Roger

Most of the cottages at Serenity Point, Topsail Beach, are rented out by the local Century 21 office. The Century 21 brochure labeled the cottage we rented as Oceanfront, complete with a map that showed a very quick little walkway to the shore. We arrived last Sunday evening and found that the cottage was anywhere from 200-800 yards from the beach(depending on the direction one looks from the back porch), high dunes made the ocean hardly visible from our back porch and that there was no nearby walkway to the beach. Calling our cottage oceanfront was a misrepresentation. My wife called the Century 21 office Monday morning to protest and requested a switch to a true oceanfront rental. After a nearly full day of calls to an intransigent Century 21 office, we were switched only when my wife told the local franchise owner that we knew how to contact the owners of a different Century 21 rental that we have rented twice over the past two years and plan to rent again (they own a hamburger joint in Hampstead on the mainland). My advice regarding Topsail Beach- 1)Serenity Point cottages are not truly oceanfront 2) Century 21 is run by shady, bureaucratic characters 3)Parts of Topsail Beach, especially near the Sea Vista Motel, have suffered terrible beach erosion, an erosion so pronounced that some people don't have beachfront during high tide 4) And, as an aside, Soundside Restaurant, once the most elegant and modern on the island, is up for sale for $1.5 million and the owner-chef has already moved to another job- thus, the food is no longer very good.

knoel

1.5 mil for Soundside? Yikes!! That place only holds 25 people! Sounds like you got a bum deal--I always wondered what people thought as they drove up to those houses at Serenity Point--it would be a huge disappointment to realize that the hike to the beach would take an hour. Topsail has been one of my favorites for many years, but you're right about the erosion--another "surprise" for visitors.

Roger

Topsail's erosion problems can be exagerated. It is bad at the Sea Vista Motel but eases as you haed north. The beach is just fine at the old Topsail Motel. I've rented near the Surf City- Topsail Beach line for three straight years and the beach is fine on that strand.

Pat

I love Topsail Island! We always go with Ward Realty in Surf City....

Roger

I prefer to deal with Wards, too. They were at Topsail in the beginning. Their selection is not as large as Century 21's is, however, so we occasionally use Century 21.

Beryl

Trivia Question- Did you know that Miss North Carolina 2000 come from Topsail?

x

Do she?