Staying at this beach house was a disappointing experience. We contributed to the realtor's business with our rental, but they did not support us with a relaxing week. The beach is gorgeous and the house is a comfortable well-located 80s time capsule showing some age, with the hotel next door under construction. Fortunately, it was on the other side of the Pinehurst beach access, so while we did hear noise, other than the jackhammering a few days and the large machinery moving around, we could ignore much of it. It was less intrusive than what we experienced the previous year staying next to a house being built. That was a grating experience despite the really nice house, and I could not wait to leave. So this year, a few week before our rental, I started with the question whether there was construction near the house. I received a comment that they couldn't predict all construction, but none was planned. The first answer the realtor representative gave when I referenced the earlier conversation was that there wasn't construction yet, and possibly the busy construction site at the beginning of April was started after I asked in mid March. When I pointed out the short timeframe, the realtor's answer changed that they were unaware of construction. Considering the lack of inspection, as no one caught the broken toilet seat (replaced in a day) among cosmetic defects, it is possible no one had been at the house to check its condition. We learned Vrbo (the rental source) did not consider this to to be inaccurate information as they do not consider anything outside the property limits to have any bearing on the state of the actual property. The realtor also sent their policy that they aren't liable for any disruptions. Vrbo did nothing to improve the current vacation, only a small credit toward a future rental. The construction was inevitable, so we made the best of things as they were. Since no one would book a house with a worksite next door, so it only made sense to keep construction from prospective renters, either through inaccuracy or by ignoring any issues around the rental property so the realtor could deny knowledge. In one review rebuttal, the realtor stated "the home itself remained available and as advertised during your reservation dates" meaning loud construction is not a reason for them to discount or remove the listing. There is no shortage of new people to rent houses, so no incentive for realtors to disclose information about neighborhood noise. Paying to stay next to a construction site is not my idea of a great vacation. After two years, we know we cannot expect help from realtors: their policies incentivize not revealing a poor situation as there is no way for a renter to escape other than by abandoning a paid rental. Vrbo will not help with anything outside the house. The towns post about their planned projects, but there is no other way to determine any other construction projects, so for planning purposes, we have to generalize that there is enough being built in the outer banks that we will no longer visit, which will sadly end a long string of stays. Kees may be typical of other realtors in the area, but they are a known issue and we will avoid them. I will resort to Vrbo only if preferred alternatives don't have good options. So buyer beware. It would have been useful to know to look for reviews of the realtor, not just the house, although two years in a row, it may just be the area. Also, to know that my window for a review on Vrbo would close quickly enough this information is not included with the house (Sunny Days). I hope this review helps at least a few people avoid similar unpleasant experiences, even if the realtor gives their standard rebuttal regretting our "stay did not meet expectations," or people tell me to just be happy about jackhammering or go vacation elsewhere, which we will.

We used Kees Vacations last year and had a great experience, which is why we trusted them again this year. Unfortunately, that trust was completely broken. When we arrived at the rental this year, I was stung by a wasp at the entrance due to an active nest. Then we found dog feces and urine in the garage. Despite that, we tried to make the best of it -- until we found what appeared to be bed bugs on the mattress. We took photos and reported it immediately. Kees sent pest control, who spent less than 15 minutes on-site, dismissed the bug, and threw it away without documentation. We were never offered alternate accommodations or any meaningful support. Eventually, we had no choice but to leave the property and spend $2,500 out of pocket to secure a clean, safe place for our family -- especially for our children. I tried to work directly with Kees management and even contacted their CEO. I provided evidence, remained respectful, and asked for a refund. They ultimately refused, even after a second inspection was conducted after we had already left. They later told me they would no longer speak to me by phone because I had shared my experience publicly. This was not just a customer service failure -- it was a complete disregard for guest safety and accountability. We made every effort to resolve this privately, but the company simply did not care once they had been paid. If you're planning to book through Kees Vacations, please be aware of how they may treat you when something goes wrong. We saved for this trip and wanted nothing more than a clean, safe place to spend time with our family. What we got instead was disappointment, added expenses, and no resolution.

