OBR #883 OBX Life is Good
Our rental was dirty. We were told to expect a late check in due to Covid cleaning and safety measures, but the house was filthy. We were delayed in arriving because of the hurricane, so finally checked in Tuesday night. There were visible food crumbs on the kitchen counter and stove. Every glass surface (kitchen table, coffee table, windows, sliders) had handprints on them. There was trash/debris under the couch, pet hair on the carpet and the condo smelled musty. The final straw was the roach we found in the bathroom on the last night of our stay, in the middle of the night. *We noticed 4 separate exterminators on the property while we were there. Surely other visitors called about roaches. We didn't know.
There were greasy kitchen appliances left out and the majority of the silverware in the drawers had dried food on it. OBR provided some bath towels. We found a set of towels on the floor in a closet, and could not tell if they were clean or dirty. They were sort of half folded, and had yellow stains on them.
The furniture was different than advertised, which isn't a problem really, but all of the bed were squeaky to the point where one shouldn't try to move in their sleep. The set of single beds came from bunk beds, and the bunkie boards need to be replaced badly. The queen bed in the main room is rickety and loud. The TV, light and fan were all plugged in incorrectly, causing the light switches to turn on the TV and the fan to stop working at times. We had issues with the direct TV boxes being powered off and unplugged.
This condo was advertised to have a pool. No one at outer beaches was able to tell if the pool was open or not. There were conflicting messages about the status of the pool. Either way, it was murky and green. There was an OBR staff member on the property one day, and I thought to ask her about the pool and was told that it was up to the HOA and OBR wouldn't know. In that case, then OBR shouldn't state that there is a usable pool on premises. It was also advertised to have grills and picnic areas. These ares are filthy as well, and not usable. The grills are in terrible shape, and with no trash receptacles, it would be too much hassle to try to clean the grill and then walk to the dumpster. *I attempted to call OBR several times during my stay but was not able to get through due to wait times and/or poor cell reception.
The AC automatically sets to 74 during the night, and locks that way. You can't set it lower than 74 at night or lower than 72 during the day. 72 is comfortable for most people, but when we got there late at night, it was hot and smelly, so being able to set is cooler quickly would have been nice.
While the view of both the ocean and the sound were great, we were directly next to the camp ground. We knew this prior to the trip, the photos show part of an empty campground. Upon our arrival, we found that the campground is huge. The size of several football fields at least. It filled throughout our stay, which made the beach crowded and there was a lot of night time noise. Had we known that the campground was huge and potentially crowded, we would have booked elsewhere.
Also, about the view- The photos clearly show a beautiful condo with 2 balconies. This is misleading because it's one balcony and the front entrance, which is public. Just because there are a couple of chairs next to the door, doesn't make it a spot to sit and talk with your family. The front balcony was broken in several spots, making it unsafe.
There is no dumpster within reasonable distance to these condos. Its a long walk to the road. This could be contributing to the roach problem. This should be shared prior to booking. While it wasn't an issue for us, what about those with mobility issues?
Finally, as were were packing up the morning of our 8 am checkout, I opened the door at 7:30 to find an unmasked cleaning staff member waiting for us to leave. We mentioned that checkout was at 8, and we weren't ready. She said that she doesn't know about times but was told to get here first because the owners were coming that day and the place needed to be ready. On the way home, I called to express my concern to the OBR staff and was told that there is nothing they can do but that she'd forward my concerns to management. I will be following up on Monday with management.
While most of my thoughts on this property are negative, the bathrooms were thoroughly cleaned and the location is great in relation to the beach. The elevators were a plus, although the other buildings didn't have them. That's a lot of steps for people with mobility issues who couldn't climb all those steps. This should be made known prior to booking. The rinsing stations and fish cleaning station was also a plus. The size and decorating in the condo was great, and I feel that the issues with this property are not the fault of the owner.
I do feel that this property is way over priced. at 1700 dollar read more