We were booked for a home in Rodanthe, but after the bizarre power outage, we had to hurry and book a new home. Jewel of the deep was available and we happily booked a day and a half before a vacation began. The house was absolutely beautiful. Plenty of room for three large families to all have our space. The fully stocked kitchen and spacious family room was perfect. The west views of the sunset and the lighthouse were spectacular. And the easterly views of the ocean were minimal, but there nonetheless. The beach access is quite a hike however. Especially when you have little kids with all of their stuff. We ended up packing up the pick up truck with all of our guests, toys and coolers, and driving to the larger beach access for the community. that area was great. That is where the community pool is, the restrooms, showers, the lifeguard, and that beach access was a wooden walkway, making the hike a bit easier. We could have walked to the other beach access, however the beach path was very long, narrow and Deep sand. So even with a beach wagon, it was very tedious getting there. Taking the car was a much easier route. All in all, I would probably not reserve this home again for the fact that I like to be closer to the ocean. But we did book in a hurry due to our situation with the power outage further south. If you do not plan on going to the beach with young kids every day, this would be a great home for you. We are beach bums, and we look forward to sitting on the beach for half the day. Running back-and-forth to the house to refill drinks or to grab lunch, is not very easy.
One last thing. Although it is a great feature having both a pool and a hot tub. I must make mention that the pool is very, very, small. When my six-year-old would jump in on one side of the pool, I was constantly fearful he was going to hit his face on the concrete on the other side of the pool. And it was very difficult for the adults to enjoy the pool while the children were in it. Because there is absolutely no way of getting splashed or jumped on, because the pool is actually that small.