This last month was hard on my family with our long-time Aupair's departure. Our bond was so strong and our goodbye so devastating for us and the kids. I wanted to give everyone a little distraction, so we booked a staycation!
We have actually never done this with the kids before. We would normally hop on an Allegiant flight and head to my mom's house in Florida, but this was so much easier! No flights to catch. No car seats to haul. No strollers to break during plane-side check.
We found our perfect vacation destination right here on Lake Norman. I had no idea this even existed (outside of Airbnb or VRBO), but there is a company called Southern Charm Vacations. They rent out vacation homes all over Lake Norman and Asheville! They specialize in beautiful lakefront and mountain properties in the Carolinas!
Living in Ballantyne, our family doesn't make it to the lake much. We don't have a boat of our own, so we don't typically have a reason to go but it's so close! Lake Norman is truly one of Charlotte's precious gems. They have lakefront restaurants, like Toucans and Hello Sailor, beautiful coves, and great beaches for the kids to play on!
When we started planning our staycation I never thought we would be able to find a house to sleep our 14-person posse, so we were pleasantly surprised when we found a lakefront home that slept 17! Booking our vacation was so simple. When you go to LakeNormanVacation.com you can either put in your dates or browse a list of homes and plan your vacation accordingly.
Personally, I think it was easier to book than Airbnb or VRBO because there is a phone number on the site for any questions you might have about the property. Plus, it's one management company taking care of all the properties so you don't have to wonder about their quality of clean or care. (Let's just say I've had some bad Airbnb experiences). Southern Charm was fully staffed, responsive, and super hands-on throughout the whole process.
Check-in was 4pm and the house was pristine! You could tell that someone from the company had personally walked through and check the house before we got there. I guess that is the benefit of working with a small business... personal touch.
Our weekend was so relaxing. We spent our time napping in hammocks, enjoying family dinners, and getting competitive in the game room! We also spent afternoons on the pontoon boat. I think this might be my favorite feature that Southern Charm offers. We were able to add a pontoon boat to our rental. The boat was delivered right to our dock and was already there at check-in.
In fact, Southern Charm offers a whole concierge service where they can help you find anything from a chef to a personal trainer to use during your stay. They can even fully stock your refrigerator so you don't have to drag coolers and groceries to your destination.
I really do love the concept that Southern charm provides! It's great for renters and owners! Owners can ease their worries knowing they have a company managing their property while sitting back and receiving passive income and renters like us can take advantage of their good fortune!
No comments