Featured Stories & Articles from Cape Cod Travel Magazine: Home Away From Home - Cape Cod is ripe with rental options

The Hyannis neighborhood surrounding Kalmus Beach is packed with a variety of rental options.  Courtesy of William DeSOusa-Mauk.

 

With its miles of beaches and hundreds of fresh water ponds, Cape Cod lures summer visitors as varied as the seashells found on its shores.

 

In early July, Rosie Jenning’s 9½ year old twin brother, Daniel, announced to his California friends, “It’s time to go to the Cape house.” Hearing this, mom Beth filled up the family duffle bags with goggles, wetsuits, and snorkels then headed for the San Francisco Bay where, she said with a chuckle, she gathered Pacific gusts to bring back east.

 

“The Jennings’ bring the wind every single year,” Beth announced proudly. This wind surfing family has returned to the same oceanfront property for the past four years. The beach condo, one of many rental properties managed by Rosemary Cataloni of Waterfront Rentals, sits on Lewis Bay, close to Kalmus Beach, widely known for its great winds.

 

“We love this spot. Our kids are safe and, because of the wind direction, we can see them from our boards when we jibe,” Beth Jennings said.

 

The twins and their 12 year old sister, Meghan, speak of Cape favorites: barbecues, mini golfing, skateboarding and clam shacks, as they sit by the crashing sea near dozens of sailboards rigged and ready for the next cruise.

 

The Jennings are just one of thousands of families who enjoy the flexibility and privacy of renting a condo, in their case the same condo every year, for their Cape Cod vacation. Most condos and cottages may not offer daily maid service, or even come with bed linens, but they do offer moneysaving kitchens and the space to spread out a little.

 

Sean Smith, site manager for the Rental Company in East Orleans, can understand the Jennings family’s attachment to their Cape Cod rental property. With nearly 500 properties to rent out each summer, he said they have a lot of families that rent the same space year after year.

 

So how can vacationers make sure they get the type of rental accommodations they want?

 

“If you’re a ‘repeater’, we’re working with them (a year out),” said Smith. “They’ll frequently use the security deposit from one year as the deposit to hold the house for the next year and just keep rolling it over.”

 

And if you’re not a ‘repeater’?

 

Smith said that he has found January to be the “call to action” when it comes time for families to start really nailing down the weekly rental reservations, especially if they have specifics needs or requests. “We know the holidays will get the family together and they’ll start talking about it.”

 

The Rental Company’s inventory ranges from something like a vintage knotty pine one bedroom for about $750 to an unassuming 2 bedroom, 1 bath ranch house starting at about $1200. And waterfront beauties with all the amenities, which may even include a finished basement with billiards and a pool and tennis court, can cost as much as $9,000 a week.

 

With so much inventory to choose from, making the final decision can be difficult for renters, according to Smith. “The biggest thing is for people to come up with a list of what they’d like and then work with your agent. You might have a town in mind, but the next town has the house you want for a better price, so be flexible.”

 

At Topside Cottages, in North Truro, repeaters are a large part of the waterfront cottage colony’s business. It’s the perfect place to unwind, according to Kathy Vesey and Carolyn Scafidi, repeaters who spend three weeks here every July and have for the past 13 years. You can’t get much closer to the Atlantic than Topside, set literally atop a bluff in North Truro, where guests enjoy the tradition of watching the sunset from their ocean-front decks and joining fellow vacationers in applauding the brilliant displays.

 

Kathy explained why she loves their mid summer get-away: The same families come back year after year, some for as many as 40 years, and she enjoys seeing the children growing and the generations evolving. “I like the fact that there’s no T.V. and no phone. The kids have creative beach play, we read a lot of books and play cards, and you don’t see a lighting storm the same way as back home. Here, it’s a phenomenal light show that streaks across the Bay,” she said.

 

Pick a condo, a private home or a classic cottage colony; all offer something unique and all offer a uniquely great way to experience Cape Cod.