I've always been a planner, especially when it comes to our travel. But happen upon on a year with COVID-19, over a dozen families telling us how busy Destin and the 30a area were on their visits, and follow two Facebook pages about the area where I could see for myself how busy it was, I say BRING IT! This year not only was the normal research needed but how to have a private house, private pool, private boat, private wave runner, water access, non-crowded beaches, face masks/social distancing areas, safe restaurants, and more was needed! A little research goes a long way! The trip ended up being close to perfect! You can do the whole area safely with a little extra planning! If someone tells you the area is too crowded, believe them as it is. If someone tells you that you shouldn't visit the area, don't believe them. They haven't done their research.
This post will focus on the home we stayed in. We rented it through AirBNB. The backyard of the home was incredible. Here is a link to see the home: https://tinyurl.com/yys7xs97
Here are the pros to the house:
- Backyard, backyard, backyard!
o Yes, you see a two-story slide! It was super fast and everyone ages 2 – 74 loved it.
o The dock on deep water.
o The fishing
o The fire pit
o The pool
o The paddleboards
o All the porches
o Full sun throughout the day
- The 2nd and 3rd floor of the home – while some parts of these stories were a bit dated, there was nothing “wrong” with them. The furniture was comfortable, the home was clean, the kitchen (while closed in) was stocked well for cooking.
- Location. The house is near a hospital, about 5 minutes from Dune Allen Beach, close to restaurants, Publix, and shopping.
- The owner/host, Laura, is an absolute delight. She is extremely responsive and helpful.
- The sandy beach area, easy for putting the paddleboards in and out of the water.
- The pool table
- The water views from every window in the back of the house
Here are the cons to the house:
- Too many stairs…and this was not advertised in the AirBNB listing. If my dad were alive and able to come with us, he would not have been able to manage the stairs. This would have been a major issue. Even if you access the house through the bottom floor, the main living area requires stairs. He could do a few stairs at a time, but these were steep and there were a lot. This should be advertised in the listing.
- While the home is almost 4,000 sq feet, it does not feel this size due to the closed floor plan.
- The first floor. It is outdated and needs to be redone. The bathroom is small. The whole first floor felt rustic. It does have a lot of potential to be renovated with a huge bathroom, a bigger bedroom, and a game room. Currently, part of the downstairs is not available and there is a kitchenette. I would convert the kitchenette into part of the bathroom to make a larger bathroom. This photo shows how small the bathroom was (inside the barn door).
- Some items need replacing. For example, one of the paddleboards was missing all three fins. This made it difficult to balance. The fishing rods weren’t great (we ended up buying new ones to use). Two of the five lounge chairs were broken as seen in the photo below.
- There is no refrigerator outside. It would have been nice if the area referred to in the listing as “bar” actually had some set up of a bar, even with something as simple as a drink refrigerator.
- AirBNB advertises this house to have an outdoor table on the screened in porch, which I was really looking forward to using at dinner. However, it was no longer there. This is a simple adjustment in some AirBNB photos that should take place.
- The duplex next door. It’s bizarre and a bit of an eye sore. The people could be somewhat loud, but they were not rude. And let’s face it, with a house full of 9 people who love to laugh and play…we were loud too! LOL!
Don’t let the cons outweigh the pros. The home is lovely. Honestly, for the COVID situation, it was perfect for us. And I don't know that you'll find a backyard like this anywhere else in this 30A/Destin area. It was fun for all ages!
Note: Giving credit where credit is due, a few of these photos were taken directly from the AirBNB listing.
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