“The Fishbowl” - The Perfect Surf City Intimate Beach Cottage! Reviews, Deals & Photos 2025

10/10 Excellent

Becky B.

8 May 2025

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Perfect home away from home.

We were able to stay in The Fishbowl while we searched for a permanent home in the area. It was a perfect location and very accessible to great restaurants, local fish markets, coffee shops, and more! We were grateful for our time there, enjoying the sound of the waves and the breeze from the ocean.

Stayed 62 nights in Mar 2025

10/10 Excellent

Kayla H.

15 May 2023

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Beautiful

We loved our stay. Very clean and dog friendly! Short walk to the beach 10/10 would definitely stay again!!

Stayed 3 nights in May 2023

10/10 Excellent

James J.

27 May 2023

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Home away from home

Truly enjoyed my stay at this cottage convienantly located to the beach and restaraunts. Will stay again. I recommend this cottage for your getaway.

Stayed 7 nights in May 2023

10/10 Excellent

Donna M.

26 Apr 2024

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Peaceful vacation

This is a great location. Quiet neighborhood. Perfect size for a small family. I would definitely book again.

Stayed 3 nights in Apr 2024

10/10 Excellent

Amanda C.

13 Jul 2023

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Such a cute place!

We really enjoyed our trip to “The Fishbowl “! It’s a great location close to the beach and to lots of good food and shopping. Plenty of room and we loved the porch.

Stayed 4 nights in Jul 2023

10/10 Excellent

Steve B.

27 Jul 2023

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Surf City

Cozy, close to beach and walking distance to everything.

Stayed 7 nights in Jul 2023

10/10 Excellent

Jessica B., Pineville, NC

26 Jun 2022

Liked: Check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Hidden gem

Crystal was great with communication, and very helpful. Home was cozy and a short walk to beach access. Already booked another trip! Thank you to the owners for sharing their home and providing a place to make memories with family!

Stayed 4 nights in Jun 2022

10/10 Excellent

Bradford S.

9 Jun 2024

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, location, listing accuracy

Baby Girls Beach Trip

Had a great time house is small but very nice fit perfect for myself wife and three little ones along with one dog. Nice yard area. Lots of beach items for the kids to use and we added to them. Do to reasons we had to leave two days early to return home. Very close and easy access to the beach nice area. Would defiantly stay again

Stayed 6 nights in Jun 2024

10/10 Excellent

Danielle D.

31 Dec 2023

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Nice winter getaway

My daughter and I were in town visiting my three sons who live on the island. This was a perfect location for us. Close to EVERYTHING! The owner was very prompt with communication. Nice touch to have a basket of holiday goodies upon arrival. One big plus is to have linens, towels, kitchen supplies etc all there. Thank you for a nice stay!!

Stayed 4 nights in Dec 2023

10/10 Excellent

Angel E.

7 Dec 2023

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Thanksgiving trip

We wanted a nice little getaway for Thanksgiving and our dog had recently been diagnosed with heart failure and had never seen the beach so we wanted to include her. We were glad we found a pet friendly house so close to the beach! A nice lil basket awaited us at the house with dog treats and snacks for the kids. Whole town was very pet friendly. House was a super close walk to the beach and in a quiet area but close enough to some good restaurants. Definitely recommend!

Stayed 3 nights in Nov 2023

10/10 Excellent

Tricia S.

24 Jun 2023

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Perfect Beach Cottage for Family of 4

This little beach cottage was perfect for our family of 4. Beach access was so close! We had everything we needed to have a great week. We enjoyed having the kitchen and 1 bedroom for the adults and 1 for the kids. Crystal was good at communicating with us. She provided a cute basket of treats for the kids. We would rent from her again.

Stayed 4 nights in Jun 2023

10/10 Excellent

Mindi W.

8 Jun 2022

Liked: Cleanliness, communication, location, listing accuracy

Loved the Fishbowl!

We loved the Fishbowl. It was so close to the beach making it easy for us to roll out of bed and hit the sand. It was also nice being able to leave the beach and come grab something to eat/drink. We had a great time walking to get dinner some nights. The fishbowl was great for what we were looking for and came equipped with anything we could have needed. Beds were comfy, house was cozy, all made for the perfect trip.

Stayed 5 nights in Jun 2022

10/10 Excellent

Kevin R.

25 Sept 2023

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Perfect get away!!

We couldn't have picked a better pet friendly place at the beach! Crystal was a great host and the fishbowl had everything anyone would need for the beach and I mean everything from toys to fishing rods to a surfboard. A great place for pets complete with a tie-out and a big yard plus a nice treat basket for us and our pets!! A very short walk to the beach! The house was stocked with everything as well from linens to a completely stocked kitchen..a screened in back porch with a gas grill and big table to enjoy dinner outside...Can't wait until next year!

Stayed 7 nights in Sep 2023

6/10 Okay

Oren H.

6 Jun 2023

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location

Don’t Expect Tajmahal

Easy beach access 1/2 block; 3/4 mile walk to “old town” Surf City; 2 blocks to High Waters Sports Bar and Grill and to Herring’s Outdoor Sports. Furnishing style is “single surfer dude second hand store”. Kitchen is functional and propane grill works. Internet is serviceable and each tv has Roku streaming with the Roku channel - you’ll have to use your own login for Netflix,etc. The bathroom is about what you would expect in an old double wide unit. Good place for the dog and served our needs for a week.

Stayed 7 nights in May 2023

10/10 Excellent

MYRANDA C.

30 May 2022

Liked: Check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Wonderful Stay.

