We rented for 2 weeks to have all of our nieces and nephews and their children along with our adult children and assorted rotating grandparents get together. The house is great for big families and is very kid friendly. It is perfect for quickly coming in and off the beach (1 lot to stairs on one side and a few houses in the other direction to stairs to beach w/I lifeguard station). Well equipped kitchen - satisfactory even for foodies. The master bedroom has a picture window to the ocean and a big deck right next to it - no need to turn on the AC with all the cross ventilation. No matter how hot it was walking from the ferry, when you push through the gate, you feel the strong sea breeze. While large, it is absolutely still a beach house, one meant to be loved and lived in, not fussy or Hampton like, other than in the conveniences. The owner is easy to work with, answering questions right away when we had them, buying helmets when we said we'd have kids riding the bicycles, and providing useful local tips. Great vacation! To comment on the earlier review, the rooms now have curtains, except for the master with the picture window, and I wouldn't want them there. The light is beautiful. If you need dark, wear airplane eyeshades. The stove is propane tanks I assume. I think it is as good as that gets. You can't expect it to be the same as a natural gas line. The grill worked fine - maybe new? No problem with the freezer. Plenty big, didn't need the extra one in the laundry room.

The pictures are real and the place when you first walk in is amazing as is a stand alone house with no close by neighbors other than the deer who wander around the property. It is very close to the ferry as only a few blocks over from the road that leads there on the opposite side of the very skinny fire island. There is nice wagon to haul stuff back and forth. Like many rental properties the bedrooms are designed either for a parent to sleep with a kid or a group of people to sleep together as most of the bedrooms have either a queen and twin bed or 2/3 twins. Two have just a queen bed. There are two bathrooms on the top floor and one on the main floor leaving those who are in the bottoms floor to come upstairs. I would recommend the owner invest in some shades as even the main bedroom off the porch has no shade on the door leading out to the patio meaning they have no real privacy and everyone better be a deep sleeper as when the sun comes up every room is awash in light The kitchen has stainless steel appliances though the stove does not have much heat adjustment and the week we were there the freezer did not close as the seal was not good causing nothing to really freeze. Owner was nice enough to special order a freezer though by that time ice cream had melted and some of the meat we bought that planned to freeze for later in the week needed to be tossed. He was nice enough to reimburse 60 dollars for the food lost. The faulty appliances extended to the grill which had two burners with massive holes causing one to need to change the tank after every use. The main area is nice as the table sits ten comfortable and when we combined it with table from outside we sat 12 nicely. The house has Directv with all the basic channels and their are tvs in the living room and the bigger upstairs bedroom. The bikes were in good condition and the upstairs deck prominently displayed in the photos was very nice. The bar was well stocked as previous tenants have left behind a plethora of liquors. I think we ended up drinking more than we left though also went through all the paper towels and toilet paper and needed to restock that so ended up about even. In conclusion for amount place charges for week almost expect impeccable though understand weekly rental properties take lots of use. If need a large house for group than needs 7 bedrooms one does not have lots of choices on fire island though beware you will not want to look too deep or issues appear