Monday, June 20, 2016

Barrier Island Station in Duck, North Carolina

 
Barrier Island Station in Duck, North Carolina
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


Barrier Island Station in Duck, North Carolina
Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living
 The bedroom was neat, clean and appealing when we entered the room.

Barrier Island Station in Duck, North Carolina
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.  :)

Barrier Island Station in Duck, North Carolina
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.

Barrier Island Station in Duck, North Carolina
Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living
The couch was a bit aged, but clean and comfortable.

Barrier Island Station in Duck, North Carolina
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.

Barrier Island Station in Duck, North Carolina
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.  :)

Barrier Island Station in Duck, North Carolina
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.

Barrier Island Station in Duck, North Carolina
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.   

Barrier Island Station in Duck, North Carolina
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.

Barrier Island Station in Duck, North Carolina
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.

Barrier Island Station in Duck, North Carolina
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.

Barrier Island Station in Duck, North Carolina
Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living
Barrier Island Station in Duck, North Carolina
Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living
The photo above is a closer look at the kitchen counter top.

Barrier Island Station in Duck, North Carolina
Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living
The closet was nice and spacious.  Inside was an extra blanket and bedspread.

Barrier Island Station in Duck, North Carolina
Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living
There were extra hangers and plenty of floor space for luggage.

Barrier Island Station in Duck, North Carolina
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.

Barrier Island Station in Duck, North Carolina
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


Barrier Island Station in Duck, North Carolina
Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living
Barrier Island Station in Duck, North Carolina
Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living
Barrier Island Station in Duck, North Carolina
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.

Barrier Island Station in Duck, North Carolina
Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living
 The bridge isn’t as long as it looks in the photograph.  :)

Barrier Island Station in Duck, North Carolina
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.

Barrier Island Station in Duck, North Carolina
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.

Barrier Island Station in Duck, North Carolina
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.

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