BLUE BAYOU: Everything was great before and during our stay. We booked Blue Bayou for 5 days with Island Getaways through AirBnB. Our communications with Sherry and staff before arrival were responsive and helpful. The home is simply stunning on the inside and perfect for 2 couples. What put a negative ending on our lovely stay was the attitude of Island Getaways toward personal items left behind. "Throw it away" is their attitude and policy. It is evidently too much hassle for a customer service vacation rental company to facilitate the return of accidentally forgotten belongings to renters - AFTER they have vacated the property. I can't help they cynicism in my thoughts... they have our money, we've left the property spotless, except for our forgotten personal items, and they cannot find the time or generosity to make a phone call to discuss a return using the credit card information they already have. I told them I would pay extra for the box, padding and their time arranging it. My items included about 6 personal 4-8 oz jars of nuts & seeds (collectible glass canning jars) NOT fresh store bought food, and an unopened 32 oz cannister of high quality protein powder. I don't know anyone personally who would intentionally leave personal items behind. I believe that's why it's termed "accidental." I believe people are capable of knowing the difference between store bought fresh food and personal collectible jars filled with pantry items. I believe people realize an unopened cannister of protein powder is fairly expensive. I believe most people are good and kind and generous when given an opportunity to be helpful to others. It turns out even in the off season - when Island Getaways office staff is obviously not as busy as during peak season - it is way too much hassle to carry customer service to the customer AFTER they are no longer on site. read more

We stayed at Ocean(W) Grove Beach House in Chincoteague Island last year and I will copy and paste what I emailed the property. "We were disappointed with the overall cleanliness of the house. A few concerns while settling in: -There are ants all over the kitchen area. -There is also no trash can in the small bathroom downstairs. - barely any hand soap in either bathroom. Thankfully we brought a large bottle of hand soap with us and refilled one of the bottles that was really low. -I also don't see any extra paper towels or kitchen towels or hand towels anywhere in the house. " Their response: "Thank you for taking time to reach out to us about your stay. Despite all of our houses being on a pest control plan, the ants are always a troublesome part of the Chincoteague experience. We recommend that you put all of your food away and do not leave it sitting out. They will be very noticeable otherwise. There is nothing we can really do about the ants. We do keep ant traps here at the office. Please let us know if you would like to stop in and get some. The hand soap is not something we provide with our rentals. If there are soap bottles, they were let from previous guests. We also only provide a starter roll of paper towels and a starter roll of toilet paper in each bathroom. Anything beyond that guests would need to bring. If you need any hand towels just let us know. We can put some out for you." The back deck was a mess and unusable. We ended up buying powder to kill the ants and zip lock bags to keep all our food, hand towels and toilet paper, and even with that the ants were EVERYWHERE. When we checked out we got a call asking what the powder was all over the kitchen and I told them, it was ant deterrent and they did not press the issue. I even left the container under the sink since they clearly needed it. I don't know about everyone else but if you pay over $1k to stay in a vacation home for 1 week, you shouldn't be expected to bring toilet paper, paper towels, zip loc bags to keep ants out, hand towels, hand soap, etc. We have rented through Airbnb before in Pennsylvania and did not have to bring any of those items. We have stayed in the area several times at the Best Western and it's always been a pleasurable experience, but I am finding that renting a home is an entirely different thing in that area. It looks like we won't be going back to Chincoteague this year, as most of the homes are not rented by individuals and all the companies I have looked at have poor reviews. So if you want to go, plan really early to find the best places to stay! read more

Rented a house this pass July and one two years ago. No problems with the house, just the neighboring properties. The one this year on north main street some guy decided to work on the house next to our bedrooms until 4:00 AM sawing and pounding nails outside and inside. Should of called police but did not know what he might do to our car later if he got pissed. The other house I had to back out driveway on a very narrow street with cars parked there and was no fun trying to get out, so I backed in driveway which also was no fun and broke my car mirror on the fence along driveway. I called Island getaways and they did apologize for the noisy night, but was not their fault... read more

