Vacation Rentals by Owner

The Perfect House for Us...All Twelve of Us!

Guest: Julie from OK (Oklahoma)
Date of Stay: 09/17/11 Review Submitted: 09/30/11

We stayed at Survivor 9/17/2011 to 9/24/2011 and absolutely loved the house, beach, and the town of Dauphin Island. Our family vacationed with another family at Survivor bringing our total number of children in the house to eight with the youngest being two and the oldest thirteen. None of us felt crowded as the open floor plan provided plenty of room during meal-time or watching television. The kitchen was well equipped. The bedrooms were roomy and comfortable. The house and location was just as described in the ad for the house. It was perfect for us and again, plenty of room! The view of the Mississippi Sound was beautiful! Regarding the beach, there were more than enough beach toys and the cart proved to be so useful in getting everything down to the beach whether it was the Sound side or Gulf side. The husbands found plenty of places to fish. We ate at the Common Loon for one meal and the seafood was fresh and well prepared! I had the shrimp basket and can honestly say that it was some of the best shrimp I've ever eaten. My husband had the Mahi Mahi which was also delicious. Fort Gaines is a must-see. Our whole group enjoyed touring the fort and learning of it's exciting history. Carol, the owner, was attentive to every request and so helpful when we had a mild emergency. You couldn't ask for anyone better to work with. We've vacationed on the gulf several times, but Dauphin Island has honestly captured our hearts! And you CAN'T GO WRONG with Survivor! ~Julie from Oklahoma~

Recommended for:Families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway.

Exceeded every expectation

Guest: MandKfams (Springfield, MO)
Date of Stay: 08/06/11 Review Submitted: 09/01/11

From the beginning, Carol and Ed were easy to work with, honest, and professional. Our stay included 2 families with 5 children ages between 3 and 7. We couldn't have asked for a better setting. We had more than enough room and especially appreciated the dining room table that we could all fit at. The house was outfitted with more than enough supplies - plenty of bedding, pillows, towels, dishes, pots, pans, utensils, first aid supplies, games, puzzles, movies, books, beach toys, umbrellas, and we were especially thankful for the wagon to tote all our "necessities" to the beach and back. It was great having access to the beach on both the gulf side and the sound side. We stayed pretty busy visiting Fort Gaines, and took some outings to Mobile to see the USS Alabama and even went to New Orleans for a day (a 2 hour drive) but also loved the days when our most pressing question was "Which beach, bay side or gulf side?". You will not regret staying at Survivor. We are already recommending it to friends who are looking for a relaxing beach vacation.

Recommended for:Families with young children

Family Vacation for Three Generations!

Guest: Seahawk (Rockaway Beach, MO)
Date of Stay: 07/09/11 Review Submitted: 07/17/11

Our family spent a wonderful week in the beach house "Survivor". There were 6 children under the age of 8 and 7 adults for the week and we were all comfortable. The calm water behind the house was perfect for the little ones to splash and gather crabs. The Gulf beach was easy to access and provided plenty of entertainment for everyone. The house was equipped with everything we needed and more, including a portable awning, beach chairs, sand toys, bikes, flashlights (for evening crabbing), an ice-maker, and plenty of seating on the large deck. It was a great family vacation and I would recommend this house for others who want to spend quality time together. Sunrise on the back deck and sunset on the front porch, a wonderful beach experience.

Recommended for:Age 55+, families with young children, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Survivor 6/25/2011

Guest: Arkansas family (Rogers, AR)
Date of Stay: 06/25/11 Review Submitted: 07/07/11

We had a great vacation! This house is in a great location, well equiped, clean, comfortable and beautiful. If anything, the pictures don't do it justice. It had much more room than I anticipated. We had 9 adults, 3 kids and 2 babies and everyone had their own space. We will definitely keep this in mind for our next beach vacation.

Recommended for:Families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway.

This House made our Trip

Guest: cajunmomma (Leesville)
Date of Stay: 06/18/11 Review Submitted: 06/26/11

We stayed in "the Survivor" in June 2011 and it was exactly how it was described. The house is very well planned out and very spacious. We were able to take a short walk to play in the waves from the Gulf in front and we would walk out the back door and go crabbing in the evening. If we came back to dauphin island we would definitely book this house again!

Recommended for:Age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

absolutely the BEST VRBO experience ever!

Guest: meg (chicago)
Date of Stay: 04/23/11 Review Submitted: 04/02/12

Being back at work today, makes me so sad that just one week ago we were at Carol/Ed's home in Dauphin Island. truly, only bring your clothes, food/drink/toiletries/paper products, because it is stocked with virtually everything you would and could ever need. comfortable, clean, Carol is a gem and so very kind. There were 10 of us, and it could NOT have been more perfect. memories were made, and we will make this an annual trip! You too will be sad when you leave... the beaches...oh, the beaches...were amazing!

Recommended for:Age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway.

Pristine Beaches, Fablous house!

Guest: Pam71 (Seattle)
Date of Stay: 03/04/11 Review Submitted: 03/19/11

We came back again after our stay last year and weren't sure about what to expect after the oil spill for the beaches. Not an issue at all- we walked up & down the sound side and the gulf side without any hint of oil. The house again wowed family that came in from out of state and kids from preschoolers to teenagers had something to do when the weather got cold. You will simply not be disappointed with this house. So spacious and well stocked! Without a doubt, we'll be back!

Recommended for:Age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, romantic getaway.

Guest: Pam71 (Seattle)
Date of Stay: 02/22/10 Review Submitted: 02/22/10

WE had 2 families with 4 children under the age of 5 stay here for a week and never felt cramped or crowded! The house is built for entertaining. We have family in Mobile and hosted dinners for the group twice and it was a breeze in the well equipped kitchen. You will NOT be disappointed with this house. We'll most likely be back here next year!

