I can't say enough about this property and the owner who opened his home to us and made it our home for a week. We celebrated our son's wedding in July and were looking for a vacation place to hold our extended family for an opportunistic vacation. The minute we toured the place the previous winter, we knew that we not only had a great vacation spot but had also solved our problem of where to hold the rehearsal dinner. The deck would easily hold our large dinner party of up to 50 people and could even manage that many inside in case of rain.
The days preceding the hectic weekend were blissful. The grandkids played on the playset, the beach, and in the hot tub. The adults, young and not-so-young, relaxed or played on one of the three decks, on the beach or in the ever-popular hot tub. The beverage fridge drawers next to the deck got quite a workout! When it got hot, it was easy to cool off by either walking down to the ocean - a bit steep and rough for the little kiddies, so be aware of this if you're looking for tot-friendly beachfront - or into the house for an air-conditioned view over the beach (or a nap). With a convenience and package store across the street, you don't have to go anywhere. And we didn't except for a few adventurers who went kayaking/birding in the marshes and another few intrepid explorers who had fun in the shops of Newburyport, about five minutes away.
The owner stays about five minutes away and is available to help in large or small emergencies, whether it's trying to figure out his custom lighting or sound systems, a backed up bathtub, or an oven failure. There are detailed printed instructions to ward off the small emergencies, but he was out the next morning after the oven failure with a brand new high-end oven. (We postponed its installation until after we left because the remaining full-size oven in the gourmet kitchen was more than enough to get us through the week.) All in all, the personal attention was a wonderful thing - it made us feel like welcome guests and it made us act like conscientious guests who wanted to help keep this amazing house in good condition.
When the relaxing was over, the house became a fantastic party site. We hosted increasing numbers of visiting family and friends as the wedding grew near, and the rehearsal dinner could not have been lovelier. (Catered by Creative Catering in Beverly, who did a great job.)
Our only problem now is that everyone wants to make this an annual event!