Fantastic Beach House

Guest: angela (South Carolina)
Date of Stay: 06/29/11 Review Submitted: 08/04/11

What a wonderful vacation we had! We only wish we had booked the house for two weeks instead of one! We have rented several houses on Bald Head Island, but this house is the best. The oceanfront location is great. Sunrise from the bedroom, sunsets on the beach are incredible. The house is lovely and very comfortable. Everything was great, the kitchen, the furnishings, the view. The owners are wonderful hosts and has equipped the house with all the comforts of home. Thanks. We are so happy to have found our home away from home and look forward to our trip next year.

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

Great Beach House, 2nd Visit

Guest: Linda (Virginia)
Date of Stay: 06/01/11 Review Submitted: 06/06/11

This is our second visit to Starboard Cottage. We didn't think the house could be more beautiful, but we love all the new furnishings this year. Wow! Gorgeous! This house is our favorite place to unwind, relax, and kick off our summer vacation. We feel so at home here. The location is great. This time we saw dolphin in the ocean and pelicans by the house. The kitchen is well equipped. We cooked many of our meals and had great time gathering around the dinner table or the outdoor picnic area by the new grill. The owner (John) is super nice and makes everything so easy and comfortable for us. My children and I eagerly await our visit next year. Thanks for another incredible vacation. We love it here!

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

Guest: emily (-)
Date of Stay: 07/04/10 Review Submitted: 05/30/11

My aunts, cousins and I had a great time in your home for our girls' week out. We went to the beach, spent time together, gather around the grill and picnic table, and laughed alot. We loved the seaside breeze and sound of the waves. We feel blessed to have had this time together. Thank you for sharing your home with us. We hope to return next year. Peace out.

Recommended for:

Guest: brady (-)
Date of Stay: 06/27/10 Review Submitted: 05/30/11

What a wonderful beach house! Perfect! We had a great time walking the beach, in the marsh or just watching the waves! We hope everyone enjoys Starboard as much as we did!

Recommended for:

Guest: beachgoer (-)
Date of Stay: 05/23/10 Review Submitted: 05/30/11

Thanks for allowing us to be your guest. We have been coming here for a last three years. Each time we arrive, it is like coming home again. Fishing and crabbing are always fun. Tennis and golf are great. Beaches and surf are wonderful. The accommodation is outstanding as usual. The weather was perfect the entire week. You take such great care of us! Hope to come for many more years to come!!

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Fantastic cottage

Guest: gottoretire (north carolina)
Date of Stay: 05/12/11 Review Submitted: 05/23/11

My parent, husband, our three children and I spent a wonderful four days at this lovely home in May. The oceanfront location is great. The house was prefect for everyone. My kids loved running to and from the house to the beach either to show us their seashell finds or gather more snacks. My parents enjoyed the privacy the crofter offered. I loved reading and hearing the sound of the ocean by the front porch and the masterbedroom. The home is very clean. The kitchen was very nice, well stocked. Linens and towels were provided. We received our information packet and key timely. The information packet was organized and helpful. The owner was very nice and responsive to any questions we had. The stay could not have been more perfect. Thanks for sharing your home with us. We hope to stay here again soon.

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

Great Location but the small issues add up

Guest: Baldhead visitor (NC)
Date of Stay: 04/20/11 Review Submitted: 05/15/11

We had the opportunity to stay here over the Easter Holiday weekend and though the location was great, there was list of small issues that began to add up. The condition of the house was ok, but it was in need of some TLC. The panneling on the ceiling was begining to buckle and one of the burner's on the stove was no working and the maid service cleaned the wrong house and we had to wait to put our stuff in while they cleaned up (to be fair not really the owner's issue on that one). Don't count on the internet that is advertised. Not a big issue, but if you are a working professional, no vacation is really ever void of some work. I asked the owner and his response was that there were wi-fi locations at the Shoals and Marina (helpful, but not really convenient when depending on the advertised availability). The tires on the bikes were low (no pump to be found) and the headlights on the golf cart weren't working (we bought a fuse at the hardware store and fixed the latter) but this was after we had to void a after dark pick up for one our our guests. As mentioned, non-of the above would have been an issue, but when they all together it kind of detracted from the fun. Given there are so many other available on the island we will probably pass on the cottage next time.

