Note: This review is about an RCI timeshare unit.
Before accepting this resort as a trade for our Gold Crown resort, we read reviews and information about the resort and general area. With all the bad reviews, we thought, "Well it couldn't be THAT bad. People who have bad experiences are more likely to review a resort than people with good experiences." With the handful of good experiences, and learning that they had new management and started renovating LAST YEAR, we thought we'd give them a shot and hope that the renovations would basically be complete when we got there. Boy were we wrong.

You can see that most of my reviews are actually positive, so please don't take my review lightly! I should have known that a resort with the RCI Resort Code of 0666 would be trouble.

Photos
http://picasaweb.google.com/jen.lieberman/APlaceAtTheBeachIIIAtAtlanticBeach

Dates
Week 35, August 31, 2008 to September 7, 2008

Who Went
My husband (35), me (32), my daughter (3.5), my son (4 months), my aunt (in her 40s)

The Room
2 bedroom with 2 full bath.
Full kitchen with dishwasher, refrigerator, washing machine, plates, bowls, utensils, pots, pans, cooking utensils, drinking glasses, wine glasses, and an electric can opener. There was a counter between the kitchen and the dining area, and there were 4 bar stools situated there so you could sit at the kitchen counter.

There was a wet bar with what appeared to be a brand new blender on the counter. A large mirror was over the wet bar.

The dining area featured a whitewash wood table with 4 chairs in reasonably good shape. A large mirror hung on the wall. There was supposed to be a hanging light, but only hooks were in the ceiling. There was a fake fern tree in between the dining area and living area.

A pull-out couch and love seat made for ample seating and extra bedding if needed. Some reviews on other sites say that the furniture was dated and filthy; I just found it to be worn and unique but clean. There was a side table with a lamp, a small matching coffee table, a standing lamp, a another matching bookcase, a wooden fish, and a flat TV with built-in DVD player.

The Pack-n-Play was in the room when we got there, and it fit behind the love seat after moving the dining table and removing a couple of bar stools.

The master bedroom had a queen-sized bed with headboard and a dresser with built-in area for a TV. The matching side tables were located on either side of the bed. There was a closet with ample room to hang clothes. In this closet was the vacuum, an iron, and an ironing board.

The "closet" that houses the AC unit also held the mops and

The 2nd bedroom had 2 twin beds with one large closet. The bathroom adjacent to this bedroom housed the water heater and had wire shelving. Included in these bathrooms were towels, washcloths, bar soap, and a wall-mounted hair dryer.

The unit had Wall-to-wall low-pile carpeting -- burgundy w/blue spots -- except for linoleum floors in the kitchen and bathrooms. Some reviews on other sites say that the carpet is filthy; I found it to be simply old but clean. The visible section of the linoleum was clean, but the flood we had (read Wednesday) brought out food and filth from under the appliances.

Small concrete balcony with 2 white plastic patio chairs and a small side table. You could go out onto the balcony from the living area or the master bedroom.

Amenities
There is a game room in the same building as the check-in and General Store. The Game Room features a pool table and air hockey table. It also had 3 skill cranes, a pinball machine, and video games. There was a change machine available as well.

There is an outdoor pool with depths ranging from 1 ft to 8 ft and a water slide.

There is a glass-enclosed indoor pool with depths ranging from 3 ft to 8 ft and a hot tub.

The resort map indicated that there was an outdoor hot tub at the end of the other building, tennis courts, and a "sport court," but we did not use them, nor did we even see them.

Location
Located on the island of Atlantic Beach, it is close to a Food Lion, Lowes Foods, Rite Aid, Walgreens, and several local restaurants. Most places (even pizza!) close at 8pm or earlier. Pizza Hut was a life saver, and KFC right next door appeared to be open. The local beach and sundries shop is called Wings, and there are 2 within a half block of each other. Emerald Isle is about a 40 minute drive, according to our GPS. Within 30 minutes of the aquarium. Close to a National Park.

The Experience
I called ahead to find out what we needed to bring such as toilet paper, paper towels, etc., and Alison at the front desk said they provided all that. I also requested a crib/Pack-N-Play, so it was in the room when we got there. They told me that we would need to bring the sheets for it.

I have compiled a list below of things you need to bring that you may have thought would be included (at least we did, and we've been timesharing for more than 5 years now).

