Family Reunion

Guest: Ramsey (Florida Keys)
Date of Stay: 04/30/11 Review Submitted: 05/28/11

My extended family of 13, 8 adults and 5 children, chose the River House for its central location for all of us and its unique setting. We found the house was everything we expected and more. It was clean, large, nicely furnished, and provided river views from most rooms. For active families there are so many things to do--both at the house and in the area. The children especially liked fishing off the dock., I enjoyed sitting with them and watching the huge ships passing--I was really able to unwind. My wife enjoyed the diverse and plentiful wildlife; many dolphins, seagulls, herons, pelicans, ducks, and varieties of fish (quite tasty). We all spent time daily in the large pool and soaking up the sun. The kitchen was a gathering place for the meals and the large gas stove was kept busy making the three dishwashers a big help. A family room open to the kitchen provided plenty of space for everyone in the evenings. When someone wanted to "get away" from the crowd the outdoor and roof top decks were available. We had to flip a coin to see who got the master bedroom wing. It's huge, and the bath's whirlpool tub proved a further relaxation. The Sand Dollar restaurant is a neat "locals" place and provides a wide menu of good food. There's another nearby restaurant that serves a good breakfast menu. A short drive away is Amelia Island with shops, golf, and restaurants. On the way to Amelia Island there is a beach you can drive onto with white sand and shallow waters that we all enjoyed immensely. Our family normally gets together once or twice a year at different locations but we all had such a good time here we're planning to return.

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

Best Value For The Money!

Guest: John M (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Date of Stay: 03/03/11 Review Submitted: 04/22/11

We loved spending our family vacation in this beautiful home!. The house has lots of indoor as well as outdoor spaces for gathering and entertaining. It easily accommodated our big (extended) family. The house is very clean, comfortable, and beautifully furnished. The owners take great care of this place and they were wonderful to work with in scheduling our stay. We looked at a lot of homes before choosing this one for our vacation - it is by far the most warm, welcoming, and best priced for the quality and space. We were very happy with our choice and we look forward to returning for our next vacation!

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

Spring Break

Guest: North Ga Family (DAWSONVILLE)
Date of Stay: 04/02/11 Review Submitted: 04/08/11

This is an awesome home for families. The riverfront is both peaceful and entertaining. The unusual boats, massive barges and the occasional cruise ship are an awesome sight. You are literally a few hundred feet from them or less standing at the the end of the dock. The Naval Air base also provides amazing entertainment. My three boys marveled over and over at the fighter jets and helicopters. We found dozens of shark's teeth at low tide - it became a daily ritual! The fishing was good, best at night. A gas station/foodmart, the river ferry and a liquor store are less than a mile away! SafeHarbor Seafood Market across the river has an amazing selection and good food. There are beds everywhere, yet you never feel cramped. While being very contemporary/clean/upscale, this house is 'lived in', so we never panicked over a stray spill or felt like we should not sit on the couch. The upper decks are an ideal place to read a book or soak up the views. The garage was great for coolers and storing our trailer. Our kids 8,9,13 and 14 did not want to leave. We'll be back.

Recommended for:Tourists without a car, sightseeing, pet owners, adventure seekers, girls getaway, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Enjoyable vacation home

Guest: Vacationer (Denver, CO)
Date of Stay: 01/29/11 Review Submitted: 02/17/11

We've stayed at this house more than once. This is a great place to get away and spend time with friends and family since it's very spacious. The master bedroom is really a master suite with bed, sitting area, two closets, and a "fancy" bathroom. All rooms are updated nicely with a modern, but not over the top, touch. The kitchen is well suited for the size of the home -- it's spacious and well equipped for cooking for a large group. The views from the house, pool and dock are terrific. We like that the beach is beautiful and easy to get to

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

A Grandma's Getaway

Guest: GiGi (Miami, Florida)
Date of Stay: 01/22/11 Review Submitted: 02/09/11

My five grandchildren--ages eighteen months through seventeen--and I, along with my son, his wife, my daughter and her husband, and my boyfriend---all of us fit comfortably in this immaculately kept and picturesquely placed house with plenty of room to spare. The kids did their own things--fished, swam, played in the sand and caught crabs, skateboarded, and banged away on their guitars, while the adults chilled (in front of wide screen tv's or out by the pool)--without having to "entertain". When relaxing got old, there were plenty of places to go too: The Jacksonville Zoo (my favorite), Amelia Island, Jacksonville's museums, a nearby Old South Plantation, beaches, and we walked, explored, fished, golfed, kayaked, etc. to our heart's content. And we enjoyed fish and seafood dinners at local hangouts--when we didn't want to cook. Of course, my favorite things to do there are just sit (with a glass of wine) and chat with my family gathered around and watch the huge boats pass by on the St.John's River-- often with dolphins and big birds to accompany them. The sunrises and sunsets are so spectacular and yet so peaceful that the memories of them stay with me even now, and I long to return.

