Vacation Rentals by Owner
Bit O'Beach Heaven - Oceanfront/Best Deck on the Beach! [#140471] | View Property
St. Augustine
House, 4 Bedrooms, 2 Baths (Sleeps 8-10)
$1700 - $2500/wk
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Traveler Reviews (14)
Comfortable Beach Home
Guest: Rob&Do
(Ottawa, Ontario, Canada)
Date of Stay: 02/01/12
Review Submitted: 05/19/12
My wife and I spent a portion of winter 2012 in this home. We selected the property because of its location (right on the beach) and its proximity (10-12 minutes north of St. Augustine). Groceries and other day to day supplies are less than 10 minutes away. Having a car is strongly recommended as there is not much within walking distance. The home itself is comfortable and well appointed. There's a small but cozy living room with a flat screen TV, a fully operational kitchen, a great little BBQ (for when you feel like cooking with fire) and of course, the deck. The east facing deck is certainly one of the highlights of this property where you can watch the sun come up with your first cup of coffee. The beach itself is not particularly busy, which certainly appealed to us. The listing is accurate as the photos and description do reflect the property. We would respectfully suggest that there's enough bed space for only eight people, before you start overflowing to the couch and other 'secondary' sleeping arrangements. Overall, we distinctly had the impression that this was a family home (as opposed to a corporate rental property) and as such, was appointed accordingly and had a nice 'lived-in' feel. We found it a clean, very comfortable home for the two of us and our pooch. In conclusion, we felt we received good value for our money and we enjoyed our time on the beach in the St. Augustine area. I would not hesitate recommend this property to a friend or relative. As for us, we'll be back.
Recommended for:Age 55+, girls getaway, pet owners, romantic getaway, sightseeing.
Guests from Georgia
Guest: Guests from Georgia
(Georgia)
Date of Stay: 10/13/11
Review Submitted: 10/26/11
We enjoyed our stay at a Bit O Beach Heaven. The place was clean and comfortable. Owners were helpful with specific details and the bottle of wine was a nice touch. The reef was delicious but a bit pricey for the amount of food portions. Clarks was the best; however, cooking and staying on site provided a day to view the most beautiful sunset and sunrises we have ever seen. Coffee pot upstairs is great for quick access from the fantastic deck for morning coffee...where we shared lots of fun stories. We look forward to our next trip.
Recommended for:Age 55+, families with teenagers, girls getaway.
Melissa from Atlanta
Guest: MiMi
(Atlanta)
Date of Stay: 09/30/11
Review Submitted: 10/08/11
We were so sad when it was time to pack up and leave Bit 'O Heaven. The week was wonderful. Everything was just as described on the website. The huge deck is wonderful and all the required furniture and toys are readily available. The beach was wonderful and almost deserted in early October. The water was warm and the breeze was perfect. The owners were readily availbe for any issue that came up. We found several restaurants within a few miles that we really enjoyed. We especially enjoyed Aunt Kate's back porch. We had both lunch and dinner there. The service was great and the intercoastal view was relaxing and fun. A beautiful egret joined us for lunch. The close proximity to St. Augustine provided any grocery needs that we had in addition to a wonderful day of sightseeing. Part of our group had a wonderful time on the nearby golf courses. I would have given five stars except that our Verizon phones had very poor coverage. The ATT iPhones in our group worked fine. The weather was excellent. On the one cloudy day we enjoyed watching several movies that the owner provided. We hope to have the opportunity to visit this piece of heaven again. The photos that I've shared with my family look like they have a fake background however it was the real thing! A wonderful time was had by all! Thanks for sharing your home for our family get away!
Recommended for:Age 55+, families with young children, girls getaway, pet owners, sightseeing.
Much needed family vacation
Guest: DJ & Family
(Gainesville, FL)
Date of Stay: 09/10/11
Review Submitted: 09/23/11
We thoroughly enjoyed the week's stay. Our three adult children whose families stayed only two nights each this vacation plan to come for the whole week next year. We'll need to find two places! Although older, the home was spotless, well stocked with household items & well maintained with plenty of room to relax in the multiple seating areas. Even though pet-friendly, everything was fresh and clean. We particularly loved shell seeking, watching the sunrise from the deck and walking on the beach. There are wonderful resturants nearby. My daughter will remember it as the place where her soon to be husband proposed.
Recommended for:Age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, pet owners.
Happy Vacationers
Guest: Grandparents & Family
(Cornersville, TN)
Date of Stay: 07/02/11
Review Submitted: 07/24/11
This house and beach access looks just like the pictures. Directions to house are clear and easy to follow. Our family has rented this home for a week in the summertime for the past four years and plan to do so again next year. We have always found it to be clean and comfortable with the amenities mentioned in the listing. We especially enjoy the large upstairs deck for viewing the ocean and the ocean only being a few steps away. The owners are available by telephone for any questions or problems. There is a house book that spells out both owners and renters responsibilities. It also has helpful information on activities, attractions and restaurants in the area. We used to live in Jacksonville and visited the beach on a daily trip basis. Therefore, our vacation is spent pretty much staying at the house and enjoying the beach with our son, his wife and our two grandsons. The beach has never been crowded. We would recommend this home to anyone wanting a good beach experience.
