertised as having a heated pool and it is EXTRA to rent a house with a private pool (compared to houses without) so we paid for a pool but were not able to enjoy it. They said they would change the amenity description however that did nothing for our stay.

Beautiful new construction with thoughtful, quality features throughout. Light and bright decor, and even more spacious than the pictures suggest. Wonderfully comfortable beds and linens. Oh -- and the elevator -- I can imagine how helpful it would be for my elderly parents or those with mobility issues... not to mention that it was great for unloading and loading our stuff! The beach and the view speak for themselves, and we appreciated being on the comparatively quiet east side of the island with a 3/4 mile walk to the point and inlet by Oak Island (though really Holden Beach is so low-key in general). Suggestions: extend the pool heating season to end of May (pool was a little too cool), and consider proving basic beach equipment (we rented beach chairs and beach towels locally). Overall a fantastic stay at the house and seamless customer experience with the property management company (Vacasa).