Carolina & Kure Beach Rentals by Carolina Retreats — Attraction in Carolina Beach

just stayed at Family Tides Carolina Beach 8/19-23. It was wonderful. The staff at Carolina Retreats was extremely professional and responsive.

The rental was very clean and had everything we needed. You walk in the door to a mud room and set of stairs to the living area (two large sofas and Flat screen TV - very comfortable space), updated kitchen with newer appliances and stocked with dishes and everything you need. Just bring food and drinks. There is a walk out balcony with electric grill and table and chairs facing the ocean. The Marriott blocks most of the view from this floor but it’s still pretty and higher floors provide a better view. There is a nice dining area and half bath on that first level as well. Then there is another set of stairs leading up to two private bedrooms on either side of that foot each with their own private full bath. Split floorplan allows privacy. One bedroom has a queen bed and is ocean views and the other has a full daybed and futon bed. Both rooms have flat screen TVs wi fi etc. There is also a full sized washer and dryer on that floor. Then there is one final set of stairs leading up to the Master bedroom with a king bed, ocean views, a large and updated master bath with dual sinks separate tub shower and separate room with toilet. All bathrooms have the nicer high vanities. There is also a larger walk in closet. Hangers to hang clothes if needed.

All floors have walk out balconies with a spiral staircase leading to the roof with fantastic beach view.

Each stairway opening measures 50” in case you need to bring temporary baby gates as we did. We used 3. Just FYI

The location is amazing. Ocean views, better than from pics. Two minute walk from our door to the beach. Three minute walk to boardwalk and Britts donuts. Open Fri-Sunday and get there early as there’s a line but they are so worth it. Tony Silvagni’s Bike and beach chair and umbrella rentals is just steps from the door to this unit. Tony is great and the bike rentals and surf lessons (Also booked from his shop) were a fun addition.

We had my parents who are late 60s early 70s and the stairs were a bit much for them and having an 18 month old we had to prepare with gates for the stairs but other than that it is the perfect rental and location.

With COVID the fireworks did not happen this year, the Fort Fisher Aquarium was closed and the boardwalk carnival did not operate this year so that was sad. But all the boardwalk shops and restaurants were open as well as a fantastic farmers marked just a few short blocks away on Saturday morning. And a short drive into downtown Wilmington made for a fun beach and sightseeing weekend.

Family Tides was a beautiful, clean and excellently located unit! Oh and towels and linens...

My family recently had the misfortunate of staying at one of their managed properties in Kure Beach in a condo community we've stayed in several times over the years. We have occasionally encountered minor issues - none dealing with health or safety - and the respective management companies have always responded promptly and accordingly.

This time, we did not encounter such luck. This Carolina Retreats property had a variety of issues - some of which I'm sure were related to ownership cutting corners - but major issues with basic cleanliness/hygiene and health/safety. Amongst the issues with our stay:

Upon check in, property management was surprised to learn about a broken floor tile, hole in the wall, and dented appliance;

Refrigerator shelves contained crumbs on the surface and had a brown, sludge-like liquid caked under the shelves;

Basement level was at 90% humidity and smell was unbearable on that level;

Woke up one day with a bug infestation. Was told the house was treated monthly for pests. Pest management company then came & did the monthly threatment while we were there.

Mold in the master bedroom walk-in closet. The first solution was to treat with bleach and paint. We initially said no to this as we had health concerns with this occurring while we were in the house. The room was sealed off. Then, the management came back within 2 hours and unsealed it and treated it anyway - setting up a dehumifidier running from the closet to drip in the master bath sink. The room and bathroom reeked of mold the entire week.

These were the things we notified management about; we didn't bother (until my conversation with guest services after the week was over) to mention the long expired food throughout the kitchen, rusted out bar sink, faulty power strips, and repeated power surges while we were there.

All in all, we had 4 separate visits from maintenance to the property while we were there, and the mold odor was never actually remedied despite us relenting to their solution. Also important to note: we also notified property management almost immediately that we had an immunocompromised party.

Upon trying to rectify this with the guest services manager, who apparently works in a different office, I was told the notes in my file reflected that she had staffed this with department heads, that our family DIDN'T LET THEM IN to resolve the issue (a boldface lie), so there was nothing they could do for us.

All of that said: Stay far, far away from Carolina Retreats properties if you value a company that will actually assist you should health and safety concerns arise...

Unfortunately, on our recent trip, we had a serious safety issue, the back door had no handle, no lock, and no way to be properly secured. We reached out to maintenance immediately but received no help, and the issue was never completely resolved during our 7 day stay. Health and safety should be the number one priority and it just isn’t to these people. The “on call” person told us that Topsail is safe, you have nothing to worry about. The customer service rep said he could have reimbursed us if we left mid week to find another property, ok that’s ridiculous - move a party of 7 on 4th of July week. Where are we going to go?

When we spoke with the property manager, she seemed bothered by the call (which happened to be on the Fourth of July) and was more focused on ending the conversation (“you should want to be on the beach, not on the phone dealing with this” ya that would be nice. 🙄) than addressing the concern. She kept repeating the steps they took to get the parts to fix the door and how it was out of their control. I get things happen but the lack of urgency and willingness to compensate us for this major issue was not considered at all. I spoke firmly, I was respectful and never raised my voice but understandably so, I was very upset. My kid could walk out the door onto the beach or someone could come in. We don’t know who was renting on either side of us. How did no one see this issue? Not the previous guests, not the cleaning people? She labeled me “aggressive” and dismissed my concerns indicating that the part was ordered and there was nothing she could do.

Her proposed solution (a security bar) was not sufficient, especially when I explained a child could easily move it. She said, “a child could unlock a door too,” which completely missed the point: multiple security measures are better than one, and basic safety should be guaranteed.

We were offered a small reimbursement that didn’t reflect the severity of the situation, and the conversation ended with a condescending, “Would $200 more make you happy?” She clearly missed the point completely.

We would not recommend this property or its management team to anyone expecting a safe, secure, and professionally managed rental. Customer satisfaction is not a priority to...