If I could give less than zero, I would. We booked this home through Marriott, expecting Marriott quality. Instead, we got Kees Vacations -- a company that doesn't inspect, maintain, or manage its properties with even basic professionalism. The online listing shows a clean, updated home. In reality, the photos are outdated and don't reflect its condition. The house was dirty, disorganized, and clearly uninspected. On arrival: 1 dishwasher was full of clean dishes from a prior guest; the other had a broken top rack and standing water. 3rd was non working. The kitchen had no potholders, dish towels, scissors, or trash bags. We used washcloths to handle hot pans and had to buy cleaning supplies and bags ourselves. No soap/shampoo in bathrooms. 1 was missing TP. The third-floor deck furniture was filthy and moldy. The "fully equipped" kitchen was a mess of mismatched, filthy cookware and sticky utensils. For a house that sleeps 18, there weren't any teaspoons or enough forks for one meal. Several outside lights were out, and one stool was broken. Screens were off-track, allowing flies inside -- there's literally a vase full of fly swatters on the counter. The pool was the worst part. It was dirty, full of sand and cigarette butts, and stone-cold -- obviously never serviced before check-in despite the contract stating it would be. We paid for a heated pool, but it never got above 75°F. I have photos showing the same temperature all week. The pool tech didn't arrive until mid-afternoon Monday, gave no apology or explanation, and left without follow-up. The so-called "private beach access" was unusable because the stairs were completely buried in sand. The house next door had theirs cleared, proving this was neglect, not nature. More pix. The TV situation was absurd. Most bedroom TVs didn't work or lacked remotes, one was completely broken, and there were no instructions. Each TV used only streaming services -- meaning we had to use personal accounts just to get basic channels. The Kees technician confirmed one TV was broken and admitted inspections are inconsistent. I reported everything immediately Monday morning (text at 8:20, call at 9:30). The only issue actually resolved was a pile of broken glass in the driveway. I was repeatedly told they rely on "third-party" vendors and could not say when anyone would come. What made this even worse was how I was treated. Rather than addressing the problems, Kees implied I was being dishonest: They said a staff member saw our dog in the pool -- false, and there were no staff on site. They said I never registered with a pet -- I sent two emails proving I did. They said the pool company was there Sunday and everything was fine -- but no one came, and my photo proof shows the water temperature never changed. The entire property reflects poor management and zero quality control: dented appliances, warped outdoor furniture, stained carpet, missing supplies, and a filthy outdoor shower area full of discarded junk. Even the "waterfall feature" pictured online doesn't work. We paid thousands for a "luxury beach house" that had no beach access, an unusable pool, broken TVs, and minimal response from management. Our refund request was brushed off, and Kees called their token offer "fair." It wasn't. We've been loyal Marriott Bonvoy and timeshare owners for 40 years and have never encountered a property so misrepresented or a management company so unprofessional. Marriott should seriously reconsider allowing Kees Vacations to carry its name -- it damages their reputation and deceives guests.

Stephanie P.

The update here is that Kees Vacation offered a couple hundred dollars of hush money with the caveat that we not share what a horrible experience we had. 1) I didn't think that type of response or compensation met the need. This is a bait and switch, nothing less. 2) this offer came days/weeks after our stay and numerous complaints, so I'd already posted. A couple days after the offer it was rescinded because the found my social media post. No regrets. I hope it saves someone else. Also, someone reached out to me this month (almost a year later) with the same experience. No lessons learned by the owners or Kees.