Owner response:Starboard is a great ocean front at a great value. We are very attractively priced for the amenities and location offered. We take great pride in our home since it is our vacation heaven as well. Being ocean front, any property owner can attest to the difficulties salt air. In fact, we have a number of preventative services contracted for home, cleaning, and golf cart issues. Yet despite this, concerns do arise for any renter and are handled in as expeditious manner as possible. Unfortunately none of the above issues except one, the internet, were made know to us by this renter. It was the cleaning staff that had identitied the issues of the electric burner and the ceiling which were very rapid fixes. As far as the bike pump is concerned, a foot pump was confirmed to be hanging on a hook in the garage where the bikes are. I received an email stating that the house was "great" but they had difficulty connecting to the internet. The house is advertised to have broadband. Connection to the broadband is by an ethernet cable which is supplied with the system. I suggested that if the renter needed wifi, Wifi is supplied at the clubs and at the marina. I called Bell South which had informed me that the system was fully functional. I heard nothing back which led me to believe that he was able to connect to the broadband using the ethernet cable. Given the explosion of tablets and wifi devices, I am planning to install a wireless router, but this will be done for the changing times. However, the internet at the home is exactly as advertised "Broadband". Bald Head Island is a very special place. Starboard is a great place to enjoy the Island as many of our repeat renters agree. We give them personal attention and outstanding value. We welcome all who wish to experience this exceptional Island and will treat them like part of our family since we would like to have them to treat our home like their home.

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Poorly Maintained

Guest: May 2011 (Chicago)
Date of Stay: 05/06/11 Review Submitted: 05/13/11

The positives are the location and number of beds available. The kitchen was up to date and pretty well stocked. The issue was the attitude of the owner when his golf cart (comes with property) left us stranded after only 20 min of use. He actually accused me of misusing it. It took too many calls to him and too much time to get a replacement cart which we needed desperately as we had multiple wedding events to attend. The other issue was the shower door (very very outdated bathrooms) which fell on me while I was in the shower. The place was not clean enough for my standards either. The place has not had much attention over all and needs some updating. I would not stay there again.

Owner response:We always provide the most professional service and sincerely want all our guests to enjoy our home and BHI as much as we love it. We received a phone call from our guest late evening on their arrival date reporting the golf cart had ran out of power. We first made sure our guest was able to safely get back to the house. We explained the golf cart mantenance company and golf cart rentals shops were all closed at the time. The guest demanded we call the police to get them a new golf cart. We explained the police would not be of assistance, but we would immediate call the golf cart maintenance company and have the issue first thing in the moring. We received a phone call from the guest early in the morning. We explained neither the repair shop nor golf cart rental shops were open yet. However, we stated we would follow up within the hour when the shops opened and if the golf cart needed sometime for repair, we would gladly rent a loaner golf cart for our guests. We follow through with our promise. Our golf cart was repaired the same morning and in addition we rented a loaner golf cart for our guests the same day. Our housekeeper was the one who reported the shower door to us (the guests did not report it to us.) The repairman reported he has no idea how the shower door could have spontaneously jump out of its tract unlesss excess force was applied. It has been repaired. The house is cared for by one of the most reputable cleaning companies on the island. In addition to departure cleans, a yearly deep clean in performed on the house in early spring (including this year) where a team of 4 people spend 3-4 days at the house cleaning it inside and out. This year, a respected and reputable interior designing firm also performed major refurbishment of the home with complete new furnishings throughout. We always do everything humanly possible to make sure our guests are comfortable. We always give back to the house and take care of our home as it has provided my family countless irreplacible precioius memories thoughtout the years.

Recommended for:Families with young children.

A Great place to stay

Guest: Jana (Kearney, Nebraska)
Date of Stay: 06/26/10 Review Submitted: 01/04/11

What a great property. My 3 teenaged sons, my husband and I stayed here last summer for 2 heavenly weeks. The pix show the property accurately, it was lovely. I could wake up, turn my head, and see the ocean from the master bedroom. There are ocean views from every window. The property is well maintained and very attractive. The owner is very responsive to any questions and timely in sending out the packet containing information and the house key. I hope to get to stay here again!

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