The place is fine...
Pros: Lots of space for large groups, the beds are generally comfortable, and some of the amenities make for a fun, social stay away from home. It's within walking distance to the beach, though you'll need to drive if you're planning a day out. It is close to a lot of great local spots - we spent time exploring in Cannon Beach, Nehalem and Rockaway Beach - all of which were easily within driving distance for a day trip. There is a bald eagle aerie a few hundred feet behind the house, and it was super fun watching the baby eagles practice their flying skills:)
Cons:
- The pictures sell you this well-kept, meticulously managed beach house, but the reality is that, while all the general pieces are there, it is considerably more run down and shabby than expected. If the price were in line with this, it wouldn't be a problem, but for how much they charge, I expected more.
- The hot tub, while a great amenity, is completely uncovered and exposed to the elements. It rains an average of 186 days per year in the area (thanks Google), so your chances of having to sit in a downpour in order to enjoy the hot tub are about 50/50. Again, if I'm paying for a hot tub, I don't want to have to pray for a dry weekend so that I can use it!
- The majority of the fun amenities we were looking forward to using were either dilapidated or broken. Oh look, there are bikes! Wait...one is broken so we can't go for a ride as a family. Ooooh, a pool table! Wait...all the felts are falling off of the cues so you can't use them. A ping pong table? Wait...it's just dropped in the middle of the garage on a hard, cold concrete floor. Good ideas, poor execution and upkeep.
- SAFETY CONCERN: One day my daughter and I returned from a trip into town and found a stranger attempting to force their way into the house (mind you, my wife was inside, alone). When confronted, the person said they were from the management company and said "Oh, I thought you guys were out for the day so I could just stop in and look at the paint job." When I told her that I had better go inside to make sure my wife hadn't called the police - which, she did after realizing someone was trying to break in - the story changed to "Oh...sorry. I thought you had already checked out, and that's why I am here." So first, we were just "out for the day", but now we had checked out two days early? It all seemed very suspicious, so I called the management company, and after a much longer wait (getting their stories straight, perhaps?) I was told that they had sent someone to "look at the paint" and there was a miscommunication about our reservation. Regardless, if this was just poor management communication or someone from the company deciding to let themselves in uninvited while all of our valuables were securely locked inside, it is unacceptable, and all we received from the management company was a half-assed apology for the "misunderstanding". After that day, we kept all of our valuables locked in our car, because at least that had an alarm and the employees from the management company didn't have a code/key to get access to them.
In the end, we loved visiting the area, and had the house lived up to the hype we would gladly come back again. Unfortunately, all of the things that sold us on the experience were either broken, worn out, or unusable due to the weather (what a waste of a hot tub!), and we left disappointed knowing we had overpaid for a lackluster experience. The fact that we spent the second half of the trip afraid to keep our own belongings in the house that we overpaid for due to security concerns was just icing on the cake.
If you're looking in the area, look elsewhere for accommodations...you will not get your money's worth from this property.