Best Things Nearby:Fairfield Harbour Recreation Center
Shopping, touring, and dining in the historic town of New Bern.
Best Things About the Resort:We liked the staff, the layout of the units (comfortable for six to eight people), and the Recreation Center. There is grocery shopping about 7 miles away (Bridgton Food Lion). Everything on-site was within walking distance.Resort Experience:The two-bedroom units at Sandcastle Village II were spacious and generally clean. Each included a living room, dining room, kitchen, half bath downstairs, master bedroom/bath and combination laundry/Jacuzzi room on the second level, second bedroom and bath on the thi
...Read More
Fairfield Harbour Recreation Center
Shopping, touring, and dining in the historic town of New Bern.
Best Things About the Resort:
We liked the staff, the layout of the units (comfortable for six to eight people), and the Recreation Center. There is grocery shopping about 7 miles away (Bridgton Food Lion). Everything on-site was within walking distance.
Resort Experience:
The two-bedroom units at Sandcastle Village II were spacious and generally clean. Each included a living room, dining room, kitchen, half bath downstairs, master bedroom/bath and combination laundry/Jacuzzi room on the second level, second bedroom and bath on the third level, and a fourth level with two twin beds and a play space. There was also a back deck that overlooked a pond.
There were a few areas that needed improvement. The first issue was the welcome center, located about 4 miles from the units. The building is clean, but a bit rundown. The restroom was so awful, we walked out without using it. The adjacent sales reception room just looked dark and dingy. This was not at all what I would have wanted to see if I was attending a sales presentation.
The staff (Wanda, Duffy, Beth), however, were incredibly helpful prior to our visit and continued to be through the check-in and check-out processes. They went out of their way to accommodate our family.
At the units, the overall quality was acceptable, but not stellar. Linens and bedding were clean but stained. Blankets were quite old, though requests for replacements were quickly filled. The back decks of the units badly needed repair.
The resort was clearly having problems with Canadian Geese, and these unwelcome guests had left quite a bit of "evidence" on the walkway around the pond, making sections of it nearly impassable. In our week there, we never once saw evidence of anyone cleaning it. Despite daily attention to the grass in front of the units (where no one walked or played), there was NO maintenance in the back where it was sorely needed. This was a big disappointment, enough said.
At the recreation center, there was an outdoor pool, indoor pool with a small hot tub and a sauna, exercise room, and game room. We used the sauna and hot tub a bit, but not the indoor pool. The outdoor pool was larger and beautiful, and as the weather was great, that is where we spent our on-site time. We also used the mini-golf ($1 per game), tennis courts (free), and bike rentals (not a great selection of bikes, but a good deal at $3 to $5 for a 6-hour rental).
The town of New Bern is a 10-mile drive from the resort, but worth the trip if you like shopping and touring. New Bern was the first capitol of North Carolina (who knew?), and there are a number of historical properties to tour. Tryon Palace, the first governor’s mansion and estate, has beautiful gardens. The house tour is pricey ($15), but the self-guided tour of the grounds and the two "offices" for half the cost was fine for us. Shopping was great in small arty and antique stores, and prices were reasonable. Getting to town was easy, and there was available free parking everywhere.
All in all, we enjoyed our stay, though we are unlikely to go back and would not buy at this resort.
- Unit Type: 2 Bedroom
- Activities: Very Good
- Amenities: Very Good
- Unit Satisfaction: Good
- Family Friendliness: Very Good
- Service: Very Good
Read Less