I booked this house in January for a very special family event. Based on all the pictures and info, it looked like the perfect spot for 12 adults to have a reunion.
Even though we arrived after the 3:00pm check-in time, we were told that the house wasn’t ready. After some time standing around in the carport in the heat, we were notified that it was, in fact, ready and we were able to enter. This would not have mattered much in itself, but the miscommunication was a harbinger of worse to come.
In the master bath, the bathtub had 2 drains that were covered in a black mold
(see photos).
The master bedroom closet appeared to be a storage space for a vacuum cleaner, ladder, and old pieces of furniture, so we were unable to hang our clothes.
There were not enough towels for 12 adults. I immediately texted a request for more towels; 3 days later we finally received them.
Moving upstairs, two of the bedrooms had NO CLOSET at all.
In the kitchen, the oven door was obstructed by an adjacent cabinet handle and couldn’t be fully opened. As a result, I burned my arm as I tried to retrieve a hot dish (see photo of burn). Also, no potholders were provided, so we made do with some flimsy kitchen towels.
On the deck overlooking the ocean, where we had hoped to have outdoor meals, there were 3 flimsy plastic chairs and no table at all. My request for a portable folding table was denied.
Now, the covered gazebo: as it is shaded and overlooking the ocean, this is a lovely spot. However, two of the railing posts were not secure and one of the posts actually fell off, exposing a useless nail that was not in contact with the rail. In other words, there were 2 posts simply propped into place (see photos), creating a potentially lethal hazard for a toddler who could have pushed against the posts and fallen through. Also, there was a large broken chaise on the gazebo taking up a lot of space -- I did not think I should be expected to clear out broken furniture on my vacation.
Before leaving Oak Island, we reported our concerns to Kathleen Kelly at the
Better Beach Rentals office. Subsequently we received an offer of $150
compensation for our “inconvenience” contingent on our not disclosing to anyone, orally or in writing, the deficiencies of the property. This was not something that we could in good conscience agree to, since two of those deficiencies presented the possibility of real physical injury to guests.