Things not included and you need to bring
Shampoo & conditioner
Coffee
Laundry detergent
Facial tissues
Small bowls for kids (the bowls they have are enormous and too cumbersome for kids)
Scissors
Pool/Beach towels
Grilling utensils (they have grills, but they don't provide grill utensils)
Toaster
Dish drain rack

Things they don't include enough of and you need to bring
Dishwasher detergent

Things that are inadequate and you need to bring
Pillow
Bath towels
Washcloths

List of non-working things
Electric Can opener
Washing Machine

The good...
1. The housekeeping staff was friendly and generally accommodating.
2. The pool slide is fun for kids.
3. The indoor pool is a nice temperature
4. The beach is nice and clean
5. The flat screen TV with built-in DVD player
6. The nice lady at at the general store
7. Free Wifi Internet access (password required, provided in the check-in packet)
8. No pests in our unit
9. No smoking in the building

The bad...
1. The maintenance staff and front desk staff were rude and less than helpful.
2. No kitchen trash bags upon arrival
3. Electric can opener did not work; no hand can opener (had to get in their face to get one)
4. No dining area light
5. Lumpy pillows
6. Broken washing machine
7. Toilet doesn't flush properly
8. No elevators, and even the first floor had stairs to contend with. There is only one (very steep) ramp from the parking lot to the large building and only one ramp to the beach at the opposite end of the complex.
9. Tall people have to bend to take a shower. I'm 5'9" and had to bend backwards.
10. No in-room linen and towel exchange -- must use the 2-hour window on Wednesday.

The ugly...
1. Filthy air return and air filter
2. Filthy bathroom fans
3. Plaster falling from ceiling in bathroom
4. Ratty and old towels and washcloths
5. Water in the local area has a yellow tint
6. Wood around the pool area not safe -- splinters are very easy to get.
7. Most dishes had to be washed before using.
8. Yellowish water in indoor hot tub
9. Filthy lint trap in dryer (not removable)

Play-by-play of our stay
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Arrival. Our unit was on the 2nd floor -- there was a set of stairs just to get to the first floor. Our entrance was very close to the glass-enclosed indoor pool.

When we arrived at our room, it was unbearably HOT. We turned the air down, but it did not get comfortable within a couple of hours, so we went out and bought a fan.

There were no kitchen trash bags. I called the front desk, and they said "we have some here." I asked if they would be able to deliver them, and she said "well, I don't know when they would get there."

Housekeeping showed up within 5 minutes and asked if everything was OK. We found a load of dust on the air return and when we tookit off to wash it, the filter was practically disintegrated. We asked them to replace the filter. When they removed the filter, the inside was caked with dust. I found the vacuum and vacuumed that out and then put the filter in myself and replace the grill when it dried.

I have to say, despite the problems housekeeping has to face with this resort, they were all smiles and were able to laugh about it.

The dining room light was missing, and when we asked housekeeping about it, they said they were not being replaced. So, we went out to Wal-mart and bought one. We had to return to the check-in office to get a TV listing and map of the area.

The towels and washcloths in the bathrooms were ratty and old. All of the pillows in the room were lumpy and uncomfortable. One of our beds was missing the top sheet, and when we called down to get a new one, maintenance said it wasn't his job and suggested we call the after-hours emergency number. We placed 2 calls to after-hours emergency and we never got the top sheet that night and never got a call back (even the next day).

The ceiling over one of the baths is falling. Housekeeping said that they are aware of the problem and are repairing all the units as fast as they can. The toilet in one of the bathrooms takes more than one flush to fully flush (usually 3 times).

When giving our infant a bath in the evening, I noticed that the water had a yellow tint to it. A side note: We noticed that the water in the local shops were also yellowish, so this must be the local water. Ick!

The dishes, silverware, and cookware were dirty -- one of the serving spoons still had food caked on it.

One of the lamps had a burnt out light bulb, and the light bulb that we did find in the wet bar area was also burnt out. So, we had to go down to the front desk to get a light bulb.

Monday, September 1, 2008
We took advantage of the pool and the water slide. The pool water was a nice temperature, and my 3yo daughter enjoyed the slide quite a bit. Around the pool was concrete, and there were some raised areas in wood. My aunt got a splinter in her foot, and so did my daughter.

