We opened the door and stepped into paradise!

Guest: Dan (Maplewood, Minnesota)
Date of Stay: 01/14/12 Review Submitted: 01/21/12

This gorgeous home far exceeded our expectations. Clean, spacious, and beautifully furnished...it was perfect in every way! It easily accomodated our family of 9 adults very comfortably. The location on the beach was ideal. In all, this lovely home had everything we wanted and hoped for. We HIGHLY RECOMMEND this wonderful property to all. Thank you for sharing this beautiful home with us. Our warm, wonderful memories will last a lifetime...

Recommended for:Sightseeing, adventure seekers, girls getaway, age 55+, families with teenagers.

Spectacular views, breath-taking home

Guest: campertmb (McDonough, GA)
Date of Stay: 12/23/11 Review Submitted: 01/06/12

Ten of us, plus two four-legged boys, stayed at the Estate for Christmas 2011. The decor and design of the house is amazing. We had plenty of room to spread out, yet enough space to gather together. The owners were kind enough to have a large Christmas tree for us to put our gifts under and for Santa to leave surprises for all the girls. The spa is one of the nicest we have ever used and it's great not to have to climb up to get into it. The pool area was just beautiful, especially the fountain. On the down side, it seems strange to have such a large, lovely dining room but not enough chairs or a large enough table to accommodate at least 10. Sharing meals is one of the things our group enjoys most, so it was a little sad that the children were in the dining room and the adults in the beautiful breakfast area. We also had some difficulty with the stove. It would heat up and then seem to cool down after a few minutes. A "quick" stir-fry" dinner took more than an hour to cook. The dishwasher also didn't do a very good job. We usually washed by hand and then put in the dishwasher. As with most rentals designed for large groups, we wish we could have had more serving bowls, but there was a great supply of tableware and dishes. A slow cooker would also be nice for putting on a pot of soup or chili. And, finally, we couldn't get two of the games in the game room to work. On the plus side, the washer and dryer worked great. We were able to spend a lot of time in St. Augustine, where the food is pretty good and the shopping is great and the history is overwhelming. We took a walking ghost tour that was just O.K. because our guide was not as animated as others we overheard, but it was a good outing. The trolleys are a great way to get around and get a scope of places you may want to visit. We had a wonderful late lunch at Caps on the Water, and we highly recommend the gator tail and the tacos--the tuna taco is mouthwatering. The weather was wonderful and we were able to spend a lot of time on the beach which had an abundance of great conch shells. Overall, this place is fantastic. It was very clean and the pictures are accurate. I would certainly recommend it to friends or family. The twins (8) say that this is the best place we have ever stayed and they want to go back again!

Owner response:We certainly enjoyed having Joyce and her extended family stay at Ocean Estate...And we appreciated her nice comments and recommendation. Just to clear up some of her small concerns, the large glass dining room table seats eight (about as big as you can get) and the breakfast room has a large round table that another seats eight comfortably. We have checked the stove and it is fine. The dishwasher is new and works fine. We have hard water in this area thus the home has a large water softener to help as well as we leave specific soaps for the new dishwasher so our guests have clear clean dishes. One of the three game machines in the game room is out of order (with a sign) but the other two work fine. As with all of our guests, had we heard of any issues we would have done our best to correct them right away ... From bringing additional serving bowls to showing a guest how to work the dishwasher and stove correctly. We did not hear from Joyce ... But, we are always available to help our guests. Ocean Estate is truly the premier home on the beach in this area. Rick

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, sightseeing, pet owners, adventure seekers, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Wonderful Beach Home

Guest: Family with Kids (Tifton, Georgia)
Date of Stay: 09/25/11 Review Submitted: 10/10/11

Our family had a great time, and we hope to return. St. Augustine is only 8 miles away. Beach is very nice, and one hardly sees anyone else in either direction. We found 2 sharks' teeth without much effort.

Recommended for:Families with young children.

Gorgeous Beach wedding

Guest: Nancy (Jacksonville, Florida)
Date of Stay: 09/23/10 Review Submitted: 08/22/11

My daughter and son-in-law fell in love with Ocean Estate at first glance. They said their vows on the beach and their reception was both inside and on the pool deck for seventy-five people. The pictures turned out fantastic! They had the wedding party stay prior to the wedding and we had our siblings stay after the wedding. There was plenty of space and lots to do and just time to relax. There are several great restaurants in the area. Rick and Jenny were wonderful to work with and made the rental process worry-free! Thanks for some cherished family memories!

Recommended for:Sightseeing, pet owners, girls getaway, age 55+.

PATRICIA IN HOUSTON TEXAS

Guest: patricia b.
Date of Stay: 03/16/11 Review Submitted: 08/13/11

This was our best vacation ever the description of this home cannot be expressed in word you have to see it to believe it. We went on vaction 4 couples and not once did we bump into each other house is huge. The pictures are exactly what you get plus some . We thank you for sharing your home with us we plan on coming back soon Patricia and Family

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, adventure seekers, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Fantastic Week on the Beach

Guest: Steve (Dallas)
Date of Stay: 07/30/11 Review Submitted: 08/11/11

We were a little sceptical when we read the property description - no place could be that good! Well thankfully we were wrong, it was the perfect house for all of us. Lots of room to "disappear" if you wanted time to yourself, lots of things to do if you wanted to have fun together. Having the gameroom downstairs was great - the kids could turn the music up and we couldn't even hear them upstairs. And the bedrooms, it's awesome waking up and seeing the sun come up over the ocean. And having both the pool and ocean to swim in was great. It's a huge benefit. Thank you - we are already planning our trip for next year!

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

Our June 2011 stay at Ocean Estate

Guest: Beach lover's (Virginia)
Date of Stay: 07/16/11 Review Submitted: 08/01/11

We had 3 families staying at the "Estate" and really, really enjoyed the pool, it was so refreshing at anytime of the day! Everyone loved the flat sand beaches, with so much privacy, it was great for the runners and bikers in our group. Also for the sand castle creators! The house was quite comfortable and the supplies of towels, soaps, paper supplies were a plus and a big help for starting a great stay. Our weather was very hot so it made St. Augustine trips a challenge, but they still were interesting. Could recommend the Cap's restaurant, it was fantastic with wonderful seafood and service!

Recommended for:Sightseeing, pet owners, girls getaway, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Will in Atlanta

Guest: Will (Atlanta, GA)
Date of Stay: 05/16/11 Review Submitted: 05/24/11

For the second consecutive year, I have rented the Ocean Estate working with Rick and Jenny. I find they are professional and very helpful - making the transaction easy and user friendly. The home is lovely with everything easily at your fingertips. It's the perfect low-stress / no-stress vacation in a truly unspoiled beach location. I'd highly recommend this home to family and friends for a great Florida getaway.

Recommended for:Sightseeing, girls getaway, age 55+, families with teenagers.