didn't want to leave!

Guest: renee f. (pittsburgh, pa)
Date of Stay: 07/26/08 Review Submitted: 02/17/09

My family loved this home: it was spacious, well appointed and only four houses in from beautiful Belmar beach. The house itself is beautiful, and the kitchen and bathrooms have been nicely updated. The owners provided many books and games for entertainment, the kitchen was well stocked with equipment and basic supplies, and the beach badges were an added pleasant surprise. The rooms are a perfect size, not too big and not too small and the general layout of the house is fabulous: if you have kids you can put them in the upper level rooms and then close the door at the top of the stairs: you'll feel like you're on vacation without them LOL. At night, the breeze coming off the ocean was delightfully refreshing when sitting on the front deck and you can't beat a 2 minute walk to the beach itself. Location-wise, there are several places to shop well within walking distance [7-11 was 2 blocks, dunkin' donuts 4] from the house making it very convenient. Walking into town is a bit further, maybe 6 blocks but really isn't that far. Also, there is nothing better in Belmar than having your own off street parking spot. I grew up less than 15 minutes from Belmar so I am quite familiar with the surrounding areas -- there is plenty of shopping nearby, Pt. Pleasant beach is a few minutes away for a nice little boardwalk with attractions and an aquarium (perfect for a rainy day), Manasquan reservoir in Howell for a nature hike (also has an environmental center for kids), Great Adventure amusement park (we DONT recommend the water park there, we went last year and it was the worst water park we'd ever been to), outlet shopping in Jackson...you can even catch a train into NYC right from Belmar if you want to hit the city for a day [or night]. Belmar beach itself is a great little beach--very clean it also has a boardwalk with a few concessions: great for early morning runs/walks/bike rides. You can also rent a boat from the marina if that's your thing. Seaside Heights has a huge boardwalk and is not that far away, and Atlantic City is even doable for a day trip. Don't forget Asbury Park if you are a Bruce fan! (what can i say, I'm a true Jersey girl). We highly recommend this lovely home. (we recommend for tourists w/out a car but in that case bicycles would be nice to have- you can probably even rent them somewhere but not sure where)

Recommended for:Tourists without a car, sightseeing, girls getaway, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Guest: girls weekend (-)
Date of Stay: 06/06/10 Review Submitted: 12/01/10

Our weekend stay was truly a great experience. We had a "girls getaway" and the house was very accomodating We came from New York and stayed from June 4-6. I heard about your house thorugh "homeaway.com". I chose it because it was priced well, had a great location and looked great on line. The weather was hot and pleasant, we went to the beach, got some ice cream, did a lot of dancing, enjoyed some great food and time on the patio. The house was neat and clean and roomy. The rooms were so cute! The colors and decor were lovely! I look forward to being hear again! The process was easy and simple to rent. We felt right at hoe and are thankful you made this experience wonderful for my group and me!

Recommended for:

Guest: Frank, Britta, Dennis and Tjorven (-)
Date of Stay: 03/20/10 Review Submitted: 12/01/10

We thank you for a nice and safe stay from March 21 to 31, 2010. After hyaving a loong trip from our home in Germany we relaxed the first day, before we started to many trips. We have been 3 days in New York City. Using the train from Belmar to NYC Penn St. was easy and a good method. We have been also in Newburgh, NY at Orange County Choppers OCC. We enjoyed the trrip to Washington CD and Lancaster. For sure, as german tourists we loved to shop at the Outlets in Tinton Falls and the Roosevelt Mall in Garden City, Long Island (after visiting the Hamptons). One day we've been in Atlantic City. We had storm and rain, sun and frost. But it was always nice. We found the house on internet an dthe owners Tina and Mike helped so friendly. It is a nice but old house. It is clean. We liked the colors in the rooms. We were the first renters in 2010 and the "smell of air" was not fresh, so we opened the windows, then it was nice. All in all it was a fair rate for the house and we will tell our friends and people who ask for a stay.

Recommended for:

Great location - close to beach!

Guest: The Californian (Cypress, CA)
Date of Stay: 05/11/10 Review Submitted: 05/18/10

We enjoyed our stay in this home. The location is really great! Walk to the beach, shopping, dining or to the train station. This home is a victorian charmer and over 100 years old. There are 2 kitchens in the house. The kitchen on the first level needs some improvements & updating. The upper kitchen is very nice with modern ammenities (shown in photo). The bathrooms have been remodeled and they are very clean. The furnishings are relaxed & pretty worn. Some of the beds are lumpy and really uncomfortable. The photos shown are only the remodeled areas of the home. Please be aware that when the caretaker turns on the outside watering hose there is NO water into the house. Lots of outdoor furniture for relaxing & reading a good book. The beach area is very nice and clean. We found an awesome restraunt at 400 Ocean called La Dolce Vita with an ocean view & outstanding cuisine. Really nice beach boardwalk to stroll or jog. This is a good home for a large family or group of people. Everyone can have their own space because the home is so big and on 3 different levels. Not a good home for elderly guests because of all the stairs & no hand rail on the front porch steps. The home was clean and the owner did stop by to make sure everything was okay. We loved the area and all the charming victorian homes in the neighborhood.

Owner response:Please note this review was for the whole house. Right now we are only renting out the upstairs due to a change in the town rental laws so please ignore the comments about the first floor.

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

Beach vacation 2008

Guest: mvlee (Philadelphia, PA)
Date of Stay: 08/16/08 Review Submitted: 09/04/09

We love Belmar and were delighted to find the beach block house available last August. Everything was very nice and our only complaint was the quality of the mattresses. It seems that all of the rooms had mattresses that were in pretty serious need of upgrading.

Owner response:We tested the mattresses after this review and have replaced the ones that we found wanting. Hopefully you will find the new mattresses to your liking.

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

Fantastic Experience

Guest: MikeCards (NJ)
Date of Stay: 06/07/08 Review Submitted: 06/17/08

The house was in excellent condition, as described. The owner was very helpful and accommodating, clearly taking much pride in their property. The location is excellent and neighbors were friendly.

Recommended for:Tourists without a car, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.