Hey folks - we are owners, but we have a tremendous amount of contact and so forth with the team at Island Getaways, and they have been so good to us, they've literally treated us like family. We bought our place just last year, but they handled all the accounting on their end for the changeover with no hitches, and they were patient with us while we came up to speed with the whole "Vacation Rental" concept. Our place is on one of the most fabulous islands along the entire east coast, and we think it's just the most peaceful and tranquil place to go to get some much needed "Sanity" time. They try to help all customers feel that way when they visit. Some of the reviews on here are old and are no longer relevant, due to employee changes and so on. I just wanted to give them a shout out and a good review since owners have a lot of impact and responsibility in this rental business. The one story I can tell you, to make this personal, is that we thought we had covered all the bases on the day of the handover from the old owners. The place was rented, so we kind of held our breath and waited. The one thing we forgot was to contact the local cable TV company and the TV (and WiFi) got turned off in the middle of the day. Shannon, over there at the front desk, went down to the cable company office and asked if they could get the repair guy out that afternoon. They DID! The cable TV (and WiFi) was literally hooked up by 4p that afternoon! Talk about going the extra mile! Trust me, I told them, we live in a BIG city, and pretty much always have, and folks don't (or won't) do that type of thing for you. It's very rare. Island Getaways has a great team. They will treat you right. read more

Sunny Claire Cottage property located at 4012 Main St, Chincoteague, VA 23336, USA through Island Getaways YIKES - Hot tub folliculitis! Beware. Our family rented out this property for the holidays for a total of 9 nights and we're eager to stay knowing the previous reviews. We could not have been more wrong. First and foremost, out of the 7 guest, 6 walked away with open sores and rash (hot tub folliculitis) due to the mismanagement of the hot tub (it's serviced by the owner who lives next door). When we brought this up to the host Sherry, the owner (Shawn) ensured us they use the best product. After "servicing" it, we were not given the PH level or assurance that it was safe and serviced often. Instead, an intoxicating amount of chlorine was added to the tub that further irritated the skin for two days after our last use. As a reminder, the CDC advises a properly maintained hot tub should "No odor; a well-chlorinated hot tub has little odor. A strong chemical smell indicates a maintenance problem." https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/swimming/swimmers/hot-tub-user-information.html I disagree with the notion that its serviced often. When we arrived we found a charm bracelet that belonged to the owner who had "been missing it for weeks" - if it was serviced often and properly it would have been found. Second, at the end of our trip while doing laundry or showering in the downstairs shower we noticed a sewage smell in the kitchen. We were unsure if this had to do with the leak under the sink what had to be serviced on Christmas Eve. Lastly, the property was not prepared well for a nine night stay. There were no wash rags or hand towels in the kitchen, there was little to no hand soap, a few rolls of toilet paper, and the two propane tanks were empty. I am thankful that the host reimbursed us for having to do their errands that should have done prior to our visits. When asked why this happened, I was told that the "regular" cleaners were not available to clean so they had to send someone from the office. Not very assuring during COVID times. I communicated all these issues with the host. I was reimbursed for refilling the propane and getting hand soap and towels, but not once was there an apology or refund for the physical pain the mismanagement of their hot tub caused. It seemed like we were reaching out to the host almost daily to fix or flag something with the property and it took away from our stay. The location is good and the kitchen is big - I'll give it that. We stay in Chincoteague often and after this experience, I'd stay at the hotel across the street anytime. read more

We've rented houses from Island Getaways for many years - from when our children were very small to now, extended family with grandchildren. We've always been satisfied with their friendly service and cleanliness. I recommend them to others who want to know who to use for their vacation rentals. We had a great time this year and we're looking forward to next year's family vacation! read more