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, sightseeing, girls getaway, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Jet Ski Adventure

Guest: Jet Ski Adventure (Gainesville, Florida)
Date of Stay: 09/12/10 Review Submitted: 01/02/11

We grew up in this area and once a year we pick a place to hang out with friends. We all brought jet skis and had a blast! We were able to put the jet skis in at the boat ramp that is just a few minutes away and then used the lifts on the dock during the rest of our stay. We could within minutes go to Huguenot Beach and jump the waves or head to Fort George and hang out with other boaters. You can easily get to the ocean, the intercoastal or head up the River. The house was beautiful and lived up to its pictures. We are definitely going to return!

Recommended for:Pet owners, adventure seekers, girls getaway, families with young children, families with teenagers.

If you need a lot of room, this is a good place to rent...

Guest: Debi (Largo, FL)
Date of Stay: 09/24/10 Review Submitted: 10/06/10

Plenty of room when you rent this home. If you have a boat, this is also a good place to stay, since it has a dock and is on the river. The location is away from the city, but close to beaches. There are no grocery stores close by, so you will need to shop before you get there. There is a small mini mart down the road, but it doesn't have much. I would not rent this home with small children because of the stairs and teenagers may get bored, unless you have a boat. Of course they have the pool, along with the pool table and foosball machine, TV's and wireless Internet service. Some of the issues we had were some minor plumbing problems and the large refrigerator in the kitchen did not work. We thought the dishwashers (3) did not work, but we found out later the circuit breaker was shut off and never turned back on. The owners put a refrigerator in the garage, but it wasn't very convenient. The day before we left a workman did show up to fix the plumbing problems and someone also came to try and fix the refrigerator with no success. You will experience a lot of noise from the Navy helicopters flying over the house most of the day and sometimes up until 8:00 at night. Not much you can do about that and I guess the people living in that area are used to it. We also experienced an odor in their water...sulfur we guess, but when you have to shower in it and use it as your drinking water...it was pretty bad. Our last day was really awful. Not sure why. We enjoyed taking the ferry over to Mayport Naval Base and we drove up to Amelia Island and Fernandina Beach, which is a nice, quaint town. No matter where you go, you have to drive. Not a good area to ride your bikes. We had a great time, but I would ask if everything was working before you stay there. For the money they charge, I would think it would all be fixed sooner, than later, since it looks like the people who were there Sept. 1st had some of the same issues, and we did not check-in until 9/24. You can ask about the water, as I don't think any of us mentioned this to the owners,and there probably isn't anything you can do about it.

Owner response:We have a double-door stainless GE Monogram refrigerator which is very expensive, high tech, and few appliance repair folks know how to work on it. We had 6 repair visits before GE came in and replaced all the computer boards and interworkings. We were told it was fixed on 4 of the 6 service calls. We do care about our guest's quality of stay and wish this had been fixed earlier. We did buy a refrigerator in the interim while the main fridge was not working. We also have 3 smaller refrigerators- in the pantry, on the deck, and in the master bedroom. In response to our customer issues in September, we hired a property manager who lives close by to assist with any guest issues during their stay. To insure the house is in tip-top shape, he has a 4 page inspection list he goes through after the cleaning company has finished their work between guest stays. We believe these changes have improved our guest's experience at vacation property.

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

Had fun with our friends

Guest: Bonnie Rincon (Crestivew FL)
Date of Stay: 09/24/10 Review Submitted: 10/03/10

There were eight of us staying at the house. We had a great time dispite not having a refrigerator that made ice. The one in the kitchen was broken. The owner did put a new one out in the garage. It was inconvientent when you wanted something and had to keep going to the garage. The pool man turned off the breaker that worked the dishwashers. The owner did tell us to mess with the breaker and we did get the dishwashers working. The owner was wonderful. He addressed all of our concerns. We also had a lot of helicopters flying around. Me being part of a military family was used to the noise. There were some that did not like it. The Sanddollar restauraunt is good. If you take the ferry across there is a place called Singleton's. It is very good. It is going to be on Diner, Dives and dumps on the food network. Fernandina Beach is just up the road on A1A. Great town to visit. There were a lot of cargo ships going up and down the river. That was pretty cool to see. This is a great place for friends to meet at. All of us who stayed there were in our 50's. We came from different areas in Florida and one couple from Pennsylvania.

Recommended for:Girls getaway, age 55+.

3 star property

Guest: Vacationer's (Atlanta, GA)
Date of Stay: 09/01/10 Review Submitted: 09/20/10

Overall the property was a beautiful place to stay. Just a lot of things not up to date and appliances just not functioning properly. Owners could have maintained it a bit better, but also apologetic. Otherwise beautiful sunsets and sunrise. Bedrooms spacious and Pool is big, but not worth the price tag on the rental. Not the best location for nearby activities.

Recommended for:Pet owners, adventure seekers.

Girls weekend

Guest: girls weekend out (gainesville florida)
Date of Stay: 03/10/09 Review Submitted: 03/11/09

We had book club at this house and it was amazing. The beds were great! nice sheets, pillows and comforters. Plenty of space for large groups. we really enjoyed the sunset sailboat cruise the owners set up for us. They really went out of their way to make sure we had an amazing time!

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