Cottage and property was perfect for us. Bay beach
and water view was soul soothing.
Safety/privacy: Excellent. We had 2 young kids (ages 5 & 7). Adults were thoroughly able to enjoy ourselves bc the kids could explore, eat at the picnic tables, play on the beach, and run back to the cottage for bathrm breaks, and I could see them very easily with the wide-open property plan. Strangers could not see my kids from the street and kids were not in danger of wandering out into the street as the fun common areas are set back privately from the street.
Outdoors: Private beach was awesome. Everything was clean, well maintained, plentiful colorful adirondack seating, picnic tables, gas grills, storage for guest's personal bicycles, beach toys, floaties, umbrellas, chairs. View was beautiful, and we could see across to Sandy Hook. The sky view was also amazing for stargazing and one of the other guests even brought their telescope.
Cottage interiors: Clean, well maintained, with welcoming beach decor. AC kept us cool. Microwave, keurig coffee maker, gas range, oven with broiler, top freezer-fridge made cooking/eating-in very easy. Really valuable for us, bc kids still can't get the vax. Bathroom is clean, snug, compact, with shower no tub.
Parking: provided less than 1/2 block away. My car was safe from street traffic. Valuable, as beach street parking is tight.
Location: Fabulous. Walking distance to both casual and upscale waterfront restaurants, convenience stores, and biking distance to the start of the bike path which fronts the water. Super close drive or long bike ride to Sandy Hook Beach, Lighthouse, and Fort Hancock. Kids did a great Junior National Park Ranger Osprey tour. Ferry to NYC was in walking distance (although parking is free there)! So easy to spend the morning in NYC for siteseeing, and back by afternoon to the beach.
Owners: Delightful kind family. Onsite, very accommodating and friendly. Very responsive communications before we arrived, and easy going and accessable during our stay. We felt well cared for.
If they weren't booked solid, we would have asked to extend our stay. Very enjoyable experience. We'll be back.