My family stayed at a property on Colonial beach rd in Jarvisburg 6/15-6/22. Upon arrival the house was not well cleaned. There were bugs in the entryway, in the kitchen and on the living room carpet. There was also a large glob of hair in the master bathroom shower and overall the place just was not as well cleaned as you would expect for a rental. I reached out to Kees via their number they text from and they did offer to send the cleaners back out. But after driving all day no one wants housekeeping in your space when it should have been done properly prior to our arrival. The home also advertises about being able to "work while on vacation" but the internet is spotty at best. It went out multiple times a day during our stay. Resetting the router did not help. The water in every faucet including the tubs (of which the secondary bathroom did not drain) smells horrible, like rotten eggs. It smelled like this the entirety of our stay. The gas grill also was not left with a full tank of propane which made grilling out quite complicated. The house is advertised as sleeping 10 but only has 2 small trash cans outside. The trash was not removed from the property the whole week we were there. My biggest complaint is the fact that the house was advertised with having a private fishing dock and a private boat dock. The private fishing dock has since been removed from their listing. But at the time of booking and during our stay the listing still said both (I have screenshots of the listing). On the day of our arrival I asked about the location of the docks via the text number. I was told that they would look into it. Then the next day I was told there was a fishing dock for us to use. When I asked about the location they said they were reaching out to upper management and would get back to me. On Tuesday I still had not gotten a response so I asked again which was left unanswered all week. I also called the office and left a voicemail, all of which went unanswered and unreturned. The docks are a huge amenity that I'm sure was a factor in the price we paid for the rental. To have them not available to us and then to be ignored by Kees is unprofessional an inexcusable. Our family will never rent from Kees again.

Jeanne M.

Our family rented from KEES and stayed at the Beach Runner in Duck, NC from 8/14-21. The first thing we noticed was the location. It was great! It was an easy walking distance to both the town and the beach. There was a beach wagon in the storage area we made use of almost daily. The backyard pool was the perfect size for our little group. One of the plastic chairs was broken as was the umbrella but it didn't prevent us from enjoying the pool. These were the only good things I have to say about our stay at Beach Runner. As soon as we arrived we noticed that the iron circular stairway was outdated and the balusters were farther apart than is legally code ( 4 ") by today's standards. Our grandsons could have easily slipped through these and seriously hurt themselves.The owners provided two baby gates, but one was broken and neither one fit the stairs, so we spent the day jury-rigging the railings with cardboard pieces that we weaved in and out of the balusters to close them up. It didn't look pretty but that seemed to work for the week. The next thing we noticed was that when just two of us were on the back deck, we could feel a lot of shaking and movement. We looked under the deck and realized there was no bracing between the posts and the ledger board was attached to the house with nails and not bolts. The two decks in front both used bolts to attach to the house and we never felt any movement on them. We also noticed a cracked baluster that if leaned on could easily break. All in all, we felt that this back deck was too dangerous to ever use. The next thing was the cleanliness, or lack of. Carpets dirty and spotted, hair on baskets,stains on kitchen potholders, dust on bathroom decor. We even found a nail clipper on the floor in the living room! Just gross. When we arrived, the bathroom outlets did not work . We later found out that a GFI outlet had been tripped so it was an easy fix but still we had to call maintenance to find that out. There were four televisions in the house. When we arrived we had trouble getting any local stations on the living room TV. We hadn't even tried the bedroom TV's yet. A nice maintenance man came out to check (and also reset the bathroom GFI's). One TV was totally broken, and two needed new remotes which we were promised replacements but never received. Let's talk about the kitchen... There were four of us at BeachRunner who drink coffee so before bed someone usually prepared the pot so that in the morning, the first one up can just push the button to start the brew. The first morning, I pushed the button and waited for the coffee to brew. I noticed water all over the counter but didn't put two and two together that the coffee pot was broken and water leaked all over the counter. Oh and ants, ants on the kitchen counter and even in the dishwasher. Oh, and a broken utensil holder, just laying there on the counter. The only wine glasses in the house were plastic ones and no one wanted to drink a fine glass of wine from a plastic goblet . We went to Dollar General and purchased wine glasses to enjoy our evening wine. We ended up leaving the glasses at the house for the next renters to enjoy their wine from. Then one day as we were preparing to go to the beach with our grandchildren, we noticed seven nails sticking out about an inch from two posts by the driveway. These nails were about three feet off the ground, just the right height to injure a child or gouge someone's leg if run into. We found a nearby rock and pounded the nails into the post so no one would get hurt. Our first trip to the Outer Banks was quite memorable. We thought we would spend the week relaxing and enjoying our time together. The only time we did enjoy our time was when we were NOT at the house. The beach was fun, the location of the house was great but we will NEVER rent from KEES again and will tell anyone who asks how terrible this house was.