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Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 12/23/09 Review Submitted: 12/23/09

My family recently stayed at The Survivor and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We knew we needed to spend quality time as a family away from the "rat race" of everyday life and Dauphin Island is the best place to do it. Dauphin Island is a quiet beach with very little commercial immenities which forced us into playing board games and cards, cooking and baking, walking on the beach finding shells, riding bikes, etc... just good family fun. We never turned on the TV!! Thank you for allowing my family to stay in your spectacular beach house and spend such quality fun together.

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Guest: Judy Horstman (Yorba Linda,Ca.)
Date of Stay: 11/09/09 Review Submitted: 11/08/09

We stayed at Survivor October the 14th through the 21st, 2009. It surpassed our expectations!!! We knew it would be beautiful because of the pictures posted on the Web. I have to say the pictures did not do it justice!! It was more beautiful than the pictures! Every window and every door we looked out of was a beautiful view of the beach! It was a very comfortable house. The beds were comfortable. We had everything we needed and then some!!! There were five adults and a 19 month old baby in our group. It was big enough more people could have stayed there. We all slept real well, even the baby!! She slept in the Pac-n-Play that was included with the house. It was perfect! A high chair came with the house as well. It was real nice. We all said, Wow, when we first walked in and saw what the house really looked like! Our stay was wonderful!!! Every one of us at one time or another during our stay said they loved Survivor! You bet we would stay there again! Thank you so much Ed and Carol for all your thoughtfulness in making our stay so comfortable while we were there and for sharing your beautiful Survivor with us! The Horstmans, from Yorba Linda, Ca.

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Guest: LaJeanna Finley (Portageville,MO)
Date of Stay: 08/07/09 Review Submitted: 08/07/09

We stayed in this house from July 18 thruough July 25, 2009. I will admit that getting a house on the internet was a huge concern for us. Our daughter was getting married and we wanted a great place to spend the week before. This house exceeded our expectations. The pictures are the same as the house but left out features like the huge kitchen and dining area. There were 10 of us and EVERYONE loved the house. In fact, we have received several thank you notes since returning home thanking us for finding such a wonderful place for our vacation. There was not one thing we didn't love about this house and hope to go there again.

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Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 07/12/09 Review Submitted: 07/12/09

We brought our family here in July 2009. The house was beautiful! It had most everything we needed for the week! We enjoyed both beaches as the weather was beautiful! This is a great place to relax and have alot of family fun time! We fished, swam, played in the sand and relaxed. It was a perfect week! Thanks Carol!

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Guest: Amber Walter (-)
Date of Stay: 07/05/09 Review Submitted: 07/05/09

I really want to thank Carol for letting us use her home for our vacation. The house alone is great but then you get the PRIVATE beach. NO CROWDS at all. We had at total of 13 and we had more than enough space. The views are breathe taking. There is nothing like being able to set on the deck and feel the breeze off the ocean and watch the sunset. It is a great place to relax and unwind. I will refer this house to everyone I possibly can.

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Guest: tina42 (Arkansas)
Date of Stay: 06/13/09 Review Submitted: 06/13/09

We stay the fist week of June and the weather was great and the house far exceeded our expectations. The kitchen was well equipped. and the house and views were beautiful. Carol was very helpful in all we needed. thanks, for the great vacation. we hope to come again another time and will use the same place if possible.

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Guest: Candace3 (Columbia, MO)
Date of Stay: 04/23/09 Review Submitted: 04/23/09

Our family, as well as another family stayed in this home in late march, 2009. We had a fantastic vacation. There were 10 of us total, 4 adults and 6 kids, and we had plenty of room to spread out. This is a wonderful home, and it is in a really great location. We were able to swim in both the Mississippi sound, as well as the Gulf of Mexico on the same day. The beach out the back door is like a built in playground, and all of the kids(ranging in age from 10 to 4) had a fantastic time! The house has everything that you could need to have a great time with family and friends. The kitchen is well equipped, and has a good set up for collaborative cooking. The living room has plenty of space to spread out, and also there is lot's of deck seating, and eating area. The beds were comfortable, linens provided. We could have easily had another family of 4 or 5 join us. We really had a wonderful vacation, and hated to leave. We hope to be able to go back some day!

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Guest: Connie Krist (-)
Date of Stay: 04/17/09 Review Submitted: 04/17/09

All I can say is WOW!!! A few weeks ago, my daughter's wedding was held at this very nice and spacious beach house. The ceremony was held on the beach behind the beach house. The setting was fantastic! All of the guests were able to watch the ceremony from the enormous decks on the back of the house. After the bride and groom left, we cleaned up the wedding decorations and they were able to come back to the beach house to stay for their honeymoon. It all worked out wonderfully! We highly recommend this beach house....wedding or not!

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Guest: lito Castelo (Atlanta, GA)
Date of Stay: 02/01/09 Review Submitted: 02/01/09

The House was beautiful! The views are amazing! We had a wonderful thanksgiving here. The Kids enjoyed the beach, the views and the overall atmosphere. Thanks again for your hospitality. We are looking forward to renting your house next year and all the new memories Dauphin Island will bring.

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Guest: Jen Brauer (Billings, MT)
Date of Stay: 06/04/08 Review Submitted: 06/04/08

This home was amazing!! We will absolutely return for another visit. Beautiful beach right off the deck. Dauphin Island was great for the kids and the fresh seafood from the island was delicious and the deep Sea fishing was great.

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