Memory Maker

This is not so much a review as things future renters might find helpful. The first thing is don’t think you’re at the wrong house because the sign on the house says Carolina Dreaming it should say Memory Maker unless they’ve changed it. If you’re like us and have six or seven cars in the driveway you’re not gonna be able to use the basketball hoop as there’s limited parking in the cul-de-sac near the house. The pool table has four pool cues and two pool chocks the theater room was great the sound and picture was even better than a real theater it works best with a Blu-ray DVD or hooking it up to your phone or laptop all the TVs in the house are equipped with Roku system which If you have a password will allow you to stream Netflix and other video systems. Both the pool and the hot tub had some first day heating issues but Village Realty sent some one in a timely manner that day to fix the problem and it was good the rest of the week. The pool is 5 feet deep at the center and the baby pool is large enough to hold three 8 month year olds. The tiki bar area needs a little loving but the wet sink area right inside the rec room work best for setting up a bar . The gas grill is clean and worked wonderful. Both refrigerators did have an icemaker although it wasn’t enough to fill up a cooler but the nearby grocery store is only minutes away and had everything including paper products that you would need and we found that beer sold at the grocery store was even cheaper then back home. The home has every imaginable utensil pot and pan that you need we made the first time renter mistake of bringing way too much of that stuff - The house had everything we needed there’s also dishes cups plates for at least 20 people and silverware that was all very clean. There was more than ample storage for all the food that we brought or bought. Like was mentioned before all the bathrooms had very good hot water pressure and we found that all bathrooms drains worked well . The wooden walkway over the dunes to the beach is about 15 yards from the edge of the driveway we found that the steps leading down to the dunes was a little steep for the little kids. About 500 yards up the beach from our Beachhouse was the public access area which is more populated with people than the area right off our beach area. They allow umbrellas canopies tents on the beach and if you’re into crabbing in the evening the crabs move about all over the place so easy to find. Trash pick up was adequate as they picked up trash Wednesday and Saturday. The air conditioning in the house worked great in all areas of the home. Hope this helps someone with their planning for the week and we hope everyone enjoys the home as much as we did . Enjoy !!

Please note, our 4 star rating for Memory Maker is after all the issues with the house were addressed by Village Realty. Thank you to Village Realty for responding to the issues relating to house cleanliness and other issues of which there were several. A cleaning crew was dispatched to the house along with a person to trim landscape, an electrician for lots of light issues especially around the pool, and someone to fix the stove burner. Also, a big thank you to Lisa at Village Realty for finally getting the pool guy out to fix the heater after several of our requests/complaints. Unfortunately, we did lose 2 to 3 days of swimming time due to no pool heat. Once the heater was fixed, the toddlers really enjoyed the kiddie pool and we all enjoyed swimming in the pool. We had great weather and of course visited the beach daily. The location of the house is great with Timbuktu Shopping Center and other shopping about a mile north and Duck boardwalk area 15 minutes south. Internet bandwidth was a bit lacking and could be much better. It's only 10mbps and that is not enough to accommodate an 8 bedroom house with over 12 devices trying to connect.The media room is very nice. However, detailed instructions need to be provided on how to use the system(s). We figured it out but it wasnt easy. In addition, instructions on how to access the speakers around the pool are needed informing renters that they have to download an app on their phone in order to access the system. Otherwise, the speakers appear broken. Overall, we liked the house. Nice elevator. Close beach walkway access. Beds were comfortable and Village Realty responded appropriately to our issues regarding cleanliness. I think the complaints are 1) we lost 2 to 3 days of pool time, 2) we had to send so many requests for service and 3) the house needs a thorough cleaning inside and out, and outside shrubs and pool area need to be weed whacked on a regular basis. Even though its later in the season, things still need to be in working condition and clean. Again thank you for addressing these issues. Hopefully, next weeks guests wont have any issues.

Amazing home! Excellent location and accommodations for 16 people, and 1 small dog. Clean upon arrival and Village Realty was VERY HELPFUL with any questions we had. Beach is very close! Pool and amenities were amazing and excellent. Dishwasher on left didn't clean as well as the one on the right. Everything was amazing and we will for sure be back! SO happy to have found such a great place that was pet friendly, too! :o)

Beautiful home. It was very clean and very comfortable. We wish there were at least 1 ice maker but the Teeter was so close we managed to get ice often. Pool was wonderful and even though it was not your doing we had great weather. Sand is very close and easy to get to. Beds were very comfortable. Enjoyed our stay and its deserves the 5 star rating.

We had a wonderful weekend in this big, beautiful home! The house was clean, beds comfortable and water pressure amazing. The added luxury of having an elevator made access within the house so much easier for my husband who has back and hip issues! The views from the many decks in the home were breathtaking! The pool and the hot tub were clean and well kept. The theater room was an added bonus that we enjoyed as a group in the evenings. There were plenty of places for people to get away and enjoy a book while others watched television or enjoyed the pool table in the game room. We enjoyed beautiful weather throughout the week! We had only a few minor suggestions...drain in the master shower on the top floor was slow to drain as were a few of the bathroom drains. We had to watch carefully to ensure that dishes coming out of the dishwasher were truly clean as they frequently came out dirty after running the dishwasher. I suspect this may have been related to the dishwasher detergent, however. Overall we give Memory Maker 10 stars!!!! We will DEFINITELY be back!

Thank you for having us in your home. We loved being able to bring our dogs, it made our time in OBX so much better. The house was beautiful, we just think it needed a bit more TLC. The kitchen faucet desperately needs to be replaced, railings out back had a few loose boards and the kitchen cabinets were a bit dirty ... but other than that, its a beautiful home. Plenty of room for everyone to gather as well as plenty of room to be separate if you chose to be. Water pressure is fabulous and the house has plenty of hot water. Short walk to the beach, plenty of areas outside to rinse off the sand (outside shower and two spickets), and three dishwashers !! Close to shopping, grocery, and gas. This home has more positives than negatives.
One suggestion I would give the realty folks would be to offer instructions on paper inside of the house for the older folks who arent app savvy. They had to rely on the younger folks in the family to find out info about the house (instructions, etc.)

Was thrilled to find such a great house that was dog friendly. Overall was very happy- the house was a very nice house and the bedrooms were big enough and beds and pillows were comfortable. Distance to the beach was terrific for not having its own access. Unfortunately the negative- I felt that the house deserved more care. For such a nice house it was pretty dirty on the inside. Though to be fair is that because it is pet friendly? The outdoor maintenance was not really acceptable either. The grass in the pool area, or weeds I should say, could easily have been pulled. The overall feel of the neighborhood was that the area is not well-maintained in general which is a huge shame. Finally we made several phone calls to Village Realty for minor issues in the house and they responded immediately however one of their service men, an older gentleman, a little on the large side, who came for Internet and theater room issues was extremely rude to my family. I should have called to report him as he came to the hous

We planned an Easter Family Reunion and the House was perfect for a large crowd. The house was spotless, each bedroom had its own bath which was a plus for 12 adults. The house was big enough so that we had plenty of room and we werent on top of each other. The children loved the media room & thought they were at the movies every night. Would stay again.