First off, the location is amazing. You have your own private beach, large pool (heated if you pay extra) and top-notch house. Beach rentals are tough to come by in the Keys as this is a boaters paradise and real sandy beaches aren't plentyful. There are not many houses located on sandy beaches anywhere in Keys that are for rent. This house, however, has the best of everything. It is located close to sport fishing, restaurants and of course, your very own beach. The house itself is two levels. The top and bottom are rented as one, but have seperate entrances which was fine because thats where we sent the teens to hangout. Both kitchens had everything, the bedrooms had great beds, pillows and super fluffy towels for the bathrooms and to use on the beach. No concerns at all with appointments as this house has everything you need. There are plenty of pool toys and floaties as well. The property comes with two single-person kayaks and two paddle boards with life jackets. Lisa, our hostess was great and addressed all our needs quickly. She has been doing this a long time and has thus, accumulated a great wealth of knowledge as to what the renter needs. At last count, I counted seating for 48 people around the property on various decks, pool seating, beach seating and grill area seating.
Concerns: Some have talked of road noise. Yes, this property is located right off of Hwy1 but a brick wall and a 45 mph speed limit cut the noise down quite a bit. With the A/C on and another small fan I purchased for our room eliminated the noise almost completely. Never an issue.
We paid for the pool heat, but because of faulty maintenance, we didn't get to enjoy the pool until the end of the second day which is when we finally got the propane tanks to use on the grill and outdoor fireplace. Again, these are small issues compared to the magnitude of how beautiful the surroundings are but I feel to be truly a five-star property, these need to be ready to go for each new renter on day-one. I do have to credit Lisa though, she tried her best to get everything done and handled as quickly as possible. She arranged for the AC guy, pool guy and landscaping to handle all of our concerns ASAP.
Seawead: Yes, more than likely you may have some, at least most times of the year. South winds bring it in and North winds take it out to sea to reveal the pristine, warm shallow waters. The wind direction will determine water clarity.
We will return!