This was our first time renting with Southern Shores, after renting with another company for 18…read moreyears. I wasn't sure what to expect regarding cleanliness and the rental property being in good condition. What a pleasant surprise, all exceeded our expectations. Staff was friendly, knowledgeable and quick to answer my questions after checking in. We will definitely be renting with them again! Linda & Gary Woodruff Stokesdale, NC

I wanted to share our recent experience in hopes that it helps other families, especially those…read moretraveling with pets, make informed decisions when booking an Outer Banks vacation rental. My family has vacationed in Duck for many years, and we truly love the Outer Banks. This year we wanted to stay closer to town, so we booked Absolute Relaxation (131 Cook Dr., Bayberry Bluff) through Southern Shores Realty. We specifically chose a pet-friendly home because we were bringing our 7-month-old puppy. The listing states that the pet fee helps cover additional cleaning and flea/tick treatment because the home is also rented to guests without pets. When we arrived on June 14, we immediately noticed several cleanliness issues, including excessive white pet hair throughout the home, clumps of hair on the floors and carpeting, sandspurs embedded in the carpet, dirty dishes left in the dishwasher, coffee grounds still in the coffee maker, and even dog hair stuck to a fork in the utensil drawer. We also discovered that the dishwasher was not functioning properly, the grill was out of propane, and there were additional maintenance concerns throughout the property. We didn't immediately report these issues because, like many families on vacation, we just wanted to make the best of our trip. We cleaned up the pet hair ourselves, removed the sandspurs we found, wiped down dirty surfaces, and adapted to the maintenance issues rather than spending our vacation waiting on repairs. Two days into our stay, our dog went under a bed in one of the downstairs bedrooms and came out chewing on an unknown substance. Within minutes, he became extremely lethargic, unsteady on his feet, and began exhibiting concerning neurological symptoms. We immediately drove approximately 40 minutes to an emergency veterinary hospital, where he was evaluated and treated for suspected THC intoxication based on his clinical presentation. Thankfully, he recovered, but it was one of the most frightening experiences we've had as pet owners. We incurred an emergency veterinary bill of approximately $380 and spent the next two days providing around-the-clock care instead of enjoying our vacation. After returning home, we submitted a detailed Guest Resolution Request with photographs, veterinary records, invoices, and a complete timeline of events. Southern Shores Realty ultimately offered a $230 credit for cleaning and inconvenience but declined to reimburse the emergency veterinary expenses. We understand that others may have had positive experiences, and we recognize that unexpected issues can happen in any rental property. What has been most disappointing to us has been the handling of our concerns afterward. We never expected perfection, but we did hope for greater acknowledgment of the seriousness of our dog's medical emergency and the impact it had on our family's vacation. We are sharing our experience so that other travelers, particularly those bringing pets, can make informed decisions and thoroughly inspect their rental upon arrival. We also encourage guests to document any concerns immediately, even if you hope to simply move past them and enjoy your vacation, as we did. The Outer Banks remains one of our favorite places to vacation, and we look forward to returning. We simply hope that by sharing our experience, it may help both future guests and property managers alike.

We rented this place with the extended family and it was so worth it! Technically this place is 3rd…read morerow, but beach access is a 1-minute walk. The house is beautiful, modern, and open. You can see the ocean from the top floors no problem. Pool in the back and plenty of room to sleep, this place is perfect for multiple families. When we stayed there (late summer 2012), we were quite content. We had 3 families in our party and we had empty rooms to spare! If you're looking for a place to stay in the OBX with a couple of family units needing multiple rooms, look no further than the "Castleberry" house in Southern Shores, NC. You'll have everything you need and more!

Whenever we needed help or assistance, due to issues neglected by the owner (not Twiddy issues),…read moreTwiddy responded with what was required and/or personnel to address our need(s). Every Twiddy individual, from those receiving phone calls to those responding to the house, was courteous, caring, capable, and gracious. I do not think you would find a better property management than Twiddy.

Our experience with Twiddy was great, they were very helpful and customer service orientedread more

We switched our property management from a large company to Shoreline this year. We couldn't be…read morehappier! Even before we had made the decision to go with Shoreline, Jennifer had pulled our listing and at our first meeting gave us several ideas for how to improve the property. With the year being what it has been, in April we weren't sure if we'd even have renters...now we're fully booked through October...which is an experience we've never had before. All of the crew are professional and friendly, and look out for our interests as well. If you're a homeowner looking to switch, I'd definitely recommend giving them a call!

