Twin Palms is home to NY Times best-selling food writer and chef and her tech husband. Infant/kid/pet-friendly just 5 min. walk to the beach. Private lagoon-style *heated* saltwater/low chlorine pool amid lush landscaping with gorgeous rock waterfall. New appliances, HVAC, 60-inch Sony HDTV, Italian leather reclining sofas, BBQ, beach gear, three king bedrooms, all linens provided. Classic Florida one-level home - no stairs. Managed directly by owners, so no crazy fees.
The space
Rental license #VRC20-000330
Twin Palms is the lovingly updated island home of a long-time island resident and author and her architecturally trained tech-loving husband. This is ground-level Florida rambler offers plenty of charm. It's just two short blocks to epic white sandy beaches. Our private heated pool is kept at 88F plus year-round. Coded locks, so no hassle with getting or returning keys.
We live here part of the year, so it is not a generic full-time rental. We pride ourselves on going above and beyond for guests. Layout is great for two/extended families sharing, or a friends retreat.
We take great pride in managing this home ourselves. Rental management agencies make most of their money on fees and excessive cleaning charges - we don't do that. Everything is included: beach towels, linens, beach gear, a heated pool, infant and kid gear. Our cleaning rate is one of the lowest on the island and 100% goes to our crew.
I'm a French-trained chef, so the kitchen very well equipped. Help yourself to anything in the cupboards, which we keep stocked with spices, oils, vinegar, condiments, etc. Following the 2024 storms, we rebuilt the kitchen as it was before and with all new appliances. Eat inside or out under palms and fairy lights on the deck; both tables can seat a big group. We provide quality chef's knives, too!
Two kitchen islands means lots of space to hang out and cook, eat or just drink wine together. You'll find a variety of cookbooks, including a curated collection of beach- and Florida-friendly cookbooks specifically for your stay.
To help make our place hassle free for families, we supply kid dinnerware, a highchair, a folding cribs, an inflatable toddler mattress, soft infant toys, baby linens, indoor toys, pool toys, a baby monitor, sound machine, kid books and blankets. We also have "high locks" on all the pool-facing doors for safety.
Our beds include three kings, a queen and two twins. Two bedrooms have TVs - Captain's and Lido. The latter is set up as an extra living area or bedroom - it's a great place for kids to hang out watching their own shows or playing games.
We provide beach stuff, including chairs, umbrellas, a large canopy and sandcastle gear. Help yourself to dozens of books, DVDs or two dozen board games.
Our updated bathrooms feature great custom tile showers with European fixtures and cool pebble floors. We updated the "Beach Bathroom" with amazing wall jets and a rainfall shower that just has to be experienced. There's also a high-quality outdoor ambient temperature shower as you enter the property so you can wash off sand from the beach.
We provide all guests with a 30-page guide to the house, island and local restaurants. I grew up on the island and worked as a professional restaurant critic. We can give you insights on the best places to eat, buy local seafood and even where to find the local farmer's markets.
We use eco-friendly cleaning products throughout, and leave eco-friendly laundry detergents and cleaners for use during your stay. We also leave a supply of reuseable water bottles for your use, and our kitchen tap offers filtered water.
We have been renting our home before Airbnb was even a business, so we have hosted thousands of guests. We know that selecting a place for your vacation isn't just about money, but time. Important time to make memories with your family. We make every effort to assure you have an extraordinary experience.
We have guests who return year-after-year who have become part of our Twin Palms Family. Maybe that will be you?
*Please note: We strongly encourage that you purchase Airbnb's travel insurance for all bookings, but especially for any bookings during tropical storm season June 1 to October 30th. If you provide proof of insurance during this period, we give you a $100 credit toward your stay. For guest booking in September and October, we require proof of travel insurance but will waive our usual cleaning fee to offset the cost.
----- FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS -------
Q. How big is your pool?
Our custom lagoon-style kidney-shaped pool was installed in 2014. It is 23 feet x 12 feet long (7m x 3.7 m), and about 9 feet at its narrowest point. It is not a lap pool. It features a beautiful real rock waterfall and lush landscaping on all sides. Seating is spread out over three areas.
The compact size allows us to keep it nice and warm (88F/31C) year-round. Due to the high water table on the island, it is just shy of 5 feet at the deep end. We have it professionally serviced twice a week for optimal cleanliness. Following the 2024 storms, it was infused with saltwater so we have shifted it to a saltwater/low chlorine system.
Q. How close are you to the beach?
We're located about 250 meters from the beach, about two blocks, a five-ish minute walk or a two-minute drive in a golf cart. We lobbied our local city council and have one of the only official crosswalks with lights on this part of the island so you never have to wait for traffic. We have a heavy-duty cart to carry all your beach gear. We provide plenty of towels for both indoor use and beach/pool use, a new HE front-loading washer/dryer combo with 20-minute quick wash setting.
Q. Are you kid- or infant-friendly?
Both! We're incredibly well set up for infants and toddlers, with a highchair, two folding cribs, a folding toddler cot, inflatable toddler mattresses, inflatable guard rails for beds, a baby monitor, indoor toys, beach toys, kids books, kids plates/bowls/cups, family friendly DVDs, etc.
