What a wonderful, modernized beach house! Classic Old Saybrook/Westbrook beach with great sandbars during low tide and the perfect place for kayaking, SUP and other activities when it is high tide. The fenced-in side area with hose and stones are brilliant for washing and keeping the sand/salt outside away and we kept our bikes there. The outdoor seating was a huge bonus and we ate at the outdoor table often.
The living area is amazing. We are a family of 6 and this fit us wonderfully. They really took families into account when planning this home. There are great accessories, like chairs, toys, umbrellas, bunk beds, safety covers on all of the electrical outlets, etc. We didn't use these items, but I would have loved them when we had small children.
The tiny galley kitchen made me nervous at first, but it was efficient and worked well. Kudos to the designer! There are lots of ceramic and plastic plates to choose from. They could use some larger pots/pans. Ample supplies for cleaning, paper towels and toilet paper (not many in CT do this) as well as tons of towels/wash cloths. Easy parking with 2 spots on the driveway and 2+ in front of the house.
The only negative I would say is that a wind tunnel is created when you open the main door and the back sliding door which slams the main door shut. I almost lost my finger and had to go to the ER for stitches.
Things that would have helped:
- clean spare sheets (missed one of the beds): They did send a cleaning person who arrived within 6 hours to do the bed. :) It would be nice to have something to change to immediately when you are there for 2 weeks with kids. No biggie.
- welcome pack with info on the house: Where things are, when garbage is picked up, what is expected for checkout, how to turn on the garbage disposal (hint: the sink stopper, there is no switch as the property manager texted). The only literature in the house was a PMI brochure.
- turning the exterior lights off at night or less bright. They attracted tons of bugs and made you feel like you were under a spotlight. Most shoreline towns require low/yellow lighting for sea creature safety (turtles, crabs, etc) because the brighter ones mock the moon and confuse many endangered species. I am not sure why this isn't here. We found many beached horseshoe crabs right outside on the beach and wonder if this could be why.
- food found in fridge/cabinet
- DECK app gave address/door code. Otherwise, PMI always texted.