This house was close to the beach in Holmes Beach and close to the Intracoastal. You only have to cross one "major" road to get to the beach from this property. This property also backs up to a Mangrove forest and has a nice little dock. The dock didn't seem too sturdy so I wouldn't recommend loading it up with lots of people. If you kayak or SUP and have your own equipment, a short walk away from the beach will bring you to a good spot to get in the water. Publix is just up the road and this house is in a good location to head towards Bradenton or Sarasota. The pool was a great feature and there was a propane grill outside with a fire pit/bbq pit out there as well. I was looking forward to the hammock, but it looked like it had seen better days. This property was a great deal compared to some of the more expensive properties on the island. This house itself is a little bit older and it does not appear that the owner vacations to themselves, in that some of the appliances are older (dishwasher, stove/oven, fridge) and with some updating to the house it could really blow you away. The washer and dryer are around the outside and were fairly new. I rated this a 4 but would go with a 3.5 if I could. When we arrived there was a slightly funky smell coming from underneath the cabinets in the kitchen, I realize this is an older home but finally found the problem to be in the dishwasher. We didn't end up using this appliance but there was a few inches of standing water in the dishwasher that was getting moldy and stank up the kitchen when it was open. The maintenance guy showed up one night to manually drain the water from the dishwasher and was very friendly/helpful. This property is dog friendly which is why we choose it, it was perfect for our two small dogs. The back bedroom of the house (the one with the double doors) has its own window a/c unit (maybe it was an unconditioned space in the house previously?). I did not have the same experience with the neighbor as someone else did. She seemed very friendly and said hello when we were outside. It was just me and my wife with our two dogs, so we tended to be a little quieter than someone who might have a family with them. In all, I didn't get that "beach" feel from inside the house with the bright colors but the backyard/pool was great, the location was awesome. I might stay here again but if traveling with family would pay a little more for an up to date look/feel.