My extended family and I rented a house through Island Getaways in Chincoteague, VA, in July/August 2022 for one week. The total cost was more than $1900. Upon arrival on a Friday evening, we found safety issues and code violations, as well as other issues that should have been identified prior to our stay if the company were doing weekly inspections, as the manager indicated that they were. Addressing the most pressing issues required almost a full day of our vacation. - NO SMOKE DETECTOR/CO MONITOR: There was no smoke detector/carbon monoxide monitor on the second floor of the home. When this was brought to the manager's attention, she implied that a previous guest pilfered it. However, there was no evidence of any detector/monitor ever having been mounted to the ceiling, and in fact, the repairman had to puncture the drywall to install one for us. The manager told me that the houses were inspected routinely and required to have functioning detectors/monitors on both floors, but given the lack of evidence of one ever having been on the second floor, the only conceivable explanation for its absence was poor management of the house. - ACCESSIBLE CRAWL SPACE W/ FALL RISK AND ELOCTROCUTION RISK: A wooden wall panel blocking access to an attic crawl space was not attached the wall but rather propped up by a chair. The chair had been pushed back to hold the panel as tightly to the wall as possible. When we moved the chair (it was a light-weight kitchen-type chair easily moved by adults and children, alike), the wooden panel fell down completely, opening full access to the crawl space. About half of the crawl space had a proper floor while the other half was merely insulation spread over joists and the drywall ceiling below. There was exposed electrical wiring everywhere. We have young and curious children in our family who could have fallen through the ceiling, electrocuted themselves, or gotten stuck in the crawl space. There is no conceivable explanation for this being left this way, with a chair propping up the wall panel, except poor management. - MOLDY AC UNITS: The house we rented was advertised as having central air conditioning. Upon arrival, we noticed that the central AC was not powerful enough to cool the upstairs, which had to rely on two window units. In addition to this omission in disclosure, both window units had substantial black mold growing inside them. In response to our complaint about the mold and request for cleaning, the manager said that the units were cleaned weekly and, while they could clean them again for us, she considered it a futile task because they would just be moldy again in 4-5 days given the island's humidity. Essentially she was telling us to pay money to breathe in mold spores all day and night. There is no possible way these units had ever been cleaned of mold on a weekly basis. Upon our request, the repairman who came to address them removed them from the windows and cleaned them thoroughly with bleach outside the house. They were sparkling afterward and mold-free for the entire length of our stay...and dare I say, the rest of the summer and into the fall. Other non-urgent issues that we found were: 1) one stove burner was missing the connection hardware and therefore did not work and 2) the management company forgot to provide us the key to the closet with the washer and dryer. Adding to the disturbing situation was the manager's lack of professionalism in addressing the issues. She arranged to have two repairmen come to house (the one to clean the mold was at my insistence), but her overall tone was dismissive and she failed to acknowledge that these were significant issues that should never have been left for a renter to discover in the first place. Instead of apologizing for the issues that we found, acknowledging that the house was in a sub-standard state, and remedying the situation in as professional a manner as possible, she gave many excuses, not to mention she suggested that AC units spewing mold spores was acceptable. To their credit, the repairmen were professional, efficient, and thorough, which is why I gave a second star. If it weren't for them, I would only give one star. For the price we paid (nearly $2000), we should not have had to spend one day of our vacation dealing with safety issues and code violations. read more

We just had a very unfortunate experience with Island Getaways. After vacationing on the island for over 30 years, and renting through Island Getaways for the past 10, this year was a major letdown and will seriously have us reconsidering renting through them again. We booked our July 2017 house in September 2016 (with confirmations that month, in October and in February) only to find out in April 2017 that there was an error and they had rented it out to someone else. They were not apologetic and offered that we could book our choice of two available houses that were not even similar to the house that we had originally rented. Unfortunately there was very little availability, and since we were not receiving any responses from Island Getaways we booked with another rental company that week. If this had been caught in September, October, or even February (and if they had been apologetic at the very least!) we would have had a very different outcome, but unfortunately this has sullied Island Getaways reputation for us for some time. read more

