"Would NOT recommend Elan Vacations"

My family and I stayed at Dolphin's Run during this past July. We
noticed some noises at night (while trying to sleep) that sounded like
something walking around coming from between the floors early on in our stay, but couldn't quite figure out what was going on. About mid-week we realized that there might be an animal that had gotten into the house somehow. My mother in law called Elan's office to inform them of what was going on and Dawn told her that the owner of the property was aware of the animal in the house, but thought the situation was resolved since they hadn't heard from us. I am extremely upset and unhappy that the owner and Elan were both aware of this situation and did not ensure
that it was taken care of prior to our occupancy for the week. This situation could have been dangerous for us if the animal (we think it was a raccoon) had gotten loose within the house? It is the responsibility of the owner and the rental company to ensure that the property is fit for rental prior to having people stay there. At the very least, we should have been informed of the situation prior to our occupancy and been given the opportunity to make a decision about staying there before we received the keys. After calling and following up with them, Elan and the owners denied us a partial refund on our stay.

The housekeeping at this property was really awful as well. It was evident that the housekeeping was done very quickly as there was sand and hair in the beds, which made it pretty apparent that the sheets were not freshly washed. There was a dirty wash cloth in the master bathroom and the toilet in the basement/entry level had hair all over it. I ran the vacuum on the carpet on the top level as we had small children with us and from what the vacuum picked up, it appeared that it hadn't been vacuumed very well or at all prior to our arrival. The couch and the love seat in the living room are very badly stained as are the pillows on the couches. It appears these can be removed and washed in the washing machine, but it doesn't look like an effort has ever been made to do so.

I will not be using Elan Vacations again for our future OBX summer trips and would not recommend them to anyone.

"Elan Vacations did a fantastic job!!"

Elan Vacations did a fantastic job!!! Everything was wonderful. I will definitely book with y’all next year. What a great experience

"Do NOT rent from this company!"

Do NOT rent from this company. I’ve never given a bad review, but we’ve experienced the poorest customer service and the most rude employees in 40+ years vacationing in the Outer Banks.

"Take pictures before you leave"

Take pictures before you leave! Elan charged us $275 for "extra cleaning" essentially claiming we had a "frat party" in our house - which is laughable, as we are all middle age with several kids each. They also charged my card without authorization. We ended up having to report them to BBB. We'd used them in the past with no issues, however this blew my expectations out of the water. Go with a more reputable company such as Twiddy or others in OBX.

"Elan was quick to respond to most…"

Elan was quick to respond to most issues but our house had ac issues, fridgerator issues, ants and after rain very poor drainage under the house causing the family to have to walk through sludge every time we went in or out of the house.

"Elan Vacations saves our trip."

We initially booked our vacation with another company. We had heavy rains during our vacation and that company had to find us a new place to stay. Elan Vacations had a house available and went above and beyond to get the house ready in under 2 hours so we could move. They saved our vacation !

"Elan was problem free"

Elan was problem free. Contract, picking up and dropping off keys was very smooth and fast. Staff friendly and helpful. We had some towel sets missing and Elan immediately took care of it - very solid service on a peak week. We stayed at Blue Heron. Sweet beach house with beach being the operative word. House is a B- or B+ depending on your priorities. Location is a solid A. Very close to beach access and convenient to Duck park, restaurants and shops. List of amenities an 'A', general condition: 'B' or 'B-', cleanliness B+ / A. Older home of 'builder' grade (molded tub showers, vinyl flooring, etc.) and a good bit of wear and tear on furnishing, amenities and finishes but still very comfortable. A/C, washer / dryer and systems all solid. Looked like a 50 ga. water heater which seems small for 3 baths and 10 person house, but we had a smaller group so no problem at all for us. Kitchen a bit dated (formica counters, older cookware, Mr. Coffee, charcoal grills, older electric stove, etc.) not gourmet but serviceable. Beds comfortable but again, cheap plastic outdoor chairs in secondary bedrooms - nothing fancy here but still - its a beach house..... Pool and hot tub also nice but slightly in need of furnishing upgrade - pool furniture all inexpensive plastic chairs several cracked, etc. but again the pool and hot tub were clean , well serviced and enjoyable. Beach chairs and bikes are in poor condition - bring your own. Basketball hoop also a bit worn - cracked backboard. House has stair lifts - we didn't use, but nice if you have elderly guest and can use ? House is a good value balance between location, amenities, and condition - slightly worn, but quite comfortable and with a pool, hot tub and very close beach and town access - hard to beat for the price, unless you are seeking more luxury furnishing and finishes of a more modern nature.

"1st time with Elan"

First time renting with Elan and our third year coming to Obx from MD. Our stay in Dream of Jeanne was fantastic, our home was ready right on time and no issues throughout our stay. Dream of Jeanne has so much fun stuff to do as well as being located right across the street from beach access. Our fav part was the gorgeous views from the crows nest!! Will def use Elan again and would recommend Dream of Jeanne highly!

"Missing Margarita Girl ...."

We shared Margarita Girl with another family for a total of 13 of us!! 8 of the 13 are kids ranging in age 16 years to 5 years and they never lacked for something to do- the pool table, swimming pool, awesome location to the beach access, games etc. We had a FANTASTIC vacation and the house had plenty of room for all of us as a group and to spread out. My only suggestion is to upgrade the bed in the 1st floor room ( very firm) and the toilet in the 1st floor bathroom. It needed plunged with every flush & ran unless the handle was jiggled. We had an overflow issue and Elan made sure to get someone out ASAP to clean up and address the issue. We would definitely use Elan again and even return to Margarita Girl for future vacation!!

"We had a wonderful vacation"

We had a wonderful vacation. This was our fourth year in the same house and we absolutely love it. Elan does a good job!