The beach house worked well for our family

The town of Avon is a nice hidden gem of a place if you’re looking to get away from the crowds at Nags Head, Corolla, Kitty Hawk. The house is a bit of walk to the beach but there lose to everything else you could need including a two minute walk to Muffins and Scones-a really nice bakery and coffee shop. The house has some typical beach wear and tear but every bedroom had its own bathroom and all the mattress were very comfy. We were worried because of some recent negative reviews but I think those reviews were over blow. Beast beaches we found were south of Avon at Cape Hattaras National Seashore. There is a day parking area on the sound side which is perfect for small children and watching the sunset. The Oceanside is great for surfing and daylong trips to the beach. Not crowded at all, except for a pod of dolphins.

The positive - kitchen was nice and the main living room area was a great hangout for our family. The pool was nice too although the fence is in very rough shape and many pieces were falling down which was hazardous due to exposed screws/nails. The majority of this house needs MAJOR improvements. There was an exposed tack strip at the threshold of the master bedroom. We had to lay down towels to prevent someone from stepping on the tacks! There were 2 window AC units in the house which seemed strange but soon found out that they were needed to keep the house cool even though there is a central AC unit. The window units were loud which was a bother but again they were needed to cool down the upper level. Several shower fixtures were very loose and the kitchen faucet dripped constantly. Most of the deck doors had broken locks as well. We have a small dog so one of the main reasons we selected Southern Comfort was that the house came up when we searched 'Enclosed Yards'. The pictures online show a fence around the yard with a volleyball net as well. There is NO fence around the yard and there is no volleyball net/area either. Very disappointing...we understand the weather at the OBX and the fence probably had to be taken down but if so then please update the photos online! It is very misleading when booking based on needs of families. Also, the elevator does not work in this house. We did receive a refund at the last minute but again this needs to be communicated earlier. Luckily we were all able to handle the stairs but if someone booked based on elevator being a need, it would've been a really bad situation. We love the OBX and will be back again next year. Unfortunately this home is just not up to par with other so called 'ELITE' homes we have reserved in the past. I hope the owners commit to making this home a better experience for future customers. Cheers, Glenn

We stayed in this house 11 years ago and it was a beautiful place. We booked it again this year because it fit our needs and desires perfectly...until we got there. I received a call on Thursday before our arrival on Sunday to inform us of the a broken elevator. I was offered a refund if I still wanted to stay. At this point, I felt we had no other choice. The family had already taken off work and made arrangements as this was to be our vacation time. With 2 disabled family members the elevator was a great necessity but we managed. The AC wasn't working on the main floor and there was a bad leak under the kitchen sink, which both were fixed promptly. However, when you pay the amount of money we paid, you don't want maintenance guys coming in and out of the home at various times of the week. The pictures on the website are greatly deceiving as the house does not look the same. There was no volleyball net in the front yard, the "hottub room" was not screened in, and there was no fence around the yard. Many of the outside light fixtures didn't work and some were hanging off the wall. The house has been neglected to say the least. However, Vacsa had just taken over for Outer Beaches in March 2022. So this is probably more of Outer Beaches/owners' responsibility than that of Vacsa.

We just returned from 2 weeks at “Southern Comfort”, #908 in Avon. We saved for quite a long time for this vacation and chose “Southern Comfort”, partially, because of the pictures and description on the website. The pictures AND descriptions were VERY, VERY deceiving and can be labeled as false advertising. When we rented previously, 10 years before, we had no issues with communication with Outer Beaches Reality. This trip got off on the wrong foot because communication with VACASA was frustrating. The first messages were sent to e-mail, but some were sent by text. I called Vacasa around 3pm when we first arrived in Avon, after driving 8 hours non-stop. We had gotten info saying we were eligible for early check-in and had an entry code. We went to the front door and tried the entry code, several times. It didn’t work. I called Vacasa again and a man said “oh no, your code won’t work until 6pm. We waited 3 more hours, went back to the house and the code still didn’t work. So once again I called Vacasa and after another fiasco of trying several other codes they gave us to try, we were told a maintenance man would be sent over. A man showed up and kept trying with several codes, he FINALLY got another maintenance man to show up and then they figured out that the lock and the door jam weren’t meeting. So, in order for our lock to work we had to pull on the handle after entering the code so the lock wouldn’t get stuck. So, back to the deceiving pictures vs. reality When we walked up to the house, we noticed the peeling paint all over and rusty bolts all over the decks and railings. Again, deceptive from the pictures. As we walked around, there were loose spindles, some of which were cracked. We then walked to the pool area. The entire area around the pool had broken fencing and cracked and peeling paint on the fence. The area that is listed as a play area/safe pet area, was all weeds and broken, sharp shells. Just awful. The “safety” fence was disintegrating as we watched. The wind would blow and spindles would sway and some even came off with nails sticking up out of them. We then had to pick up some other nails that we saw laying on the ground. The horseshoe pits were almost non-existent with horseshoes that were rusted beyond use. There is an area under the house, where the hot tub was, and in the pictures, it was a fully screened in room with doors. Now the screens are ALL gone and there are NO doors. I wouldn’t touch the gas grills down there with a ten-foot pole they looked so disgusting. One of the reasons we chose this house is because it was pet friendly. We were supposed to bring our 10-year-old Labrador. Unfortunately, and sadly, he passed away shortly before our trip. I cannot imagine what we would have done if he had to walk in that fenced area – again with broken, sharp, shells and awful weeds, broken fencing and loose nails. Not to mention the likelihood of him getting out and getting lost with the lack of properly closed off areas. We then started walking through the house and found out the Master Bedroom, on the top level had a shower handle that was loose from the wall, a seat bolt from one of the other toilets were missing. A sliding door lock off of the dining room was broken and wouldn’t lock. When the maintenance man came back to check on the front door lock, he fixed those items while he was there. The bathtubs and showers weren’t rinsed well, and were very slippery, so we had to wipe those down, after one of us almost fell. There was a pillow in one of the closets that had stains all over it and should have been thrown out, why would anyone store that back in the closet?? There were 3 trash cans at the end of the driveway when we arrive...

The house has so much potential. It’s great for larger groups with spacious seating and dining areas to match with the bedrooms. There is a HUGE ant issue, literally all over the kitchen. The only place any food was safe was in the fridge, microwave or oven. Almost all of the sinks are constantly dripping and the powder room on the landing between top and middle floors has no hot water. There are exposed wires going down the outside stairs to what looks like a melted outdoor light.

Loved the plentiful seating in the living room.

I loved that after an issue at our first home we rented, Vacasa quickly and painlessly moved us into a new VERY MUCH upgraded home to finish our vacation! EXCELLENT customer service!