Thank you for your review, and for sharing your impressions of the home with others. It's certainly true that there is a rocky bluff directly between the home and the oceanfront beach. In fact, the rocky bluff is so prominent that when viewing the photos in the listing -- or watching the aerial video in the listing -- you can't miss it. Moreover, were it not for that bluff -- which prevents erosion -- these homes might not exist at all, nor would the ridiculous 360-degree water views be available. Fortunately, there's swimmable beach just 75 feet away, on either side of the home. (also evident in the photography). Note: We often host visitors who tell us that they booked the home based solely on word of mouth and B.H.I.P.'s reputation for stellar and responsive service . . . and consequently didn't pay much attention to the photography. (There's even a name for this: "Booking without Looking" . . . it's what happens when your friend tells you, "I just stayed at this amazing place on the beach. You should stay there, you will love it". ) While it's an honor to know that we are trusted in that way, we don't recommend "booking without looking". We encourage everybody considering any Beach House in Paradise to carefully study all the photos and videos and other information available in this listing, And feel free to ask questions before booking, too! Thank you again for your kind review. We'll see you next year!

Thank you for your kind review, and sharing your impressions of the home with others. As we discussed during your stay, it was unfortunate that some of the free amenities at the nearby Marriott resort (ncluded free with your weeklong stay at Carpe Diem) weren't up to their usual standard. The four-star resort changed hands (new ownership) a few months before your stay, and the new owners quickly performed some minor restoration work in Spring 2022. That put a bit of a damper on enjoying the three resort-style swimming pools, 13-court private tennis complex, fitness centers and private 18-hole golf course. We'll see you next time!

Thank you for your review, and for sharing your impressions of the home with others. As shown in the listing photos and video, the road is just a few steps outside the front door, and also quite close to the river. (Family Tides is on one of the narrowest parts of the barrier island in this area of Florida's Treasure Coast). The speed limit is 25mph, and most of the time, drivers on the road are on "island time" and are on the mellow and slow side. But every now and then -- perhaps a few times a year -- a big storm will swell offshore, and kick up the ocean waves. That brings out all the local surfers (a younger crowd), and some aren't familiar with the road. You didn't connect with me during your stay, so I'm hoping that you noticed the traffic-calming gear we keep in the home's garage: Red cones, "drive like your kid lives here" signs, etc. (While this gear is needed only are only needed a few times a year -- usually if there's a hurricane off shore or an birthing "NorEaster" in Oct/Nov -- it's effective at slowing traffic). We'll see you next time!

Thank you so much for your kind review, and sharing your impressions of the property with others. On your remark about lighting & media: As we discussed during your stay, the one negative was that you were disappointed that there weren't bright spotlights on the oceanside deck for nighttime entertainment. During Sea-turtle nesting season, there is a "Dark Skies" rule in Florida that prevents all coastal properties from projecting bright light onto the beach, where it can be disorienting to mama sea turtles trying to nest, or baby sea-turtle hatchlings from swimming back to the water. (Among other cues, sea turtles navigate by relying on darkness and starlight, and become disoriented by artificial lighting). While some are disappointed to learn they can't have bright lights and loud music on the beach after sundown, most of our guests appreciate the dark sky, beautiful stars, poignant serenity and the abundance of Mother Nature just steps from their oceanfront deck. We'll see you next time!

Thank you for your kind review, and sharing your impressions of the home with others. As noted in the home's VRBO listing, 5 of the home's bedrooms have private en-suite baths, but one of those bedrooms is the kids' bunk-beds bedroom. (So if you have 5 couples, one of the 5 couples won't have their own private bathroom) Note: This configuration assumes 2 couples on the bedroom floor, 1 couple in the private bedroom+bath on the main floor, and a fourth couple occupying the private 2BR/1BA apartment downstairs with separate entrance Thank you for the observation about the limited storage and shelf space in the small bathroom in the ground-floor private apartment. Thanks to your feedback, that will be remedied Fall 2021, during our annual "slow season" maintenance & repair phase.

Thank you for your 5-star review. So glad to read that you enjoyed your stay. And thank you for sharing your observations about the ocean beach front (rocky bluffs protect the house, but 75 feet away the rocky bluff goes away to reveal easy-access swimmable ocean waves). The waters around Carpe Diem are only a few hundred yards away from the cast-net sampling area where a few years ago 3400 different species of marine life were counted (fish/mammals/oyster/plants/etc/etc), resulting in "The most bio-diverse estuary in North America" designation by the Florida Oceanographic Institute. So YES -- if you drop a fishing line off the dock, you can catch just about ANYTHING (and if it's high tide, that means that the ocean water has recently come in through the nearby ocean inlet, so there are a few hours each day where you can saltwater fish off the dock, and catch ocean-going fish like stingrays). We'll see you next time!

Thank you for your 3-star review. I'm sorry to learn of any disappointment arising from your stay. Although I provided you with my private cellphone number at check-in, you did not communicate with me at all during your stay (via messaging, email, text, or phone call). So, needless to say I am very surprised to learn (for the first time) that you experienced any issues. All of our homes are treated monthly (and inspected weekly) by an independent professional pest-control company. We've never had a single case of bed bugs in any home going on 20+ years. The Florida palmetto bug -- a distant cousin to the cockroach -- is a fact of life in Florida, but our monthly professional exterminator service does such an excellent job at managing the threat, that the issue never comes up in the thousands of traveler reviews posted we've received. In the case of your stay, the pest-control service performed its monthly treatment the day prior to your arrival. It's not normal to find one or two dead pests in the following day or two, especially in the separate ground-floor apartment of the home (due to its proximity to the grounds) Speaking of the ground-floor apartment: I noticed during your stay there were several cigarette smokers staying in that apartment (despite the "House Rules" that forbid smoking anywhere on the property, indoors & out). We appreciate your effort to contain the cigarette smokers to the ground-floor apartment & outdoor areas, but the general area is SO environmentally pristine & sensitive, the "house rules" for all of our homes forbid smoking anywhere (zero tolerance). After your departure, the cleaning & restocking company retrieved 124 cigarette butts, from 3 different cigarette brands, in the area outside the ground apartment, on the beach dune, and and on the riverfront. The logs on the apartment's digital lock indicate that the apartment door was left open for multiple half-hour periods every evening, after sunset. (perhaps to air out cigarette smoke?) When the front door is left wide left open after dark, insects WILL invade and make their presence known. Had you reached out to me during your stay, I could have quickly remedied any problems for you, but perhaps language barriers & cultural differences got in the way. I've scheduled a meeting with our exterminator service to review the matter, and I've also updated our "Guide to Carpe Diem" physical binder to advise of the risks in leaving doors open overnight..

Thank you for your kind review! And thank you for sharing your observation about the road that "splits" the ocean from the river (which is evident in the photos and video that appear in the listing). Speed limit is 25mph, and the locals are respectful for the most part (it's a dead-end barrier-island road, so is not a major throughfare). However, on rare days when weather conditions combine to create big "California-style" waves, local surfers will flock to the area and that road can get busier than usual. (We stock red road cones and some other traffic-slowing gimmicks right at the home itself). We'll see you next time!

Thank you for kind review. Glad to read that you enjoyed your stay. (After you checked out after your short stay, and our maintenance team was able to spend time inside, the culprit behind that water leak was one of the home's two clothes washers. When running and washing a load of clothes, a loose hose leaked water that eventually made its way down into the carport. Thank you so much for the pictures you took and shared with me, as it helped our team easily resolve the issue minutes after your departure). We'll see you next time!