Disappointed in our recent stay due to housekeeping issues. Shoreline called us to say the property…read morewas ready and we could check in early. We thought great news....but we were sadly mistaken. Beds appeared to be made, but the sheets underneath were filthy (sand, hair, debris). My family was uncomfortable the first night...sleeping on the couch to avoid the bedding. My daughter complained of being itchy and it was very stressful. I spoke to the Shoreline and asked for a concession since the price of our vacation was over $6,500 and at that rate you'd expect at the very leastclean sheets - especially since we were told early check in was an option - which means it was intentionally rushed. Shoreline did send housekeeping but they did not arrive until late in the afternoon on the second day-- forcing my tired kids to skip nap because I was very concerned about potential bed bugs. We also had a few concerns around rusty nails/rusty hooks in the pool area, and the top rail to the bunk bed being held loosely by tape and zip ties...which were never acknowledged or addressed. I sent an email with photos and called. I missed one call from Shoreline..called back and never received a follow up after leaving a message with Dawn. Also had a maintenance man come to change the air filter which woke up my infant later in the week. All in all just not relaxing from start to finish. At the very least a call back would be appropriate. Extremely disappointed. I will note a professional came to clean the mattress that was of greatest concern. There were no bed bugs found. Instead mattress cover and sheets were just extremely dirty. The address of the rental was 7212 S Virginia Dare Trail, Nags Head.

I love, OBX Beach Cabana Services!! All these years later & they are still doing it! They always…read morecome through with the best beach set up even when I call last minute and a little bit before the busy season starts ! Ty for my set May set up and a great surf lesson last week with Taner !!!

Terrible service! Nothing was set up every day-- literally they dump it on the beach (umbrellas…read moreare stuck in sand) so when you get down to your spot carrying all your stuff you have to put together all of the chairs (which are confusing because they're these weird sling chair things). Agree with comments on $200 service fee for simply storing them at the top of the sand feet from where they're "set up". Also a tip is required in advance, this is probably because they know you won't tip at the end due to the fact that they do nothing but drop them on the beach leaving you to set it . The quality of the chairs and umbrellas are awful (umbrellas are borderline tattered, chairs literally come apart (the sling blows off) if there's an ocean breeze). The owner is rude -- we had an issue with missing chairs and when I called I was told "we're very busy and will get to you eventually...oh and I was offered a credit of $2.75)? I will 100% not use this service again. I will say the people next to us used Farm Dog Beach Services and I was very impressed with their chairs and set up; I plan to use them next year!

Rented an absolutely awesome home (My Blue Heaven #333) from Carolina Designs in May 2026 and…read morecouldn't have been more pleased with layout, equipment, responsiveness of staff, generosity of homeowners, and the home's capacity for a perfect family reunion. Within 48 hours, each couple in our party was asking me to rent it again next year. We had little kids, teens, and married couples. We have rented many houses in the OBX over a 30-year period, and this was the best ever.

We had a really disappointing experience at a house we rented (June, 2025 - Dune Our Thing) from…read moreCarolina Designs Realty in Corolla. There were so many issues with the house and the CDR maintenance staff tried to be helpful, but most issues could not be fixed at all or fixed on our last day. We vacationed in OBX every year when our kids were little and decided to do oceanfront for our kids and grandkids to have a fabulous vacation. For a $28,000 oceanfront rental property, we expected more. 1. Nails sticking up from wood decking to beach (granddaughter cut her foot) 2. No hot water in both kitchen sinks. Seriously! Many maintenance visits resulted in it getting fixed the afternoon of our last day! 3. Pool lights and pool deck lights not working. 4. Outdoor shower was pretty disgusting. 5. Pool deck and hot tub area was lacking. One single (insufficient) hose, laying in pile of sand under the house was the ONLY way to clean sandy feet. 6. Gazebo - which should be a nice outdoor gathering spot - was completely overgrown, dark and dingy, and you could not sit in there for the spiderwebs, old broken chairs and mold. Ewww. 7. 2nd floor dryer never worked the entire week. 8. House was not adequately equipped (no broom, dustpan, mop, missing trashcans etc.), and the outside doors to the decks didn't close properly, basically a HUGE disappointment. I had the opportunity to view my sister's family rental 1 mile down the beach - SAME PRICE - and it was immaculate! Shower and foot sprayer coming off the beach. Hot tub on the oceanfront gazebo. Furniture in great condition, etc. I wrote to CDR and asked for a partial refund. Below is the answer I received. "To provide a bit of background, each home is individually owned, and our role is to serve as the Rental Manager ("Agent") on their behalf. The Vacation Rental Agreement notes that refunds are not typically issued for inoperable appliances, utility interruptions, equipment malfunctions, or maintenance-related concerns." I urge you to NOT rent a house from Carolina Design Realty. They should be more aware of what a $28,000/week rental should provide and be able to negotiate with owners.

This rental was great! Lots of room for several families. Easy walking distance to the town of…read moreDuck. Highly recommend!

Catherine was our buying agent and was wonderful. Responsive and prepared. Knew the area and helped…read moreus find a great home.

We highly recommend Catherine Strachan-Brown if you are looking for your "forever" home in the…read moreNorthern Outer Banks in North Carolina. We had first met Catherine over two years ago. She worked with us throughout that time to find is exactly the right home to meet our current and future needs. Catherine actively listened to our wants, needs and concerns and then came up with a realistic plan to make our dream a reality.! Kind regards, Craig & Pamela Elliott Carolla, NC