NTB1234 Dream Big

Great location, quiet, all the comforts of home.

Parking is limited. Three cars at the most, single file. House was clean and well stocked. Furniture was fair. Views are amazing. Only beach access is through first floor bedroom.

Last week we had a family get together at the "Dream Big" condo in North Topsail Beach, NC booked through VACASA... I'll admit I'd never even heard of Topsail Beach Island until my daughter suggested it... We found this rental through VACASA.. They were a breath of fresh air after a recent stress related run in with VRBO... Anyway... we booked a few months ago and arrived Sept 30th for a 4 night stay just when the predicted hurricane was supposed to hit... Instead of fear and mayhem, we had absolutely perfect weather for 4 days with west coast-sized waves and temps in the low-mid 70's. I read all the reviews of "Dream Big" before booking and while most were good, some past guests complained about sand on the floors. No broom to sweep it up.. Less than ideal beach access ( you have to walk through a bedroom to get to it).. single ply toilet paper, etc... Before I post my review, I'll address these.. First.. it's a beach house built ON THE BEACH... The house is surrounded by sand.. front, back, and sides.. You have to walk through some sand to get into the house so yes, you'll track sand in.. Deal with it. The property owners have a swifter in the laundry room for guests. Second.. Yes... the main access to the beach from the condo is through the second floor bedroom. However.. if you'd rather not walk through someone's room, walk out the front door, walk 15 feet and walk the path to the beach. Two minutes. Lastly.. yes... they provided cheap TP..., but plenty of rolls. The property is spectacular and all six of us loved it. It's well appointed and colorful with everything you need to make your stay pleasant. The view from all 3 floors is great. The condo was very well maintained and built as solid as I've ever seen. The owners probably paid extra for hurricane spec construction. I've stayed in beach homes all over the world and I've never had one this close to the ocean. The water washes up within mere feet of the rear stairs at high tide.. Nothing to worry about, but closer than expected. IMHO, Topsail Beach is one of the best east coast beaches. Walking the beach is a pleasure with few sharp shells to worry about. Our dogs played on it every day. The only "con" I can think of is.... if you are old or in bad physical shape.. you might want to forget about taking the top floor bedroom. After facing all those stairs only once, we (and the other age-challenged adults) agreed to let the kids have it. Our experience was no less than magical. I'd stay there again in a heartbeat and I'd book it through VACASA... I swear they have the best customer service I've ever experienced in renting property.. Every OCD question we threw at them pre-visit got a quick, succinct response. Dang impressive. Bottom line... we loved "Dream Big."

Well stocked beautiful home beds were comfortable very clean

This is our second time staying in this particular house. First time was 5 years ago. Pros -love the overall decor. Was what sold us for our first visit -checkout was sooooo simple. Easiest beach house checkout Ive ever had. Literally all you had to do was start the dishwasher, grab your own belongings, then click a link once you were gone. No pre cleaning the house or stripping the beds -Laundry smells like true laundry detergent. Not that hotel laundry smell -many appliances available for cooking needs, including crockpot, casserole dishes, can opener, oven and dishwasher in good shape -plenty of plates, cups, bowls, silverware -beach view/access is unmatched....stairs lead straight to the sand -15 minutes from grocery store -lots of deck chairs Cons -bring ant traps. We had a lot of ants that got into our open food and had to toss -no vaccuum, broom and dust pan not noticed. Something is needed with the amount of sand brought in -if you like hand towels, bring extra. Youre given one kitchen hand towel and only bath towels, floor mat and wash cloths -reached out to vacasa chat regarding the ants and section of kitchen ceiling missing with buckets beneath. Said they would reach out to maintenance and took our contact number, asked if itd be ok to have someone come by. Never received a call back or text and noone came by the beach house. We also were never informed of an issue with the ceiling or leak -sliding glass door does not stay on track and comes off. This is an ongoing issue Info I would find helpful -one small liquid dish soap, powder laundry soap and sponge provided. May need to bring extra. -one paper towel roll provided -2 additional toilet paper rolls provided per bathroom. Single ply None of these items would keep us from returning. We've already looked at booking again for next year. We had a fun and relaxing time 🧡🌻

I was extremely disappointed with the condition of the property. Vacasa called me when I was 6 hours into my drive to the property to let me know that there was a leak in the kitchen that would be repaired during my stay. Upon my arrival, I was surprised to find that the upstairs bathroom plumbing was leaking into the kitchen ceiling/light fixtures and black mold was present. There was a bucket in the middle of the floor that was half-full of water. The property condition should have been disclosed in advance because this was obviously not a new leak and I was not ok with my family being exposed to mold. I sent pictures of the leak/mold to Vacasa and called upon check-in, so they were made aware of the extent of the issue. Communication with Vacasa was difficult and it took 4 days for repairmen to finally show up. Then we had to deal with repairmen working inside and around the property for two days. The repairman told us that this issue should have been communicated to them as an emergency, but had not been. We only had 1 full day of being able to use the upstairs master bath and the unit was finally starting to smell better after the mold was remediated. I'm overall disgusted that I spent so much money to have this kind of experience. I won't do business with Vacasa again. The views are beautiful here and this could have been a nice vacation if the property had been in acceptable condition.