Cookee P.

The staff was friendly and had timely responses to messages. Unfortunately, whoever they contract for maintenance/cleaning does subpar work. Please note: 1) Our property was pretty much ant infested. There was no space without challenge. They were in bathroom sinks, on furniture, inside of the dishwasher (empty - no dirty dishes). We kept the home clean with intent to avoid more ants because we had an infant in the house. We kept her clean bottles in the fridge (tip) 2) Entry doors are covered in cob webs and spiders. Picture a vacant, historical home that has been unattended. We are not concerned with some bugs, but collectively, this becomes a lot when paying for a vacation home. We had some texts with Kees reassuring us that the doorways would be cleaned, but no one ever came. We could not use the patios because the doors were covered with spiders and we ducked whenever entering the home. Even the light fixtures are covered. 3) Also, the mattresses desperately need to. be replaced. There are loud and uncomfortable. We had many nights where the baby would wake up in her bassinet if we had to move after putting her down. Update: If you take a risk and decide to use one of their properties, please know that documentation is key. Please take EVERY picture you can, or you will get an email stating that their inspection does not "match up" with your complaint. As if I thought it was a good use of my time to make all of this up?? The lack of accountability is unbelievable and even more surprising since I exchanged several messages with the staff while we were still there asking for them to come. Who questions the staff who claims they came, but never showed up? We tried to give the property the benefit of the doubt as we know it is a busy rental area. We often try not to complain, however, once we raised an issue because their staff did not show up as promised, we escalated our concerns. What an awful response.

Jim G.

BUYER'S BEWARE. We just got back from a vacation in OBX and rented the Royal Palace inKill Devils Hills. The list of issues is very long: 1. Mold/mildew in showers (in general unclean) 2. Door locks broken and some doors locks were missing (unable to lock the unit) 3. Outdoor kiddie pool had bricks broken and in complete disrepair (hazardous area for small children) no response to pictures sent for repair request. Obviously, with the weeds growing around the misplaced bricks it's been like this for a long time. 4. Broken pool furniture 5. Unclean and hazardous bbq grill (almost burned the house down due to grease fire) we left a note to warn next renters DO NO USE THE GRILL UNTIL REPLACED OR CLEANED 6. Dishwasher leaked 7. Not enough silverware for 20 people. 8. kitchen not well appointed 9. 2nd floor bedroom, adjacent to laundry room has hazardous electrical outlets not working and in disrepair. Outlet is falling out of the wall. EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS 10. WIFI (INTERNET ACCESS) WAS HORRIBLE 11. Towel package included with rental was inadequate and the quality of the towels was horrible.. 12. The house was infested with roaches. 13. THE GATE TO THE OCEAN WAS BROKEN AS WELL. For a unit that costs a lot for a week, the maintenance on the unit is horrible. This is the 2nd year in a row we rented the house and it will be our last. Under Carolina Designs the house was well maintained, appointed and any items were quickly resolved. Not so with Kees. We reported the dishwasher leak early in our stay and no one responded. I WILL NEVER RENT ANOTHER HOUSE FROM KEE'S VACATION AND WILL BE POSTING THIS EVERYWHERE ON THE INTERNET TO WARN OTHERS. I WILL SAY THE PROPERTY MANAGER DID CALL BUT I DID NOT WANT TO WASTE MY TIME COMPLAINING WITH LIP SERVICE. I DID NOT RETRUN HIS CALL. I NORMALLY DO NOT COMPLAIN. WE HAVE BEEN COMING TO OBX FOR 30+ YEARS AND THIS IS BY FAR OUR WORST EXPERIENCE. Who ever owns the home need to go back to Carolina Designs property management.