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| Image Credit: Abundant Family Living |
*I did not receive any form of compensation for writing this
review. My husband and I stayed at Barrier Island Station. This was
our personal experience.
Yesterday, I told you about our stay at the Hampton Inn and Suites in Florence, South Carolina. After we left there, we headed to our final destination, Barrier Island Station in Duck, North Carolina. Barrier Island Station sits between the open Atlantic Ocean and the Currituck Sound which is right across the street from the gate. My sweet husband booked us a week there for our 25th wedding anniversary. You might call it our “second honeymoon.” After he booked our stay, I checked out some of the reviews. They were not the best reviews. They were pretty much just mediocre. However, none of them were terrible so I decided not to worry too much about it. Let me say up front that we loved our stay at Barrier Island Station.
Barrier Island Station - Duck, North Carolina
Most of the negative comments in the online reviews mentioned the dated buildings. The buildings were dated, but I have no problem with older buildings. I do have a problem with filth and bugs. We found none of that in our condo. In fact, our condo was neat and clean. The kitchen was fully furnished with clean pots, pans, utensils, and a few appliances. We stayed in a one bedroom condo. It included a small dorm-sized refrigerator as indicated on their website. I saw an electric skillet and a double eye electrical stove top under the counter top, but we didn’t need to use those. The carpet showed signs of some wear, but considering the age of the carpet, I felt it was well kept, especially for a beach resort. The kitchen area and bathroom floors were covered with linoleum instead of tile but that didn’t bother me one bit. The blue color and older patterns were obviously dated but I have no problem with dated decor as long as it’s clean. It was very clean. The bedroom was nice and roomy with a ceiling fan. The sheets were snow white and fresh. A door in the bedroom opened up to a private balcony. A white round patio table was on the balcony. The bathroom tub/shower, toilet, sink, counter top, and mirror were all clean. Clean, white wash cloths and towels were provided.
Barrier Island Station Condo Photographs
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| Image Credit: Abundant Family Living |
The bedroom was neat, clean and appealing when we entered the room.
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| Image Credit: Abundant Family Living |
The dresser was nice. The drawers were deep and had plenty of room for all my husbands clothes. He packed a lot. :)
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| Image Credit: Abundant Family Living |
The living room and kitchen was really one big room. It was furnished
with a mini kitchen as mentioned above, a glass topped table, 4
comfortable cushioned chairs, a couch, a coffee table, and end tables.
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| Image Credit: Abundant Family Living |
The couch was a bit aged, but clean and comfortable.
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| Image Credit: Abundant Family Living |
You can see that a spot on the kitchen counter is popping up and some of
the paint on the corner has flaked off but still, it is a clean
environment which is what matters to me.
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| Image Credit: Abundant Family Living |
As we entered the condo, we had to walk down a small set of stairs to
access the living area. I wasn’t particularly crazy about this but it
really wasn’t much to complain about. It was good exercise. :)
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| Image Credit: Abundant Family Living |
If you’re traveling with kids, there is a nice tall book shelf embedded
into the wall at the stairs which provides a great place to unload books, bags, toys, etc.
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| Image Credit: Abundant Family Living |
The photo above shows the aged counters and blue stoned linoleum but
again, it was clean. It looks gray in the photograph, but it was very
blue.
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| Image Credit: Abundant Family Living |
Some of the wood work throughout the condo showed signs of wear and tear, but I can live with that.
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| Image Credit: Abundant Family Living |
Some of the linoleum beside the toilet buckled up a little bit but it didn’t bother us. You can barely see it in the photo.
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| Image Credit: Abundant Family Living |
Although you can see a small flaked area on the edge of the tub, you can see how clean it was.
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| Image Credit: Abundant Family Living |
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| Image Credit: Abundant Family Living |
The photo above is a closer look at the kitchen counter top.
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| Image Credit: Abundant Family Living |
The closet was nice and spacious. Inside was an extra blanket and bedspread.
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| Image Credit: Abundant Family Living |
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| Image Credit: Abundant Family Living |
The deck just outside the bedroom was nice and spacious too. The patio table seated four. There was no umbrella provided.
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| Image Credit: Abundant Family Living |
The above photo is a closer look at that spot beside the kitchen where the paint had flaked off.
Barrier Island Station Private Beach Access
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| Image Credit: Abundant Family Living |
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| Image Credit: Abundant Family Living |
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| Image Credit: Abundant Family Living |
A hedge of natural landscape divides the resort grounds and the
beachfront. A raised walkway provides resort guests access to the
beach.
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| Image Credit: Abundant Family Living |
The bridge isn’t as long as it looks in the photograph. :)
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| Image Credit: Abundant Family Living |
Barrier Island Station Swimming Pool Area
We didn’t spend much time at the pool because we preferred the beach,
but the pool area was large. There was a shallow 3 or 4 foot deep area
on each end, perfect for children. You can’t see the beach from the
pool.
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| Image Credit: Abundant Family Living |
Barrier Island Station Tennis Courts
We don’t play tennis but for those who do, tennis courts are available.
We saw two courts. The one in the photo below is the larger one.
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| Image Credit: Abundant Family Living |
I failed to take photos but there’s more. There is also a recreation
room, indoor pool, hot tub, sauna, steam room, and pool tables. I
believe I read somewhere that there is a gym but we didn’t see that.
It’s a pretty large resort so I wouldn’t be surprised if there is more
that we didn’t see.
Barrier Island Station was not what most travelers would consider a 5
star resort, but it was great for us. It was an affordable, clean,
spacious place for us to spend a week on the beach and enjoy all the
Outer Banks has to offer. The staff was incredibly nice and helpful.
Most of the stairs and decks around the resort had been replaced. We
could still smell the fresh cut wood. There were some areas of
construction around the complex. We saw a few rolls of new carpet
laying around. They are working on updating the resort and when they
do, it should be back up to top notch accommodations.
In spite of the minimal imperfections, we highly recommend Barrier Island Station in Duck, North Carolina. The resort seemed packed full
of happy families enjoying the Outer Banks. We noticed the friendly
family atmosphere was consistent all week long. It is a great place for
a family friendly vacation.
I hope you get a chance to go there and enjoy all that North Carolina’s Outer Banks has to offer.
Read about other great places to visit in the Outer Banks of North Carolina here.