Island Getaways (aka Chincoteague Island Vacation Rentals) offers some great alternatives to the B&B or Motel style accommodations that typify small-time tourist towns. Their rates are very reasonable and if you're traveling as a family or larger group, it makes things far more affordable and comfortable. I can't stand the stupid 'staycation' term that was thrown around all summer and I'd rather simply take an early 'off-season' trip to the beach and shell out a bit more on the gas then sit around or take a really short trip a pay out-the-butt for a local hotel room. For 5 people, we took a trip down to Chincoteague and spent under $300 for 3 nights in one of Island Getaways' rentals. We used the provided grill to fix some great ribs and ate at the table on the screened in porch with the sunset behind us. We got a dining area, kitchen, living room, the porch, 2 bedrooms and 2.5 baths plus a dock that stretched out into a the marsh for great star-gazing and tough crabbing. It was all clean and although extremely tacky in decor, was pleasantly appointed in the kitchen and even had a washer and drier. It was so much better than renting a couple of rooms at one of the local motel/hotels and probably cheaper. I'm sure there are some great B&B's around but they are really best for couples and definitely more expensive for multiple rooms. Nowhere on Chincoteague is right on the beach but the short drive (or moderate bike ride) over to Assateague is totally worth is for a more unspoiled beach environment - no towering hotels or looming boardwalks or development sprawl beside the beach. It's barely off-season now, it's still warm and there are still some people out there, but it's not at all overwhelming and the late afternoon and evening is nice and peaceful (actually all day is). There are few enough people even that you can park your car right at the edge of the dune and walk right over to the beach, 50 yards away. They've got grills out there for some light BBQing and people build small fires on the beach around sunset. It's really quite relaxing compared to the other crap you find in tourist towns along the mid-Atlantic coast. These rentals seem to be really the way to go, especially considering their kitchens will help you avoid some of the awful restaurants that those not in-the-know are apt to stumble into. read more

YUK! Worse experience ever. The guy at the front desk was UNPROFESSIONAL. My husband and I checked in after a storm. The front porch of the bungalow we rented had ankle deep water. We call to let the the agency know on the first day we arrived. The agency said someone would be right over to deal with the problem. We stayed 1 week. No one came. That's ok we just didn't use the porch. When we checked out we droped the key off at their office. We reminded them about the water, so others would not have to suffer. The guy at the front desk said and I quoted ver batim. " Boo hoo hoo. Honey, every one has a problem." We were stunned. We left and never went back. Now we have used Harbour Rentals for 3 years now. HAPPY! Everyone is professional. read more

Easy vacation rentals. No hassles, fantastic home, absolutely no complaints! Very nice staff too! read more

My wife and I have vacationed in Chincoteague for many years. The first few times we stayed in motels but for several years now we have rented a house or cottage by the week. Island Getaways is a rental agent for local landlords. They have a very attractive web site which describes the properties available. Prices vary widely based on how modern the rental is, number of bedrooms, in season or off season. Extra services include - linens and towels, maid service. read more

Worst travel experience I've ever had with Island Getaways. A fuse shorted and a lamp caught on fire in our rented house (Pinesway). We quickly took it outside and used the fire extinguisher to put it out, luckily before anything (or anyone) in the house was damaged or injured. The company seemed shockingly unconcerned, and the person I spoke to on their emergency line actually said "well, things happen." As a family who looks forward to visiting Chincoteague every year and always has a great time, we were disappointed by the response to our concerns. We never received an apology. They resisted giving any compensation, and when they did (after a lot of complaining), they held back money for the cleaning fee, which is amazing considering that the house was not in great condition to begin with and how much more of a mess things would have been if we had used the fire extinguisher inside when the lamp caught fire, or if we hadn't got the fire out so quickly. There were about a dozen other things wrong with the house that were not just annoying but in some cases dangerous, which we would have ignored if not for the larger problem of the fire. A few examples: a large portion of the screen on the screened-in porch was unattached at the bottom, to the point where a small child could easily fall through (we had small children); three inch gap between the back deck and the door to the house which a child could fall through, and open railings which meant we couldn't let the kids out on that deck; porch floor so dirty when we arrived that crawling babies had black dirt all over their feet and legs; leaking showers that meant the bathroom floor was constantly wet; electrical wires protruding from outside of house in the back where it looks like they meant to install a light, but never did (we used a flashlight to grill); dishwasher falling out of the cabinet; no hose to rinse off sandy things from the beach; no hooks or clothes lines to hang wet bathing suits or towels. On the plus side, the fire extinguisher worked. Although the smoke detector never went off. For people in the hospitality industry, it's clear Island Getaways does not care much about their customers. My family and I have been going to Chincoteague for 10+ years - there are so many friendly people and great companies there, but Island Getaways is not one of them. Find somewhere else to rent from. read more