When we made it to the beach, there appeared to be a place to rent chairs and umbrellas, but we brought our own, so we can't rate the quality of those. It did look like that the umbrellas did NOT include umbrella anchors. On the wooden walk to go to and from the beach, there were showers and hoses so you could hose off before going to the pool or going back to your room.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Attempted to use the can opener, and all it did was buzz. Called the front desk and asked for a new can opener, and they said it was on order. I asked if I could buy one and expense it to them, they said no. I asked if I could come down to the front office and use theirs, and they said they didn't have any. I asked if they even had a hand-held for us to use, and they said no. When my aunt walked down to the front desk and said, "You can't tell me that in this entire place, you don't have a working can opener." The lady at the front desk finally agreed to check the store room, and there was a hand can opener that she gave her to keep in the room.

My daughter got a big splinter in her hand from holding onto the rails to go up the stairs to the water slide.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008
I started a load of laundry and in 5 minutes received a phone call from the front desk complaining of a leak below. She said she had already called maintenance. When I went to turn off the washer, I found myself in a pool (about an inch) of water. Before maintenance showed up, we started pushing water out of the front door. Maintenance then showed up with a Shop Vac to clean up the water. They asked us if there was a note on the machine that said "do not use" and I said no. They said that the unit was unplugged, but apparently the previous visitors plugged it in.

Instead of fixing the problem, they told us not to use the washing machine and use the laundry facilities across the entire complex. After speaking out load what I was typing, maintenance asked us if we'd like them to replace the unit. I said that would be great. They removed the old unit immediately.

He later commented huffily, "There was a BIG note on it that said DO NOT USE and it was unplugged!" There was no note on it when I went to use it, and I did not have to plug it in to use it. Frankly, if I tried to run it and it didn't run, I would have called the front desk before checking if it was plugged in.

At least 2 maintenance men accused us of removing the DO NOT USE sign and plugging in the washing machine.

They replaced it with another unit (certainly not brand new) and it seems to work now. He says the new washing machines are on order but not in yet. The water level setting on the one that it was replaced with does not work, and only filled halfway. We decided to fill it the rest of the way with a pitcher.

The maintenance man mentioned that they just hired new housekeeping staff, and the place is too big for them; they can't seem to keep up with everything.

The towel and linen exchange was in the opposite building on the 2nd floor (how do handicapped people get there??) from 10am to noon. They DO NOT come to the room mid-week to change it. We called the front desk to get an extension on the time due to the morning crisis with the washing machine, and they said that they were unable to get a hold of them. I high-tailed it to the linen area and made it and told the housekeeping woman what the front desk said, and she was surprised, because she has a phone and a walkie-talkie with her.

We called RCI to complain about the major problems we've had with the resort. They called the manager of the resort, and RCI was told that they did not want to move us into the only other available unit, implying that it was in even worse condition than ours. The manager also claimed that "this was the first they have heard these complaints," despite the multiple calls we have made to the front desk to complain about our various issues with our room. RCI was gracious enough to refund our exchange fee, the cost of our lamp, and gave us an extra exchange week to use next year. They said that they do annual inspections and rely on guest feedback to include resorts in its network.

Maintenance came around noon to put in the hanging light in the dining area. They discovered that the light has a bad plug, and that they would replace it and return with a working light.

With Hurricane Hanna coming, we asked about parking where it wouldn't get flooded. In essence, they told us that even if it rains, the parking lot floods since we are below sea level. We would need to get off the island of Atlantic Beach to avoid flooding. We will most likely be leaving Friday morning since the weekend will probably be a wash.

Thursday, September 4, 2008
We took this day to go to the aquarium. After the aquarium, my husband took our daughter to the pool with the slide, and then to the beach to fly kites and build sandcastles.

We started packing and loading up the car, and I have to say that going up and down the stairs was extremely tiresome.

Friday, September 5, 2008
We left the resort because of Tropical Storm Hanna. We had a checklist of things to do before leaving the unit, which included:
1. Strip the beds and place all linens and towels in the bathtub.
2. Wash, dry, and put away all dishes -- don't just leave dishes in the dishwasher.
3. Take all the trash to the dumpster.
4. Make sure all windows and doors are locked.
5. Set the thermostat to 78 degrees.

Checkout was fast, but we did not receive a receipt or other acknowledgement.

Although we were sad to leave Atlantic Beach early due to weather, we were relieved to be leaving the resort. Hopefully they will get their act together and get everything fixed and updated. They should really close down at least the timeshare section until everything that's broken is fixed.