109-Manatee Manor: 4 BR / 4 BA vacation home in North Captiva, Sleeps 8

TL:DR: Loved the house, but would probably never stay at a NCIC property again.

Our party of seven (four adults, three kids) rented Manatee Manor for a week over new years. The house itself is very nice, unbeatably close to the beach, and very nicely laid out for groups (each bedroom has its own bathroom, for example). Unfortunately, the service from NCIC left a LOT to be desired, to the extent that it pretty much derailed the first three days of our week-long trip.

First of all, it took over two hours to get our luggage and bags after we arrived on their ferry, so we started our vacation with three little ones losing their minds because it was 9pm and they hadn't had any dinner--and we couldn't leave to get dinner at the restaurant because we had to wait around for the bags to arrive. When they finally came, all the breads were smashed and the frozen stuff had thawed. Awesome.

The even bigger problem was the water in the house. Our first morning there, the showers didn't work. No water came out when we tried to turn them on, and the water from the sinks smelled like straight bleach. The one load of laundry we were able to run the first night came out literally bleached, just from the water. Called management the first morning and was told someone would come around to look at it. Waited around; no one came the entire day. Called both offices again in the evening and also emailed; got no response. By morning, there wasn't even water in the sinks and the toilets wouldn't flush either. (Seven unshowered people in a house with no flushing toilets: not exactly paradise.) Called both offices AGAIN, and also sent one of our party over to the office, and then waited around again all morning; finally a guy arrived around lunchtime. When he came, he said, "Nobody told me about it until this morning or I would have come over yesterday." (?!!) He got the water running again, but it was still so chlorinated that our teeth were stinging and another load of laundry got bleached, so we had to call AGAIN the next day and have someone come figure out the chlorination issue.

As yet, no one has made any offer to make up for the first half of our trip being riddled with problems. No partial reimbursement; not even a free drink at the bar. Problems happen, but when they do, I expect it to be made right. And no running water is a pretty big problem. There were smaller things too but, alas, I'm out of space to type.

We stayed well and had a great time. It was below our expectations for two reasons only:

1 - This was not the house we ended up getting due to a construction issue so we had to take another one which was not beach front but were reimbursed for the difference.

2 - The cable TV had not been paid by the owner so we could not watch the world cup which was quite frustrating for the group, so another financial compensation took place.

We have to say though that the overall experience was good and that we would definitely return there with a group of people, which is the ideal way to enjoy.

People should not expect to go out on the evening as there is nothing out there to have a good evening. It is a place where you go to the beach and get back home and cook your dinner with your group or your family, drink some good wine and enjoy the sunset on the roof deck and relax.

It was our families first time to North Captiva Island. I was a little worried about only having boat access to it and to rely on a ferry to bring me to and from. There is a fire station for emergency transport. The ferry was a pretty short ride and all luggage was taken care of from the welcome center to the front step of our rental house and back again. Our house did get changed a few hours before our check in, but they put us in another house that was of equal or better value. Some beach front homes have a short beach while others have a large beach area. The entire island only allows golf cart transport, which was fun, but one of our cars wasn't working properly.

Some pros was that there is free kayaks and bikes available. The island was beautiful other than the dead fish and sea snakes on shore from the red tide. Our entire party developed a little cough. Not sure if it was the red tide or the tropical plants.

Cons were that there were no pool towels and they were $5 each to rent. Our rental did have beach towels, but you just have to wash them before departure. Renters are also required to strip beds and wash dishes.

We had a great time in North Captiva. It was a perfect beach vacation. The house is in an ideal location, just a one minute walk to a beautiful beach. The lay out of the house is nice, bedrooms on one floor, living quarters on the top floor. Nice pool and decks. However, this house needs attention. Sinks and appliances are rusted have corrosion, hot water is lacking, outside metal is rusting, decks need treating - just to name a few things. We arrived to find an inoperable microwave and no showerhead in the master bath. Fortunately, this did not affect our family time or vacation. It is a beach vacation and you don't expect a beach house to be in pristine condition. But, this one, a lovely house, needs attention.

We recently stayed at manatee manor and love it! The proximity to the beach was of top importance to us and being 10 steps away was amazing! The first floor of the house is nicely updated. It has two of the bathrooms and two of the bedrooms. The top floor also had two bedrooms and two bathrooms. We always love North Captiva!!