Island Getaways - Burned lamp which caught on fire in the house we rented through Island Getaways. Staff response was "things happen." - Property Management Near Me - Chincoteague, Virginia

Booked with Island Getaway for sunset Bay Villa 119 for Aug.4 - Aug. 11. What a Nightmare. After taking everything into the condo I had to use the toilet and that is when it was all downhill from there. Both bathrooms toilets had literally black mold under the rim and smelled like urine. The corners of the rooms had filth packed into the corners of both bathrooms, foyer and kitchen. The kitchen floor still had Cheerios form who knows what previous renter. The baseboards had dirt so thick you could actually make little dirt balls after wiping a 12 inch area. The stove top had so much burnt on crap that I took a sharp knife and scraped it then cleaned it with stove top cleaner. The refrigerator's air vents on bottom was embedded with dirt and the water dispenser tray was gross. The counters were sticky as was the tabletop. I took a rag with Dawn on it and wiped the table and there was gray krud on the rag. The coffee table and end table had spilled who knows what on the sides and the tops had dirt I the cracks. After cleaning all this I put my grandkids in the whirlpool in the master bath, when I turned on the jets big chunks of black mold flew out the jets in to the water they were sitting in, I immediately pulled them out and drained the tub. I then went to take a shower only to find horrible mold inside the shower and in all the corners of the shower doors. At this point I had had enough. The laundry facility was totally disgusting with sand and filth in all the corners and on the floor area. When I rented the unit it states 2 flat screen TV's and a DVD player, well, there was 1 TV and that was in the living room and the DVD was in the room with the bunk beds. Speaking of the bunk beds they were not fit for a dog to sleep on, they were so hard that 2 of our grandkids ended up sleeping with us and another with his parents. To top all this off there are signs on the fridge that upon checking out ... the floors are to be vacuumed and cleaned... SERIOUSLY!!! I had enough so I went to the rental office and they told me there was no paper on the fridge that states that and that the add on the internet does not states 2 flat screen TV's... well I pulled up the google add and low and behold what do you think it stated 2 FLAT SCREEN TV'S... they still argued with me saying they do not need to put the TV's in. I took numerous pictures and showed them the filth, I told them I do not live at home in filth and I certainly didn't pay $2200.00 for a week of vacationing to walk, pee and live in someone else's filth. They just argued with me even after seeing the pictures, I ask them if they was calling me a liar and the office manager just walked away into her office. I couple hours later a repairman came and chaulked over the mold in the shower then 1 of the office ladies knocked on the door along with the head cleaning lady, they came in with Clorox and run it through the jets of the whirlpool and swished the toilets with Clorox but the black mold, poop, vomit and who knows whatever else was still under the rim of both toilets. They gave us 2 kids tickets to Maui Jack's and 2 adult tickets.... this would have cost us $77.00 if we would have paid for the tickets ourselves. I scrubbed the kitchen and bathroom floors before we left and cleaned the bathrooms in addition to cleaning all the appliances. On our way home the office called me to inform me that my little 3 year old grand daughter's necklace was found in the room (sterling silver with a little tiny CZ heart) they told me that if I wanted them to send it to me it would cost me $25.00 ... I told Laurie that just put it in a regular envelope and send it regular mail with a stamp... she told me that it would still be $25.00 plus the postage. The $25.00 is a handling fee!!!!! I told her maybe I should send them a fee for the cleaning service I provide... she said " I am trying to be nice" .... I told her give the necklace to someone and I hope they enjoy it!! I have pictures of the filth I wish I could post on here... I also took pictures when we was leaving to show the condition we left it in. I would NEVER RECOMMEND Island Getaway!! Debbie Aaron Pittsburgh Pa. read more

