Sound of the Sea — Hotel in Emerald Isle

Visited Emerald Isle with family and friends the last week of July. Our friends had never been, and we wanted them to love it as much as we do. We booked the four bedroom / two bath condo facing the ocean at Sound of the Sea. We have stayed in this complex many times prior and loved it - but it has been ten years since we visited. The main pool was unusable because the water was so hot and the other pool in the middle of the parking lot reminded me of a trailer park. Sound of the Sea has gone seriously downhill and we were very disappointed. ||First of all ' on the beach' and 'great view' is deceiving because it is right behind a huge sand dune. Walls are thin - adjacent condo guests can be heard - and the layout is not great at all. The condo itself has been 'upgraded' but still felt very congested and tight for space. The decks are very tiny and you cannot move the furniture around at all because it is chained to the porch with bike locks - makes you feel as though you are in an unsafe/sketchy area. Security stopped by to make us remove towels from our deck - and a strange person patroling the parking lot daily told us there have been security 'instances' lately. He also questioned us multiple times if we were owners or renters and seemed to be the self-imposed HOA president. He was rude and annoying......||Sound of the Sea 101E has been renovated, but still needs a LOT of updating! In the main living room - a pull-out couch would have been nice for our 22 yr old. There are many little details that have been overlooked which would have made the stay much more comfortable. The televisions are all very small - especially the one in the downstairs queen bedroom that is 'hiding' in the closet..... ||Maintenance: the sliding glass door on the main floor is almost impossible to open and close. The refrigerator door is also very difficult to open. The ceiling vents are all loose and hanging from the ceiling. The towel rack in upstairs bathroom fell off the door daily. The key rack in the kitchen is falling off the wall. The pocket door to the powder room is stiff and tight and hard to open and close. The bathrooms and showers are not very nice with signs posted telling you to clean the drains, etc because they are OLD. Cleaned one drain while I was there and it was beyond disgusting. The dryer does not work well at all and you have to put towels through two or three times to get them dry. Being able to wash and dry beach towels at the beach in a reasonable amount of time is important. There are no throw blankets of any sort in the condo. ||There are large cockroaches in the basement/garage/laundry area. I know it is the south - but, LARGE cockroaches.... enough said. ||Also - college aged daughter came to stay for one night and we had to call Emerald Isle Realty three times to get a parking permit for her. Office person claimed they had none left and we would have to park our car in the overflow lot at the Realty office - (ummmmm - no - that is a major incovenience! ) In a 4 bedroom unit, you are entitled to three parking permits, and we only had two from the start. They hung up on us twice and finally called back to say they found a permit.||Bottom line, while the condo looks pretty online - it was cosmetic and a facade. Space was not conducive to our party of eight at all and we wished we had spent more to get a nicer place directly on the beach. It is a shame because it was our friends first experience in Emerald Isle and it was mediocre...

I have been coming to this place 3 years in a row with my family. After this year, we will no longer be renting this place. The security here has been a disaster. We were only giving 2 parking passes. Was told the owners have more but didn't want to give out more. They would be sitting at the gate waiting for you to come in to see if we had a pass. Also on one night before I could park my vehicle, they had come up to my vehicle and flashed their flashlights in the passenger window shinning their light right in my face. Every night I would sit out and watch them as they would shine their flash lights all in our cars. Couple of nights after checking my car, they would even come back and shine their lights again. So keep your car doors locked. They would use the excuse they are keeping people who don't rent here out. I never saw anyone that would try to come in with out a tag. There was more empty parking spaces than they had occupied. You cannot even invite anyone to come visit you or they would be ran off. I had my father come over just to eat dinner with me and the security officer told him he had to leave. So if you and your husband or wife drive both cars, then you can not have any family come see you. With the money you pay to rent this place, I think that it crazy. Talked to several guest thru the week and they were just as upset as I. If you have a big party staying, then you better all fit in one...

My family booked a vacation with Bluewater. We stayed at Sound Of The Sea East 129, Emerald Isle, NC. The unit was not cleaned well, had maintenance issues and needed pest control. I took pictures and recordings then communicated it all to Bluewater upon entering the unit and the next morning when the office opened. The management company fixed some of the maintenance issues and sent staff to clean. However, the pest problem continued to worsen. I reached backed out to inquired into pest control and was informed that HOA was responsible. Pest control had sprayed the week before we arrived yet we had very active bugs, which management had videos of. Given the increase in roaches/ water bugs and ants, I again requested pest control. Bluewater dropped off a can of roach spray so I could spray the bugs myself and contacted HOA. I sent additional pictures and videos as the bugs seemed to be multiplying. I called and texted management. I asked if Bluewater or the apartment owner could act independently and spray the bugs. We never received pest control and management only gave us lip service of so sorry and this is the beach. Like bugs are to expected all over the place including under our pillow in the bed and in my father’s CPAP breathing tube. Shame on them. Beware of using this management company, Bluewater or staying at Sound Of The Sea East 129, Emerald Isle, NC unless you are ok with water bugs...