So first I’d love to say, you can’t beat the value of this property and it’s proximity to entertainment ie the beach, ice cream and places to eat. Our biggest complaints were the cleanliness and the shower head. The place was “clean” but it was all the small stuff that was annoying: left over shrimp in the freezer, the grill was horrendous, the back porch could use some “love”, window sills were dust. Don’t get me wrong it didn’t spoil our vacation but maybe the owner can have a talk with their cleaning company? And the water pressure in the shower was HORRIBLE! Despite those “discrepancies” we loved it and plan to come back.

Stayed 3 nights in May 2022

6/10 Okay

Vivian M.

5 Aug 2024

Liked: Location

Disliked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication

Property management needed

We checked in at 5:30p.m. for a week long stay and after going out to dinner, we returned to find that one of bedrooms had no working lights, bulb out? Idk. But that would pale to the cleanliness issues. The couches are some old dorm room rejects that my dog and child wouldn’t sit on. The owner responded quickly. However, after I sent pics of the problem areas, i.e. sticky and dirty interior door to name one, scheduling the cleaners became an issue of when it suited the owner. I declined cleaning as I didn’t want to spend more than a day on this issue and I would just diy it(no vacancies elsewhere ). In short, I returned to the rental after a quick errand and the cleaners were inside without my permission. Per the owner, there is no one nearby to help remedy issues like replacing the bulb and there were no step stools or safe way to change the lightbulb myself. Toilet has issues. Location is great the floor plan of this house is also great. Sadly this could have been a great rental but I didn't get a vacation from cleaning or plumbing. PDF for occupant guidelines were incorrect and dated,( wrong day for trash pickup so the smell from the outdoor [full] trash bin for pick up would hit us in the face every time when entered the front door. Had to ask the neighbor for trash day info. We left a day early.

Stayed 8 nights in Jul 2024

10/10 Excellent

Norberto (Bert) R.

12 Jun 2024

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Awesome with closeness to beach

Stayed with wife and 2 of the 4 grandkids. Arrived and found the house was not cleaned. contacted the host and she got in touch with cleaning personnel that arrived shortly. They did a great job and oh BTW it's not the host's fault. she had it scheduled. one of the rooms had a repair on the wall by the Circuit Breaker box that needs painting. The AC unit worked flawlessly and there was plenty Hot Water. The rear porch is filled with all kinds of items to use on the beach. The kids tried a Boogie Board and loved it. Walk to the beach access (#12) is less than 50 yds. from the house. They left paper plates and utensils , however, we preferred the real stuff. I made some suggestions for an even greater experience that I shared with the host and she agreed to look into them and incorporate them. We are going back to Topsail Beach but the dates were already booked at this house. We will definitely stay in another year. Price is super as compared to other fancy places.

Stayed 3 nights in Jun 2024

10/10 Excellent

James B.

18 Sept 2023

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Loved The fishbowl!

Thanks for the amazing place to stay! My girlfriend and I and our german shepherd had an amazing time! We loved the house! Everything we needed plus more was furnished. Easy unloading/ loading the vehicle. The back deck was nice to place for our chairs, etc because of the sand. And the water hose on the side of the house was nice to spray off before we went inside! Short walk to the beach! 10/10 would recommend to anyone! Thanks for the opportunity!

Stayed 4 nights in Sep 2023

10/10 Excellent

Joseph V.

7 Sept 2023

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Labor Day stay

Property was in good shape and very close to beach access. Very cute bungalow. We would definitely stay again. Communication with host was very helpful and timely.

Stayed 5 nights in Sep 2023

10/10 Excellent

Chrishana W.

2 Aug 2023

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great stay

We enjoyed our time. Sweet house, close to beach access.

Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2023

6/10 Okay

Darryl W.

17 Sept 2022

Liked: Check-in, location

Disliked: Cleanliness

The fishbowl

The only positive about this property is thats its a short walk to the beach. A bed pillow had blood stains on it. The faucet in the shower had black and green mold. There was thick soap scum on the shower walls. We found a dead cockroach in one of the bedrooms. The ceiling fan/light in the living area didn't work. Several light bulbs were burnt out. Thick, black dust around vents and light fixtures. We have emailed the host and have heard nothing from her.

Stayed 4 nights in Sep 2022

10/10 Excellent

Cale F., Winston Salem, NC

9 Aug 2022

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great beach stay

Perfect for a family beach trip. Its got enough space, great outdoor area, and is very close to the beach access point. I hope to return again soon.

Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2022

8/10 Good

Jason B.

19 Jul 2022

Liked: Cleanliness, location, listing accuracy

Nice place

Place was good. Had some issues getting checked in but it was worked out and our stay was nice.

Stayed 5 nights in Mar 2022

10/10 Excellent

Tiffany Y.

16 Jul 2022

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Wonderful house!!

While not “on” the beach, this house is a perfect beach house!! The public access to the beach is a short 2-minute walk. There’s a surfboard, boogie boards, and lots of shovels, buckets, etc. for the beach, and an outside hose to rinse off when you get back!! The kitchen is fully stocked with every gadget you might need. Both bedrooms have TVs as well as the living room!! My only negative is the burners on the stove are uneven, which was a tad frustrating when cooking, but not so bad that we won’t be back again next year!! This house is PERFECT for a family!!

Stayed 5 nights in Jul 2022

10/10 Excellent

Nathan C.

18 May 2022

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Wonderful place to stay. We will be going back. We give the Fishbowl 5 stars.

Very easy to rent and jump right on any problems you may have.

Stayed 3 nights in May 2022

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“The Fishbowl” - The Perfect Surf City Intimate Beach Cottage!

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