Outer Banks Guest Comments
November 17, 2011 | 
Author “We are very much looking forward to our vacation with you all again this year! I have booked through nearly every rental company in the OBX and you all are by FAR the easiest company with which to work! Thank you for making our stays with you so effortless!”
Lesley from Midlothian, VA
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On behalf of Carolina Designs Realty, we are pleased to announce that the photograph taken by Melanie from Hume, VA was selected as this year’s winner. She will receive a cash prize of $250. 
We are very appreciative of all those who submitted exceptional photography for our 2011 Photo Contest which ended September 30th. There were dozens of beautiful photographs submitted which made the final decision a very tough one. With many incredible Outer Banks scenes and subjects to choose from, it is obvious there is a lot of talent out there among our vacationers.
Thank you again for participating in our Photo Contest. We hope to see you at the beach again soon.
It is times like this that we realize just how incredible Carolina Designs team of office and field staff are when working side by side in recovery from possibly the worst storm we will ever encounter here in our lifetime.
“Dear Carolina Designs Team:
Please extend our thoughts to you as well as all residents of the Outer Banks. We sincerely hope your families/friends made it through Irene without incident. This is what truly matters! The speed that the residents brought the islands back “online” amazes me!… Finally, I want to express my appreciation for the ongoing communication through your website. We have come to the Outer Banks for many years and have never experienced such exceptional customer service during a weather event (including Earl, last year). Your professionalism throughout this event has earned you a new customer. We will be in contact with you this Fall to book “Piece of a Dream” for a week in the 2012 summer season.
Best wishes, Roy from Pittsburgh, PA
The owner of #536 Ocean Pocean called to thank us for everything we did during the storm. His guests were happy and believes we did an amazing job under the present circumstances. In his words, “I am extremely happy!”
The owner of #281 Shore Thing called to thank us for getting his house cleaned during this very trying time. His family called to say how very polite the cleaners were and what a wonderful job they did!
The owner of #464 Dream Awhile called to express his gratitude to all who responded to the emergency and accomplished a yeoman task.
“On behalf of my mother, siblings, and nieces I wanted to thank you for our wonderful vacation. The house was gorgeous. Please let the owners know that we appreciated them calling to see how everything was going and if we need anything. My 4 year old niece wanted to stay for 10 more days and my 2 year old niece started crying and didn’t want to leave when we were packing the car to return home. Due to my mother’s health this will probably be the last time she can make the trip so it was important that she had fun and she did. Again, thank you for making our vacation a memorable one.”
Maureen from Royersford, PA
“We have rented houses in Corolla since 1998 with two other companies. We are so impressed with the quality service Carolina Designs Realty provides, and we will rent from you again in the future. Your high quality service is outstanding. Thank you! Your cleaning service is outstanding and the pool/spa service is top notch. Thank you for facilitating a wonderful week in the Outer Banks.”
Sincerely,
Lisa from Kensington, MD
“Eric Scott stopped by to address issues from your inspector to replace a few deck balusters. While he was there, his attention to detail exceeded all expectations! Eric replaced the exterior shower that had been rusted and unable to be properly used. When I noticed a wasp nest, he went above and beyond by walking the entire exterior to spray. We had a wonderful time, and having staff like Eric is a compliment to himself and Carolina Designs Realty.”
Thank you,
The Macri Family
A guest vacationing in #292 A Lucky Duck, a six bedroom, oceanside home in Four Seasons Subdivision in Duck, NC wrote:
“We were really impressed with the service we received upon check in. We left our cell phone number with your staff and as soon as our house was cleaned and ready, they called to let us know. It allowed us to get an early start to our much anticipated vacation. Keep up the great customer service! We will definitely rent through Carolina Designs Realty again and again.”
“I have left for rehab. Each year I get out of “Dodge” as soon as school has ended. It is a time to detox from the school year. Purge the worries about missed homework assignments, carpool schedules, sports practices and school yard drama. It is vacation time! We pack up the gas guzzling Suburban and carve out personal space zones for four children. Leaving at 3 a.m. for the 450 mile drive to the Outer Banks is instrumental in keeping the “she touched me” portion of the car ride to a minimal. As I cross the Mason-Dixon Line my stress level decreases. It will be two weeks of carefree living. No calendar to refer to, play-dates to arrange, taxiing children here, there and everywhere. It’s beach time! My senses will come back to life. I will hear my children, feel a breeze, taste my food, touch the sand, and smell the ocean. I always have high hopes for this family time. The school year has us running in different directions at different times. My oldest is home from college and back in the family mix. My one vacation request – can we all appreciate being together? It is not a question; it is what mom wants. Let’s start the simple living by playing board games and working on jigsaw puzzles. There will be poker and Uno games. Sand castle making and shell collecting. Fishing off the pier and two-on-two basketball. Let’s get back to the basics. What’s old is new again. It’s rehab for the kids too. No DVDs during the eight hour car ride. Look out the window and admire the scenery. Daydream. Play the license plate game. Have a conversation with your sibling. No video game consoles allowed in the cottage. Low tech pleasures. Don’t look now, but the passengers on this family adventure are all texting. Took my laptop to write the column and check emails. Snapping photos and posting pictures to Facebook. I thought we were unplugging on vacation. I am guilty of talking the talk but not walking the walk. I heard a story yesterday from my 80-year-old neighbor Miss Nonie. She vacationed with her family of four children for over 50 years here on the Outer Banks. She was left here without a car. There was no Food Lion or Walmart. The small market also served as the phone message center since most summer cottages did not have phones. There were no computers, satellite TV or air conditioning. She survived to laugh about it now…”
By Lynn Bruggemann
Vacation Time: Can You Go Without Electronics?
Patch.com
Carolina Designs Realty Housekeeping Department: Cleaning Gone Green
The use of electricity and water to clean and disinfect has been embraced by some food and hospitality businesses looking to save money and go green by swapping out conventional products. The disinfectant stream primarily contains hypochlorous acid, a form of chlorine. The same salt-and-electricity process also creates a separate stream of sodium hydroxide, a common ingredient in cleaners. This “alkaline” stream can be used as a general purpose cleaner and degreaser.
Deborah Stone, Housekeeping Manager for Carolina Designs Realty, Inc. of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, swears by it and said some of the biggest problems are convincing workers they can clean without suds. “It’s very difficult for the cleaners to comprehend that because there is no smell and because there are no bubbles, they don’t get the sense that they’re actually cleaning,” Stone said. “You still have those die-hard people that want the suds and the pretty smell.”
The water in the bottles is charged to create millions of little bubbles that take on either a positive or a negative charge. Charged bubbles attach to and surround dirt particles, lifting the dirt from the surface. Users should wipe up within 40 seconds, before the effect wears off. For sanitizing, a low-level electrical field is added to the water.
Source: Electricity a main ingredient in cleaners embraced by
businesses looking to go green by TheRepublic.com
Great Review from current guest!
You guys rock! Thanks for getting the video Stacey! Check it out..