Needs Work

Guest: VLR (Bloomington, Illinois)
Date of Stay: 06/26/11 Review Submitted: 01/18/12

We rented Duck Dreamin' for my parents' 50th Anniversary last June. There were 10 of us at the property. The listing photos were not accurate in reflecting the state of deterioration of the house. The pros: the pool was nice and water clean. The kids loved the slide. There was plenty of space. The bathrooms were relatively clean. The movie room was great. The pool table was a huge hit! The decks are beautiful. Nice location and plenty of parking. The town of Duck is wonderful, and you are close to it. The cons: INCREDIBLE amount of bugs and bug waste all over windows. We cleaned what we could. In fact, I personally cleaned a lot after we arrived. The shades in all rooms are water/dirt-stained and need to be replaced. Bed linens were pilled, cheap and had hairs on at least two beds. Cushions on couches were ripped-batting visible. Ants in kitchen the entire time we were there. No kitchen sink disposal. Doors squeaked so badly, we bought our own oil and took care of them ourselves. It took five minutes. Bedroom fans filthy. Exhaust fan broken, shower door did not slide in one bathroom. Trash around exterior included beer bottles and a jock strap in rocks by the outdoor shower. Lights in kitchen had to be left on at all times to keep electricity on to the bedroom off the kitchen. Patio cushions very dirty. Washer broken and not replaced until the last of our stay. WE had to meet the Home Depot delivery man (just like home). Used another property's washer and dryer for the duration which helped, but received no allowance for that. Nick, the local caretaker, is very friendly. The place just needs to be cleaned up and updated. There are silk plants everywhere COVERED in dust and spiderwebs. The carpet, in places, is filthy. To cap it off, the biggest disappointment we had was the response from the owners/managers when we sent a detailed listing with photos suggesting that things might need some attention. The response I got was as follows "Well you shouldn't expect the Ritz". We paid high season rates for this property. All of us expected it to be clean, free of bugs, and in good working order. Unless these issues have been addressed, we would recommend booking another property.

Owner response:We definitely welcome your comments and hopefully are successful in deterring folks with similar attitudes. To address the specific comments...depending on climate, there are a tremendous amount of bugs on the outer banks, at certain times, there's an insect that looks like mosquitos but do not bite. if there's a dry period, then a sudden heavy rain, they blossom. the same problem would have existed regardless of where you stayed, unless they powerwashed the house during turnover time. in which case, you would have complained that the place was wet and decks were slippery. a rip had formed a week or two prior on the back of the couch, yes. we now have an italian leather sectional sleeper sofa there, sorry about that. only one of the shower doors slides on the downstairs shower, the other is a fixed panel...so sorry... The drive shaft on the washer cracked on monday, we had it replaced by wednesday, and according to our trusted caretaker, he offered to sit and wait for the delivery guys but you said you'd let them in since everyone was by the pool anyways. our other house a block away had a cancellation and we opened that door for you, and still, not good enough. we do not promise perfection, or money-back guarantees, they offer that at certain hotel chains up the street, but 6 rooms there, will cost over 10k for the week in June. we do provide an excellent value, some unique features, and a very fun place to enjoy your vacation here on the outer banks, but with so many bells and whistles on a house its literally impossible to have 100% of it working 100% of the time. when it does break we fix it as soon as possible, just like we did.

Recommended for:

Perfect House for multiple families with little kids

Guest: RB (Skippack Pa)
Date of Stay: 05/07/11 Review Submitted: 05/25/11

We just got back from a week staying at Duck Dreamin and all had an excellent time! We had 3 families with a total of 6 adults and 5 kids ( ages 5 and under) and 2 teenagers. The kids had an absolute blast with the pool and waterslide( as did some adults). Deck area was a perfect size to accomodate everyone and the Tike Bar was nice to be able to keep the beverages cold outside. I would highly reccommend this house. Also the walk to the beach was a short one and not to far from shopping, ice cream shops etc. Thank you

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

Fantastic

Guest: Steve (Hope Mills, NC)
Date of Stay: 10/14/10 Review Submitted: 10/18/10

Just got back from a wonderful time in OBX, and the house was better than expected. Plenty of space, great entertainment room! We are talking about doing it again because it worked out so well. Everthing was easy from arrival to departure, no difficult checklists,etc.... again, WE LOVED IT!

Recommended for:Families with teenagers, adventure seekers, girls getaway.

We had a great time here for my dad's 70th birthday celebration!

Guest: Kim (Kennett Square, PA)
Date of Stay: 09/26/10 Review Submitted: 10/12/10

We had 11 adults and 2 kids the last week of Sept 2010. Due to a tropical depression named Niclole we had buckets of rain and clouds almost every day and we still had a GREAT time at this house thanks to all the amenities. It was very clean and we really enjoyed the heated pool and hot tub..even in the rain. The pool area is set up really well with the tiki bar and furniture and the light show in the pool! The kids loved the waterslide! We watched lots of movies in the movie theater and played games at the big dining table. Loved the pool table and flatscreen in the game room! The widows walk rooftop deck was awesome!! Our last day was sunny so we had spectacular sunrise, sunset and shooting stars at midnight! You can see the ocean and the sound from this house!!! We also cooked every day. This house has everything you need for families, friends or couples!!!

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

Better than expected !!

Guest: MeMe (Baltimore, Maryland)
Date of Stay: 09/05/10 Review Submitted: 09/30/10

I had been looking at this house on VRBO for a couple years. I was worried about renting over the internet as opposed to renting through an agency. I wasn't sure if it would be maintained or if I could believe what I was reading. Finally, I couldn't resist! I loved the pictures and the description so I went for it !! I was very pleasantly surprised. The house was clean and well kept. It really does look exactly like the pictures! I only had one little problem -operating the TV system in the theatre room -BUT when I called for help they came right out. The problem was operator error not mechanical. The location was great. I like Duck, NC. It's an easy walk to the ocean and the view of the sound from the top deck was amazing. There are local restuarants but we had no interest in leaving the house. There's a brand new grill for cooking and a very large pool deck not to mention the Tikki bar if you want to eat outside. The family vote to return was unanimous . I highly recommend VRBO # 56732

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, families with young children.

Girls Week

Guest: sister (Phoenix, AZ)
Date of Stay: 08/22/10 Review Submitted: 08/31/10

My mother, sisters, sister inlaws and adult neices stayed at week. We had an amazing time at Duck. This home Duck Dreamin was just as wonderful as the pictures showed. It was a very short walk to the ocean beach. From road or roof top view you can see both sound and ocean. There were only 5 bathrooms unlike 6 listed above. I would come back again. Great home and great place to visit.

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