My family and I arrived on Sunday, May 24th at the Grande Villas in Indian Beach, NC which is right in the center of Emerald Isle. Thus far everything has been perfect. The team at Emerald Isle Realty really does an incredible job of considering your every need. Our check in was smooth and our unit is beautiful.

We have two first floor units, 1-K and 1-L. These units each have stairs which leads right to the grass and then to the beach. It is so so convenient. We worried a little about if there would be a privacy or noise problem, but this would never be an issue due to where the units are located. It is just so nice to quick go to the pool or the beach or each others unit, without have to go into the building.

The units themselves are brand new and first class. Tile everywhere, 13 foot ceilings, granite countertops, walk in showers, walk in closets in each bedroom and three very nice flat screen TVs. There is high speed wireless Internet in each unit! I mean there is an actual wireless router in our unit! 2.5Mb/s according to speedtest.net, so very nice!

The exercise room overlooks the ocean and the equipment is brand new. There are two ellipticals, a couple of treadmills and a stairmaster, as well as some strength training equipment.. There is also a game room with a huge flatscreen, free pool table and free video games including Galaga!

The closest grocery store is on the east end of the island, a Food Lion, and it’s about 9 miles away. There is a convenience store about 100 yards from Grande Villas, just across the street, that has the basic staples and also also bait and tackle for fishing! The bait is frozen however. But if you take a right out of the resort and go a 1/4 mile or so, there is a place called Homer’s Point which sells fresh shrimp (among other fresh seafood). We stopped by there on our way out and picked up three very nice Mahi Mahi filets which we grilled up when we got home!

One night we drove about 10 miles to the west end of the island and ate at Rutger Johns. It doesn’t have an amazing view, and it’s in the back of a strip mall, but the food came recommended and it was very good and economical. Great place to take a 15 month old. Kid friendly, nice atmosphere and excellent food. A word to the wise, if you are in a hurry to eat, and want to eat on the water (or really eat period) don’t go west (turning left) out of the resort, there are no restaurants for 15-20 minutes. However, if you go east, there are quite a few restaurants in the first two miles. This is good to know if you have kids and need to eat. Carleton’s is just a 1/4 to 1/2 miles to the west (left out of Grande Villas) but we never ate there mostly because it seemed like it might be a bit too fancy to take a kid.

On Tuesday afternoon we had lunch at The Big Oak, where we all had our first shrimp burgers.   They were amazing, and we had a really nice time.   For most people, I would consider getting the large shrimp burger, I ordered the regular shrimp burger initially and ended up ordering two of them!

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I’m jazzed! My wife and I have been looking for a vacation rental or timeshare rental (gasp!) to spend a week on the beach in either North Carolina or South Carolina. There are some amenities which are important to us, especially now that we have a one year old daughter. Requirements:

1) On the ocean with a deck overlooking the ocean
2) Kiddie splash pool for our daughter
3) Short walk to the beach
4) Very nice pool with umbrellas
5) 2 bedroom + / 2 bath with king bed and high speed wireless Internet
6) Dining on site or very close
7) updated rooms with nice beds
exercise facility
9) within 6 hours of our home in North Carolina
10) Reasonable weekly rates

Then today, while reviewing the new listings for the day, I noticed that the development team at Grande Villas on Emerald Isle in Indian Beach, North Carolina had posted a couple of listings for their 2 bedroom and 3 bedroom vacation rental condos. That place looks amazing! Here is their vacation rental widget from their listing, click on the widget to view more details:

Oceanfront Villa with Fitness Center & Club Lounge United States » North Carolina » Atlantic Beach   View This Listing at VacationRentalDirect.com   3 Bedrooms & 3 Full Baths on the Ocean! Imagine feeling the sand between your toes & hearing the waves crash against the shore as you refresh your soul at your new oceanfront retreat.   Property Details Listing: 13950 Type: Condo Sleeps : 6 to 8 Bed(s): 3 Bed(s): 3 Pets: Yes Children: Yes Pool :Yes Smoking: No Amenities Air Condition Phone Washers & Dryer DVD Player Stove Internet

Contact: Nathan Wax        Phone: (252) 354-3315

Vacation Rentals By Owner | VacationRentalDirect.com | Vacation Homes

I don’t like direct linking to the website of competitors, but the rental team at Emerald Isle Realty has done a nice job of promoting the units on their website, check it out.

Update 2/23/09: My wife and I got a great deal from Nathan at Emerald Isle on a 3 bedroom unit at Grande Villas in late May. Make sure to ask Nathan if they have any specials! I’ll take lots of pictures and videos and post them we we get back!

I had a nice conversation with the owner of a Blowing Rock North Carolina Vacation Rental the other day, so I thought I’d feature his rental on my blog as well as tell my readers a little more about Blowing Rock North Carolina.

Waterfall Tree House United States » North Carolina » Blowing Rock   View This Listing at VacationRentalDirect.com   Beautiful Tree House like cabin near waterfall in private gated development.   Property Details Type :Cabin Pets :Yes Listing :13708 Children :No Sleeps :1 to 2 Pool :No Bed(s) :1 Bath(s) :1 Amenities Air Condition Radio Hunting near by Washers & Dryer TV Cable DVD Player

Contact: michael Kirkland        Phone: 828-719-5761

Holiday Rentals | VacationRentalDirect.com | Vacation Homes

Blowing Rock is a small town just outside of Boone in North Carolina. The town has a wonderful variety of shops, small hotels, resorts, golf courses, state parks and local activities. Most weekends it is very busy with tourists. Parking can be difficult on the weekends, especially in the summer because it’s always about 10 degrees cooler in Blowing Rock.

