We were scheduled to stay at the Sheraton in Atlantic Beach, but were moved to the Peppertree after the former was closed due to damage resulting from Hurricane Irene. I wasn't sure what to expect and turned out to be very pleasantly surprised.

The Peppertree is a neatly kept resort that offers many amnenities, including several pools, tennis, gym, picnic / cookout area, and play area for the kids. Spa services and planned activities are also available. The staff was pleasant and helpful, especially if you wanted info about things to do in the area. Owned by the Festiva Group. the large resort is apparently in various stages of renovation. We toured a newly renovated condo, which was basically the same as the one we were staying in, but with updated furniture and kitchen (very nice, but not necessary as we were fine with what we had - we didn't plan on staying in the room much while there). Our condo was clean and had a partial view of the ocean from the balcony, which was nice when breakfasting on the deck. Very relaxing! The only drawback was that the off switch wasn't working properly for the jacuzzi and you had to get out of the extra large tub and flip the switch just outside the bath area if you just wanted to soak (turning it on worked fine).

Beach access is on the property and limited to Peppertree guests in that area (although the beach itself is not). Guests can either walk or drive to the resort's parking area closest to the beach access. The beach was clean and beautiful, facing due south because of the island's layout.

We crammed a lot of things into our visit to Atlantic Beach. Beaufort is a lovely historic town several miles away (across the bridge to Morehead City). That's where the pirate known as Blackbeard lived and you can see his house on the Beaufort Ghost Tour, along with other haunted sites in town, which we did. We also visited the Maritime Museum in Beaufort and took a guided tour of Shackleford Island, where the wild horses roam. We were close enough to touch the horses when we found them, but were told not to as they are indeed wild. Our other activities: we toured the NC Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores (very interesting to learn about the Sea Turtle Project), drove across Emerald Island to Swansboro where we had a delightful lunch at Yana's (a nostalgic dining experience you won't want to miss - and their fritters are a "must"!), toured Fort Macon, and enjoyed time on the beach. Quite a bit to do and see in an area that looks so sparse on the map! The Peppertree is in an excellent location for touring the Crystal Coast, and there are grocery and other stores and restaurants nearby so you can prepare meals to eat in or go out to enjoy the local fare.

We stayed at the Pepper Tree Resort in 2002 (Little late on the review). Pepper tree is every bit the condo experience. We had a 2 Bedroom Condo that comfortably slept our 3 y/o and 1 y/o along with my in laws. The room had jetted tubs that were a little loud. It almost sounded like a Jet plane taking off. This was almost 10 years ago. I am sure that there have been updates. There were plenty of places to shop. We cooked our meals in teh room and ate out on occassion. The beach was a walk across the road. nothing too stressful. It was a nice place for a family trip. The kids would point out the Marine Corp Helicopters that were a daily sight. Over all, great place to take a family. The resort did have a playground for the children and you could check out books, games and movies

We traded our RCI timeshare for a 1 bedroom unit in building 15. The unit was very clean and well equipped, but a little on the small side. It was not one of the newer units, but it had recently been updated. The rooms even had nice beach towels. There were 3 of us in our party and when our teenage son pulled out the folding couch, the living room disappeared.

.We were very pleasantly surprised after reading some of the reviews. The resort is very close to the beach and chairs can be rented by the week. But a suggestion would be to buy beach chairs at Walgreens before you cross the bridge. You can then bring them with you where ever you go.

Make sure you go to the Monday morning ifnormation breakfast. We picked up all the information that we needed for the week at that meeting. Kristen in the recreation center was also very helpful. She gave us great directions to Harker's Island and we caught a ferry over to Cape Lookout. The ferry was only $10.00 per person round trip

Shackleford Island was probably the highlight of the trip seeing all the wild horses. We took the Crystal Coast ferry out of Morehead City and were the only group on the boat. They dropped us off right near the horses instead of at the dock.

Lots of great restaurants in Beafort and Morehead City which are very close. I did not like the Food Lion in Atlantic Beach, so we went to the food stores in Morehead City.

We felt very badly watching the pier fall apart on the weather channel during Hurricane Irene. We had only left there 6 days prior.

We would definitely consider going back to Peppertree. It is a very relaxing vacation. and everyone there was so nice.

We were there for 5 days. Had to leave early because of Irene. We ere close to the beach, close to some nice restaurants. Our room was beautiful. Only thing we missed was in room washer and dryer. Laundry on site we had to pay. Will definitely go back, enjoyed our time!