This was our second year renting with Island getaways. We needed a specific place for our family because I have grown married children. They went above and beyond to find us the right amount of beds, the right size beds, and a waterfront location. There was a problem with the master bedroom bed and the person I called at Island getaways came within three hours and a new bed was there the next afternoon. You can't beat that. read more

The team at Island Getaways, especially Laura, saved our vacation. The home we reserved developed a sudden serious problem two days before we were headed to Chincoteague. We chose rental carefully because it met specific needs for access and the size of our family. Most other properties didn't work. IG worked very hard to accommodate us, and found us another place, even nicer than the first. Good people who care can overcome so many obstacles! read more

Worst customer service experience from Island Getaways. I called them because our shower was leaking through the kitchen ceiling and their response was completely inadequate. The lady on the phone made it my fault and acted like i woke her from a sleep at 10 am. She never did tell me that she came by when we were gone. The place went downhill from there. The day of check out I expressed my concerns to the front desk staff and she told me to send a detailed email and that the homeowners would receive it. After 3 more emails to the office because of no response the owner Laura finally responded telling me the house WAS spring cleaned, the carpets WERE professionally cleaned, and that the shower leaked because we didn't close the curtain. The counter top was bubbled up clearly because it has happened time and time again. This was not the first time. The home Brant Point shows beautifully online and in person is a total let down. I seen the front staff girl in Dollar General and she asked how things were I told her i was getting some air fresheners. She told me the place has always had a smell. The Dishwasher and washing machine barely work. One of the guest rooms smell terribly of rotten crabs, cobwebs everywhere with spiders, socks behind dressers, mold in bathroom, paint peeling on bathroom walls, filthy furniture with crumbs and stains, nasty carpet, and a huge bubble in the ceiling from a leaking shower. After months of emails they send me a check for $75 bucks to cover what said "Shower" in the memo line of the check. This vacation costs $1,200. NEVER AGAIN will i rent through this terrible company. Also may I add I grew up on Chincoteague, lived there most of my life. I expected more. read more

So far so good. I rented with them the last 2 years and they had the best value to quality ratio in houses. Happy with both of them. I think their bottom line prices kept beating the other agencies due to not charging extra cleaning fees or weird fees ($50-200). I haven't had a real problem yet to judge how they handle that, but I guess that's a good sign. Only reason they don't get 5 stars is that they are very brief at check-in, no paperwork of things like checkout times, or mention of passwords, or any special things next to it. If we rent a house again next year, I'ld bet we will be using them again. read more

I recently stayed at a house in Chincoteague Virginia that was rented to my family and me through Island Getaways. We rented the "Sunrise Over Little Oyster Bay" house and it was beautiful!! We thoroughly enjoyed our stay and I would highly recommend Island Getaways to anyone who would like to work with an honest and accommodating company. It was truly delightful staying in this beautiful house with an amazing view of the bay. We absolutely loved it and I will be sending everyone I know to them! read more

I used them two years ago for a last minute spring break vacation rental, and came back to them this year for over Easter. Couldn't be the sweetest people, and Sharon (I think that was her name) helped me over the phone to find a place when I realized more family members were coming. Also, renting linens from them is easy and convenient. The property we rented in Oyster Bay was exactly what I needed and simply could not have been cleaner. Cleaner than my own house. read more