Live from Emerald Isle, NC - Grande Villas
My family and I arrived on Sunday, May 24th at the Grande Villas in Indian Beach, NC which is right in the center of Emerald Isle. Thus far everything has been perfect. The team at Emerald Isle Realty really does an incredible job of considering your every need. Our check in was smooth and our unit is beautiful.
We have two first floor units, 1-K and 1-L. These units each have stairs which leads right to the grass and then to the beach. It is so so convenient. We worried a little about if there would be a privacy or noise problem, but this would never be an issue due to where the units are located. It is just so nice to quick go to the pool or the beach or each others unit, without have to go into the building.
The units themselves are brand new and first class. Tile everywhere, 13 foot ceilings, granite countertops, walk in showers, walk in closets in each bedroom and three very nice flat screen TVs. There is high speed wireless Internet in each unit! I mean there is an actual wireless router in our unit! 2.5Mb/s according to speedtest.net, so very nice!
The exercise room overlooks the ocean and the equipment is brand new. There are two ellipticals, a couple of treadmills and a stairmaster, as well as some strength training equipment.. There is also a game room with a huge flatscreen, free pool table and free video games including Galaga!
The closest grocery store is on the east end of the island, a Food Lion, and it’s about 9 miles away. There is a convenience store about 100 yards from Grande Villas, just across the street, that has the basic staples and also also bait and tackle for fishing! The bait is frozen however. But if you take a right out of the resort and go a 1/4 mile or so, there is a place called Homer’s Point which sells fresh shrimp (among other fresh seafood). We stopped by there on our way out and picked up three very nice Mahi Mahi filets which we grilled up when we got home!
One night we drove about 10 miles to the west end of the island and ate at Rutger Johns. It doesn’t have an amazing view, and it’s in the back of a strip mall, but the food came recommended and it was very good and economical. Great place to take a 15 month old. Kid friendly, nice atmosphere and excellent food. A word to the wise, if you are in a hurry to eat, and want to eat on the water (or really eat period) don’t go west (turning left) out of the resort, there are no restaurants for 15-20 minutes. However, if you go east, there are quite a few restaurants in the first two miles. This is good to know if you have kids and need to eat. Carleton’s is just a 1/4 to 1/2 miles to the west (left out of Grande Villas) but we never ate there mostly because it seemed like it might be a bit too fancy to take a kid.
On Tuesday afternoon we had lunch at The Big Oak, where we all had our first shrimp burgers. They were amazing, and we had a really nice time. For most people, I would consider getting the large shrimp burger, I ordered the regular shrimp burger initially and ended up ordering two of them!
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June 5th, 2009 at 9:26 am
Great post on the Grande Villas. I went to a reception at the Grande Villas last night and toured the various units. They’ve done a great job. Every unit is oceanfront and the building materials are quality; granite, marble, tile, stainless appliances, etc.
I live in Emerald Isle and I would suggest “turning left” out of the parking lot of the Grande Villas. The first great restaurant you come to is Carlton’s on the right only about a mile, then when you do arrive in Emerald Isle about there is Kathryn’s Martini Bar & Bistro (probably not the place for 15 mos. old), Ballyhoos Sports Grill, Chowda Heads, Rucker Johns, Portofinos, China Wall, Bushwackers (overlooking the ocean), Jordans, Mike’s Place, Village Market, El Zarape’s, Flippers and I’m sure I there’s one or two others I’m not thinking of right now. Oh yeah, like Michael Angelo’s pizza & the new pizza shop in Bell Cove Village. And there are several ice cream shops for dessert as you walk around enjoying the town.
Plus there are some great shops for clothes, beach wear, souvenirs, and the movie theater - so yes indeed - do turn left!
Kathryn Gorham - Green Key Properties - 252-354-7007 - kathryn@greenkeyproperties.com
June 5th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
Hi Kathryn, thanks for the comment. We wanted to try El Zarape’s but never had the chance and my mother-in-law is not a huge mexican fan.
I really wanted some great fish tacos, but never found a place on Emerald Isle that offered fish tacos with grilled fish. We ate at the Ruddy Duck in Morehead City and they offered fish tacos, but the fish was fried and they weren’t good at all.
My wife and I had a nice meal at Kathryn’s. The food was good and the Martini and wine selection was excellent. The atmosphere was enjoyable for a date night.
The entire family at at Flippers and had a super meal and fast service.
I guess the biggest problem with turning left out of the Grande Villas is the lack of a close waterfront restaurant…where is Bushwhacker’s? Turn right to get the closest waterfront eats, turn left maybe to get the best family dining with super good food?
June 23rd, 2009 at 3:41 pm
So glad you had a wonderful and memorable time at Grande Villas at Indian Beach!
The shrimp burgers at Big Oak are a local favorite, so I am happy to see that you were able to try them and that you had two! They are my personal favorite!! You were asking about Bushwacker’s Restaurant. It is located in Emerald Isle at the pier. It is not fancy by any means, but it has a beautiful view of the ocean. Kathryn’s food is incredible and as you said, perfect for date night!
The Grande Villas oceanfront Poolside Pavilion offers refreshments, sandwiches, chips, etc., so it is perfect for light far while you are enjoying the pool/beach and the ocean view.
I hope you had a chance to see both the sunrise and sunset while you were there. The unique characteristic of our island is that it faces South, so the sun rises and sets over the Atlantic Ocean.
~Ashley Ergler
Grande Villas Project Coordinator