Manatee House - Beautiful bayfront house

The pictures don’t do this house justice, it was better than what we expected! Because the island is small, the way the plant growth is wedged between properties, we had so much privacy, peace, & quiet. The bedrooms are spread out around the house so my 3 children all had their own space. The kitchen had everything we needed to prepare meals. My husband spent every morning fishing in a kayak on the bay and every evening fishing off the dock. We did have to purchase a volleyball to play, but the wal-mart is only 15 min away. All the rafts, boogie board, beach chairs, umbrellas, beach towels, were provided so we didn’t have to bring anything. The wagon is a plastic little tikes wagon so it was a struggle to roll on sand. If you’ve never been to MK, you need to know, you can only get to the beach if you drive to one of the 4 public beach access points. Even though this house sits across the street from the beach, you can’t get to it without walking thru someone else’s private property. Now, we did discover an access trail to a private section of the beach that’s wonderful. It’s 3 houses north of this house. There’s a shell trail that takes you straight to the beach. We learned the hard way though it may not be the best for swimming, especially if the waves are choppy. There are rocks on the ground so my feet got cut up when a wave pushed me over. Just be cautious if you use this piece. It’s beautiful though for enjoying the sand and sunset. The sand on MK is not soft and white. It’s gritty and gray, so that was disappointing for us. The water is really pretty though, an aqua color. We had bad seaweed the first 2 days but it cleared out and swimming was so enjoyable. You will see manatee at the bay and in the ocean with you. The island has some large lizards too that resemble a cousin of the iguana. They’re harmless if you leave them alone. The view of the bay from this house is absolutely amazing! If you go in the summer, the back porch is so hot since there’s not a ceiling fan, so just be prepared. I found A fan in the closet & plugged it up to the outlet behind the couch so I could Have some air flow while on the porch. The beds are very comfortable and there’s plenty of xtra towels & sheets/blankets in the closets. The best restaurant on the island is The Sandbar! Large portions, so much to choose from and fun servers!

First, let us start with the positive features. A clean and spacious home with room for our large family! We loved it and all the amenities!The best of all we ever rented there, house wise. Now the downfall, the lack of beach access😞Perhaps a golf cart could be provided to help access the beach or perhaps a neighbor across the street would allow families access. I know we would happily pay a fee just to have the ability to cross directly to the beach!

The house is beautiful and was well stocked for our needs. Would be a perfect family getaway to reconnect and relax. The view of Lemon Bay from the screened deck overlooking the water is fantastic and our favorite spot. Having a dock at your fingertips is a fisherman’s dream. However, so other renters are not thrown off guard as we were…the dock and all water equipment are not just for your own use but is shared with the other rental at the front of the property. That is not in the description, and we did not see the note by the refrigerator until after people walked around the house to use the dock. Imagine renting a house with a gorgeous pool only to find out when you got there that the people next door are allowed to use the pool anytime they like. It wasn’t a big deal for us but if you are looking for total privacy you might not get that here. The Manasota Key Beach is a very short drive and there is no fee to park (it is our favorite). Sandbar restaurant is excellent and also a short drive. Stump Pass State Park is a must while here ($3 parking fee). There are so many things to do and see in this area. The house is lovely, and I would stay again. You won’t be disappointed with this rental.

This house was perfect for our large family with plenty of room for everyone. We fished off the dock, brought our jet skis which we kept there (tied to the dock) and the kids loved having the volleyball court where they played every night once the sun set. There are two houses that share the property but that was not an issue at all. In fact, if we came with a smaller group I'd probably stay at the smaller front house. There is plenty to share with everyone. We had a wonderful time.