Recommended for:Age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, pet owners, romantic getaway, sightseeing.
Bit O' Beach Heaven
Guest: nelsbone
(Gallipolis, Ohio)
Date of Stay: 06/11/11
Review Submitted: 06/20/11
Perfect property for families with kids! You have all the supplies that you need at the house plus a secluded beach. Compare to other properties and notice no upfront fees are needed until 30 days prior. This was a big selling point for us. As for the review for the family from "Hawaii": They were trippin' or trying to get a free ride. I'm thinking alittle of both. Hope to rent from you again, Rick and Jenny!
Recommended for:Families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, pet owners, sightseeing.
How can you not feel like you are at a Bit O'Beach Heaven here?
Guest: Beachlover
(Florida)
Date of Stay: 04/22/11
Review Submitted: 04/28/11
What a wonderful location and place this is. The house is clean, well kept and spacious with plenty of room. It makes you feel at home. The deck is truly a wonderful place to enjoy breakfast and dinner as the sun is rising and setting or to just relax and listen to the sound of the waves. The beach is great and has lots of soft sand with areas to find shells too. The house has all the things you need handy while enjoying your time getting kissed by the Florida sun. I would highly recommend this location for a family vacation or if you want to just relax.
Recommended for:
Best Family Vacation
Guest: Family Fun
(Buffalo, NY)
Date of Stay: 04/16/11
Review Submitted: 05/02/11
This was our 4th family trip down to Ponte Vedra. I can honestly say, it was our best. The house was great. It had everything our family needed. It was very clean, very well maintained and plenty of room for 7 people. We loved eating breakfast on the deck every morning and watching the dolphins swim by. We spent many hours playing, relaxing, fishing and walking on the beach. We spent a day in St. Augustine (10-15 minutes away) site seeing and shopping and went deep sea fishing. It truly was a GREAT vacation for us. I would highly recommend staying here. We are already looking forward to coming back next year.
Recommended for:Age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, romantic getaway, sightseeing.
The worst rental ever encountered
Guest: clean is good
(Hawaii)
Date of Stay: 03/05/11
Review Submitted: 04/14/11
Dilapidated, run-down house in serious need of maintenance and repairs. Every room was dirty, almost every piece of furniture stained, worn, or old. Our first day was spent cleaning..list of items in need of attention is staggering, the condition of this house is grotesque and a gross misrepresentation Bottom line: This house is completely undeserving to be offered as a rental' everything was either worn, soiled, dirty or broken. The bedding is gross, furniture spray pained and peeling off, no operable windows, duck taped shut. this is a disgrace. NEVER reccommend this property to anyone.
Owner response:This is a difficult review to respond to because it so untrue. There are no stains, and nothing soiled, dirty or broken. This is our second home. It is a beautiful home we love and use often ourselves so we take great pride in making sure it is up to date, comfortable and obviously always perfectly clean. It is not a fancy home and not all of the furniture is brand new but it is an extremely comfortable and beautifully decorated beach home. We have had over 300 happy families stay at our home over the past several years (some come back year after year) with nary a complaint and certainly no bad reviews. That should say something. All of our guests (well, almost) love the home. The description and photos tell the story. This particular renter never called us throughout their stay to have us correct any problem they may have had, which we always do. Only later did they email us a threatening letter with a request for a full refund. We would not do that so I suppose this is their way to get back at us. I do not know. I can only assume they tried their best to get a free rental. Please feel free to call me or my wife, Jenny, if you have any questions at all. Rick Carney
Recommended for:
The "Hawaii" Review is Wrong!
Guest: Patti
(Duluth, GA)
Date of Stay: 01/08/11
Review Submitted: 04/21/11
My family stayed at this home earlier this year and had a wonderful time and plan to rent it again later this year. We intended to write a nice review after our stay and just now got around to it but noticed the bad review from "Hawaii" in the process. That is so unfair!!!! The Carney's were wonderful. They met us at the home to show us around and made it perfectly clear that if we have any issues or problems to let them know and they would take care of it as quickly as possible. We had no issues. We thought the home was great. It was comfortable, well equipped, clean and was perfect for our family. No problems at all. The idea that the furniture is old or soiled or torn is absolutely not true. We found the kitchen to be well stocked with plenty of glasses, plates, cookware and more. We thought the home was everything as adverised at a very fair rate. We cannot imagine that the Carney's would let their home go or not attend to the needs of their guests! It was one of the best rental experiences we have had since renting homes for our vacations. We would recommend this home to anyone! Very comfortable with a great deck right on the ocean along with our own catwalk leading out to the beautiful uncrowded beach. Fabulous! That is why we are coming back.
Recommended for:Age 55+