Vacation home rental agencies on Kiawah island
 

Can anyone share their experience working with a vacation home rental agency on Kiawah? I am considering Resortquest and Pam Harrington and would appreciate feedback. What I have seen online so far is mixed. Thanks!

We rented on Kiawah for 25+ years before my parents got a place there and used Resortquest (then Great Beach Rentals) and Beachwalker Rentals many times. We had pretty good experiences overall. Renting through an agency always worked out if there was any sort of issue with the house (one year the AC did not work and it was taken care of pretty promptly). For whatever reason, we never used Pam Harrington, though they have been doing rentals there just as long. It was probably just a matter of which house we wanted and who was the rental company. If price is comparable you might go with whichever company has the listing you want. How the properties are rated might differ between the companies. Make sure to see pictures of the insides of the houses. One of the last years we rented a particular house (that we had stayed at several times over the years), it was sorely in need of some upgrades/renos but the pictures were the same ones from quite a few years earlier.

Location with a value component always drove our decision on which house to rent. It was important to us to be within acceptable walking distance to the beach and after the first couple of years we always stayed behind the second gate. Now that there are a couple of beach parking options, location might not be an issue for you. How important pool access is is also a factor on Kiawah; make sure you inquire if this is imortant.

If you have any specific questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Ah, Kiawah brings back such happy memories! We have rented the same condo twice, two years in a row, using VRBO.com. I can highly recommend it. It had three bedrooms each with their own bath, a deck on a lagoon and within easy walking distance to the pool and the ocean. You can rent bikes and ride them all over the island. We bought shrimp direct from the shrimp boat, (they were so cheap) and made shrimp and grits in the well stocked kitchen. I have no connection to the owners, I just really love this place and would return every year if I could. I posted some pictures on Picasa as well.
http://www.vrbo.com/52621
http://picasaweb.google.com/maggiwun...eat=directlink

Deciding whom to rent from/through depends on what amenities your family wants. In years past, even renting through a private owner who used the Kiawah Resort as his property manager got a rental guest access to all the resort pools. Since the opening of the Sanctuary, access has been limited to some pools.

I always advocate for renting directly from an owner if you are comfortable with that (I do have several friends on Kiawah who rent their homes when they are visiting). A good private owner will provide guests with a more personalized vacation that a large property company.

If you need a swimming pool, Inlet Cove and Sparrow Pond neighborhoods both have their own pools. We use to rent a Sparrow Pond(before we bought on Seabrook Island) and loved it. We'd walk past the pool on our way to the beach. If the kids got tired of the sand, sun, and surf, we could easily hit the pool to cool off before heading back to the cottage.

If you are not comfortable renting directly from an owner, I'd recommend renting from Pam Harrington (Kiawah Exclusives), the Kiawah Resort, and then Resort Quest (in that order).

Is this your first visit to Kiawah and surrounding area? I'm happy to provide ideas for things to do (there's a lot to do...or not do if you don't want to:-}), restaurants to try, etc.

Have fun planning! I'm headed back to Seabrook in 26 days (who's counting, right) and am already planning visits to a new restaurant or two.

Wow! Thanks, everyone, for all the great input. I really appreciate it -- and your enthusiasm for the place is contagious. I will check out the pix and listing. If our plans do work out, I will definitely be back for the advice on how to make the most of our visit. Enjoy Seabrook. Thanks again!

I would be glad to help with suggestions for the area as well. Don't miss the Angel Oak!

If you want use of a swimming pool, you should either rent in a neighborhood that owns its own pool (like Inlet Cove), or you'll need to rent a home managed by the Kiawah Island Golf Resort.

The Kiawah Island Golf Resort owns junior-olympic pool at Night Heron Park and a smaller (adults-only) pool at East Beach Tennis Center; they limit poolaccess to owners and guests in homes that they manage.

You can rent a resort-managed home either through the resort, or from the homeowner on sites like VRBO. Just confirm that you will have "resort privileges".

Homes managed by Pam Harrington and by ResortQuest do NOT have resort privileges.

Update for everyone. We booked a property last night through the Kiawah resort -- the house was the best option of all we considered and we like the additional amenities we'll get by renting through the resort. Thank you!! to all who provided advice -- we cannot wait for our big vacation.

Congrats on selecting a place! Have a wonderful vacation. If you have any other questions about things to do, etc. please do not hesitate to ask.

I think you will be happy with your decision. Have a great time!