We also have high locks installed on the doors near the pool, plus a special portable pool alarm available for guests. We pride ourselves on offering more gear for infants than any other home on the island; we do our best to save you the hassle of dragging tons of baby gear through airports -- that's not a way to start a vacation.
Q. What is the bedroom situation like?
The house has four bedrooms plus the Lido room which can be used as an optional fifth bedroom. The setup is great for two families sharing.
Here's how they break down:
- Captains Quarters (king bed)
- Shell bedroom (king bed)
These two share a newly remodeled shower with body jets and a waterfall shower. There is a door from the living that transforms those rooms into its own little two-bedroom area.
- Waterfall (California King, couch)
- Lido Room (2 Twins)
These two rooms have French doors opening directly to the pool area, and they share a bathroom with a waterfall shower with river rock floor (soothing on sore feet). The doors have "high locks" to prevent kids from getting to the pool undetected.
Lido has two twin daybeds. Note that this is a smaller room (about 9 x 10) that is closed off by heavy by-pass doors. It has a 55'' Samsung TV and is a great room for kids and teens, a single adult or two adults sharing.
The hallway off Lido and the furniture piece under the TV are stocked with board games, Texas hold-em sets, puzzles, kids coloring stuff, etc. Some guests use this room for a baby/toddlers as it can also be used as a playroom, then shut off for quiet time.
Hemingway (Queen)
This small bedroom is has a cool custom-made barn door. This room has a queen bed that is situated like an oversized daybed with padded headboard pillows all around. It's an incredibly comfy, private lair that teens love, but any adult(s) would love this space, too. There is a dedicated work desk in this room overlooking the deck for remote work.
Q. How much cleaning do we have to do at checkout?
A. Per Airbnb's guidelines, we expect guests tidy up, do their dishes and take out their trash and recycling. If you used the BBQ, we ask you to clean it. Our one additional request for guests is to wash and dry all beach towels. (Many island rentals no longer supply beach towels or require guests to rent them due to the lengthy drying time.) Stripping beds and additional laundry is always appreciated, but not required.
Q. Are you pet friendly?
A. Yes, we have a small terrier we love and adore. We can accommodate one dog up to 35 pounds per guest party, and guests must tell us about their dog in advance. We regret that our house isn't the right fit for guests with large dogs. We supply information on the local off-leash park, pet-friendly restaurants, plus other important info and provide food/water bowls. No cats - we are crazy allergic.
Q. How do we get keys?
A. No keys! We use coded locks so you can arrive any time after check-in using a secure code unique to you, generally the last four digits of your mobile phone number.
Q. Is there a dedicated work area?
A. Yes, there is a desk just inside the entrance in the house in a small bedroom we call the Hemingway Room. It is private but the barn door does not block sound.
Q. What are your cleaning practices like?
A. We have a team of professional cleaners who we have worked with long-term. They clean only one home on Saturdays - ours - so they can pay utmost attention to it. We use eco-friendly cleaners where we can, and launder all linens in "free and clear" type detergents; we leave the same for guests. Our cleaners are paid a competitive rate well above minimum wage.
Guest access
The whole house is yours. The pool is completely private and fenced in.
There are three parking areas: the paver driveway, the concrete driveway and the rock-covered easement. The paver driveway can accommodate two cars - or a golf car and regular car. There is an outlet for charging a golf cart in the front of the house near the paver driveway.
The entry to the house is behind the wooden gate to the left (west) of the house off the paver driveway, next to the outdoor shower.
We updated the landscaping of the front yard in 2022 to make it another hangout area for guests.
Off limits to guests: The pool equipment located behind a gate off the pool and the attached mother-in-law unit we call the cottage. The latter is not a rental but kept for exclusive use by the owners when they are on the island. The entrances to both areas are clearly marked.
Other things to note
- Holmes Beach has a "quiet hours" ordinance in force from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. You're staying in a residential area, so you'll want to be good neighbors.
- We require Saturday to Saturday bookings during popular months and limits stays during those months to two weeks. We accept longer bookings the rest of the year.
- When we are on the island and the main house is rented, we stay in the writer's cottage, a one-bedroom mother-in-law unit attached to the house. It is entirely separate, has its own separate entrance, parking, HVAC and has no access to the pool. It's not a rental and reserved for our use or friends and family exclusively. It is located behind a fence to the east of the house and is off limits to guests.
- If you're planning a special celebration, such as a wedding or a milestone birthday and you need planning tips, we are more than happy to help. We can also provide names of musicians, photographers, etc. as we know so many people on the island. We do allow small events (up to 20 people) at the house but these must be cleared in advance and we request that you use our cleaners to set the house back in order immediately afterward.
- We strongly encourage that guests purchase Airbnb's travel insurance for all bookings, but especially for any bookings during tropical storm season June 1 to November 30th. If you provide proof of travel insurance during this time period, we will credit you $100 toward your insurance. For bookings in September and October, we require proof of travel insurance at booking and will waive our usual cleaning fee to offset the cost.
