My wife and I stayed there for two nights in July. I would not recommend it. I expected much more from a B&B on the beach. I also expected it to be more private. It is next door to a highrise condo. It is also adjacent to a public beach access parking lot. The B&B does not have its own walkway to the beach, you have to walk around and use the public boardwalk.
Since we usually stay at B&B's when we travel this one did not meet my expectations. I would consider it on the low end of sytle, comfort and service compared to other B&Bs that I have stayed in. Overall its a nice looking beach house but on the small side. The rooms were like typical average hotel rooms. Nothing special. The "King" bed was actually two twins pushed together. I assumed that when they built the place they made the hall and stairs so narrow and steep that they could not get larger beds upstairs. The bathrooms were tiny as well. It did not meet my cleanliness expectations either. There were hairs on the bathroon floor and in the corners. Ive had larger and cleaner bathrooms in a Motel 6. I expect a large and clean bath in a B&B and for the price.
The furnishings were below average. Many appeared to be from a thrift store. Though the rooms are "named" for birds there is no theme to the rooms. I guessed they spent all there money building the place and then could not furnish it well.
They did have bikes to loan but only two bikes for the 8 guests and bikes are the best way to venture out around Jacksonville beach. They were not always available. Beach towels were also provided which was nice.
The food was good and the dining area provides a good view of the ocean. Breakfast is served at 8:30 am only - no flexible times. The food, while tasty, was always casserole style. I assume to make it easy on the cook. There were no afternoon refreshments.
The hostess was kind and pleasant and appeared to be genuinely concerned with good customer service. The host (her husband ?) was not. It also appeared she did all the work.
If you chose to stay here think of it as a room at a typical beach hotel and you may not be disappointed. If you are looking for a quaint B&B getaway, take my advice and look somewhere else.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
September 19, 2005
I have just discovered this rather scathing review of our bed and breakfast and would like the opportunity to correct some inaccuracies.
The reviewer who stayed in July actually stayed over the 4th of July weekend - probably the busiest weekend of the summer months for the beaches area. The viewer complains of the lack of "privacy" of this location. For the 4th of July weekend our beaches and, I expect, most beaches have celebrations, fireworks, etc. taking place, as did we.
I invite you to see our website, (commercial URL). You will find photos with both interior and exterior shots so you can judge for yourself the location and the type of furnishings provided. There is also an aerial view of north Jacksonville Beach showing our location on the beach. There is no intent to mislead anyone - we are on a public beach (all beaches in this area are public), and have a well-built, well-maintained, city dune walk in the little park on the right of our inn. The locals call this the "Mommy beach" because it is a nice spot for parents to bring their children, and it features showers and public restrooms for their use. It is a pleasure to watch the young children enthusiastically run for the beach. The public dune walk has also been used as the walkway to a beach wedding or two...the wedding party all dressed up, and barefooted!!
The reviewer who chose our least expensive room for his stay suggested that all of our king beds were twin beds put together. Not the case...the room he chose originally featured twin beds to provide an option which we thought travelers would like. Actually, very few wanted twin beds so we made them into a king and still maintain the option of separating them if travelers of several days are requesting individual beds. The other three rooms feature regular king beds.
We have five (not two) bicycles available for guest use. Two of the bikes are newer and, therefore, more desirable. Salt air is hard on bicycles. We rarely have more than one couple per day requesting to use the bicycles. When we do, we pull out extra bikes. The bikes are available from 9:00Am till dark.
The comment on the breakfast fare ("always a casserole") is not accurate, nor is it to make preparation "easy on the cook." We were not allowed to have a range-top (stove) unless we purchased a commercial hood (like a restaurant). Since we did not wish to commercialize our home, we do most of our cooking in our double ovens and microwave. We do manage pancakes, french toast, waffles, scrambled eggs, poached eggs, omelettes depending on the number of guests to be served and the breakfasts already served to those staying over a period of days. We also serve fresh fruit, juice, some type of meat (sausage, bacon, ham), some type of baked goods such as coffee cake, muffins, etc. and coffee and tea along with the egg dish.
After our first year in business we stopped trying to serve afternoon refreshments as our guests were out enjoying the beach and the surrounding areas. Instead we place complimentary beverages (2 cokes, 2 diet cokes, 2 bottles of orange juice, and 2 bottles of water) in each room's small refrigerator on a daily basis.
I was truly distressed to read the reviewer's comments about the lack of cleanliness in the bathroom. I am surprised because we make a consistent effort to keep the whole inn spotless. I was never approached about this problem which I would have immediately corrected for our guests.
I do believe the reviewer is accurate when he cautions that this is not a "quaint B&B getaway." We built Pelican Path B & B and opened it as a new beachfront bed and breakfast in November, 1998. What we offer is a modern facility with beautiful ocean views and easy, immediate access to the beach.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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