Expect to wait when having lunch. My wife and I prefer to visit on a weekday if possible, simply because of the crowds.

We’ve never stayed in Blowing Rock over night, however there are some super nice hotels just a few hundred yards from the downtown. You can view all of the Blowing Rock Vacation Rentals by clicking here.

There are some decent boutique clothing shops for women, and even a nice one for babies. I don’t recall a lot of options for men. There are a few touristy shops, but many are more artsy in nature. There is a Tanger Outlet Mall in Blowing Rock as well.

Overall, Blowing Rock a great place to spend an afternoon. There is a ton more to do in the area, that I have not explored. One of the things I aim to do this spring is a little bit of hiking in the area. I found this article about hiking around Bass Lake, which seems like a wonderful trek:

Trail Map for the Moses H. Come Memorial Park (includes Bass Lake Trek)

Lake Tahoe Lodging, Inc. welcomes the new year by offering 40% off on its luxury Lake Tahoe vacation rentals.

Lake Tahoe, CA / NV (PRWEB) January 6, 2005 — Lake Tahoe Lodging, Inc. offers 40 percent off on mid-week Lake Tahoe vacation rentals with a 2 night minimum stay.

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Lake Tahoe Lodging, Inc. (LTL) – A provider of Luxury Lake Tahoe accommodations announces their “Get into winter” special offering 40% off on mid-week vacation rentals.

Known for its vacation rental bonuses and immaculately kept quality properties, LTL is providing this special mid-week savings to guests who book a minimum two-night stay at any of LTL’s properties.

“This is a great opportunity for guests to visit us for a mid-week stay or quick, last minute vacation get-away and really save money while enjoying a south Lake Tahoe vacation rental. ” says Chad Smittkamp, CEO of Lake Tahoe Lodging.

VacationsAtTahoe.com and LakeTahoeLodging.com are vacation rental and lodging sites created by Lake Tahoe Lodging, Inc. providing hassle-free year-round Lake Tahoe Vacation Rentals packed with amenities for less than the cost of many hotels. Visitors to the Lake Tahoe Area can get a fully equipped vacation-ready “home-away-from-home” and enjoy luxury accommodations, a romantic getaway or just bring their entire family to enjoy this world famous area.

Lake Tahoe Lodging has vacation rental properties located on both the Nevada and California sides of Lake Tahoe’s South and East Shores. Visitors enjoy concierge services including: Personal Shopping, Babysitting, Dog Sitting and Walking, Hot Tubs, Wood for Fireplaces, Personal Massages & Facials, Children’s Activities, Boat Cruises, Boat Rentals, Boat Buoy Rentals, Guided Hiking, Biking, Horse Back Riding Tours, Event Tickets and more.

Terms: Subject to availability with a two-night minimum stay. No holiday periods. Good for any reservation arriving on a Monday thru Wednesday and departing Wednesday thru Friday. Offer expires March 15, 2006.

For more information, reservations and last minute specials call toll free 1-800-654-5253 or visit on the web:

http://www.VacationsAtTahoe.com
http://www.LakeTahoeLodging.com

By GWEN MICKELSON
Sentinel staff writer

SANTA CRUZ — Sandra Lovelace hopes to learn some new software tricks at an upcoming vacation rental conference Monday and Tuesday at the Coast Santa Cruz Hotel.

The conference, sponsored by Seattle-based Escapia Inc., which makes vacation rental management software and marketing products, aims to bring together Northern California coast vacation rental management, staff and vacation industry leaders to discuss new trends and technologies that will determine the future profitability of vacation rentals in the area.

Lovelace, vacation manager with Kendall & Potter Property Management Co. in Aptos, said her company was looking for an updated program for its database, seeking something more Web-based, and it chose Escapia’s software.

“We’ll learn things we don’t know already because we’re just starting to use their software,” she said.

The conference is one of a series held at various U.S. vacation locations. Escapia and co-sponsor Buehner-Fry Inc., a Bend, Ore., vacation rental management services company, will present seminars, roundtable discussions and a technology showcase.

The vacation rental market here merits it, according to Chris C. Kemp, president and chief executive officer of Escapia.

“Vacation rentals is a market that’s evolving in Santa Cruz,” he said. “It’s a huge industry that’s growing at a pretty rapid rate. When baby boomers retire, about 60 percent of them want to own a second home or vacation home somewhere.”

Over the past six years, according to the Vacation Rental Managers Association of Santa Cruz, the vacation rental industry has been growing at a rate of 10 to 15 percent per year.

The industry consists mainly of real estate companies that sell homes to investors who plan to use them part-time, said Kemp.

Kemp said he expects between 12 and 24 attendees at the conference.

The featured speaker will be George Volsky, veteran industry analyst, speaker at vacation rental events across the country, former vacation rental manager, attorney and expert on issues facing vacation rental managers.

Topics discussed will include how to draw people to a seasonally affected area, legislative resistance to vacation rentals, Internet marketing and how the Web is affecting the industry and how to make vacation rental companies more competitive with rent-by-owner offerings and pricing.

The two-day conference, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days, costs $195 per person, which can be paid at the door and includes breakfast and lunch. For information, visit conference.escapia.com/-northerncalifornia/ or call (877) 871-5156.