Gorgeous Victorian direct ocean front single family six bedroom, ten rooms
A beautiful Ocean Front 10 room Victorian home with a Full Wrap around porch overlooking the Ocean.
*Landlord represents that the short term rental of the premises shall only be in accordance with the Pine Orchard Association zoning regulations. This means that said premises shall be rented only to a single-family and gratuitous guest of the family. Tenant by signing this lease and or committing to rent this property certifies that tenant is a single family, and the premises will only be occupied by members of the single-family and gratuitous guests. Landlord shall require verification from tenant and the premises will be used by a single-family and gratuitous guest of the family.*
The owner of the property needs your mailing address to sign and complete the lease.
*In light of the current situation, this is a perfect home for a staycation! The kitchen has plenty of space to stay in and cook but it's also 2 miles away from town center with plenty of restaurants to choose from. Each Bedroom has one bed in it. 4 rooms have Queen Beds, and 2 rooms have Double Beds, and a crib setup is available if needed. Three of the Bedrooms overlook the Ocean.
We recently added a new private staircase that takes you directly to our private beach!
10 Minutes to New Haven and only 5 minutes to Stony creek where you can cruise the Thimble Islands and have Breakfast or Lunch. Within 40 minutes of travel time, you can visit the Mohegan Sun Casino, and shorter travel time to the Clinton Premium Outlets which include Ralph Lauren, Coach, Saks Fifth Avenue, and many more! 10 minutes to Yale university which is often rented for most functions at the university by parents and alumni.
Property manager
Francis Wihbey
Premier Host
Languages
English
Add dates for prices
Amenities
Hot tub
Kitchen
Washer
Dryer
Pet-friendly
Free WiFi
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Only single family use. No separate couples allowed. Local laws require this.
Important information
You need to know
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card, debit card or cash deposit may be required at check-in for incidental charges
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges; special requests cannot be guaranteed
On-site parties or group events are strictly prohibited
Host has indicated that there is a carbon monoxide detector on the property
Host has indicated that there is a smoke detector on the property
Safety features at this property include a fire extinguisher and a deadlock
We should mention
A car is recommended for transport to and from this property
About the area
Branford
Located in Pine Orchard, a neighbourhood in Branford, this holiday home is near theme parks and on the beach. Stony Creek - Thimble Islands Historic District and Bill Miller’s Castle are local landmarks, and some of the area's activities can be experienced at Stony Creek Brewery and Bishops Orchard and Winery. Looking to enjoy an event or a game while in town? See what's happening at Connecticut Sportsplex or Payne Whitney Gymnasium. Jet skiing, kayaking and waterskiing offer great chances to get out on the surrounding water, or you can seek out an adventure with cycling nearby.
Branford, CT
What's nearby
Stony Creek - Thimble Islands Historic District - 13 min walk - 1.1 km
Stony Creek Brewery - 6 min drive - 4.7 km
Connecticut Sportsplex - 11 min drive - 10.3 km
Yale University - 15 min drive - 15.7 km
Yale-New Haven Hospital - 16 min drive - 16.5 km
Getting around
Branford Station - 11 min drive
New Haven, CT (HVN-Tweed - New Haven Regional) - 21 min drive
Restaurants
Pacileos Apizza Pasta - 5 min drive
Shoreline Cafe and Catering - 5 min drive
Stony Creek Brewery - 5 min drive
Hornets Nest Deli - 5 min drive
Parthenon Diner Restaurant - 5 min drive
Frequently asked questions
Is Gorgeous Victorian direct ocean front single family six bedroom, ten rooms pet-friendly?
Yes, this property allows cats and dogs (limit 3 total).
What time is check-in at Gorgeous Victorian direct ocean front single family six bedroom, ten rooms?
Check-in begins at 2:00 PM.
What time is check-out at Gorgeous Victorian direct ocean front single family six bedroom, ten rooms?
Checkout is at 11:00 AM.
Where is Gorgeous Victorian direct ocean front single family six bedroom, ten rooms located?
Nestled on the beach, this Pine Orchard holiday home is within 3 mi (5 km) of Stony Creek - Thimble Islands Historic District, Stony Creek Museum and Stony Creek Brewery. Double Beach and Farm River State Park are also within 6 miles (10 km).
Reviews
10
Exceptional
Reviews are presented in chronological order, subject to a moderation process, and verified unless otherwise labelled.
The porch and lawn area was a great gathering place for our family. We had a wonderful stay. Only suggestion is make sure you bring swim shoes if you plan on swimming.
My family and I couldn't be happier with our choice of this property for our vacation! The beach house is stunning, plenty of room for eight adults and three young children. Francis is a wonderful host, going above and beyond to ensure his guests an excellent stay. The kitchen is super well stocked, beds and linens luxurious and the view from the wrap around porch cannot be beat. Thank you, Francis, for helping to make this a reunion I will never forget. Plans in the works for a return visit!
Our family ranged in ages from 13 to 96. We were 12 people for a couple days and then 10. We all had a marvelous time and my mom just can’t stop talking about how beautiful the view and the antique furniture was. It was difficult for that many people only having two bathrooms, but we made it work. We did run out of hot water so we learned to scatter showers when possible. The view is amazing and the location was wonderful for us. I can’t say enough, how accommodating our hostess was. We told her that we needed a bed for the downstairs because my mom couldn’t climb up the stairs to the second floor to all the bedrooms. She put a bed downstairs for us. We went in the dead of winter, but still got to sit outside on the patio and look at the water. It was lovely. Many played catch football on the back lawn. We would definitely stay there again! We were able to get my aunt in on her wheelchair. The kitchen also had coffee pods in stock for us. The cabinets also had lots of spices already for when we cooked. Great find!
Our stay was wonderful.
The home, location and view are truly special.
Space enough for family to spread out and gather together.
Peaceful, beautiful and restorative.
Francis is very accessible and easy to work with.
Gorgeous property! Very relaxing beautiful ocean views. Very charming Victorian with lots of character. Francis was an excellent host - even bought us lunch one day. Would highly recommend this house to anyone looking for a relaxing getaway to recharge the batteries.
Fran’s beach house was perfectly suited to an extended family gathering, brothers, sisters-in-law, cousins, and a son with whom most of us had not ever spent much time before. It was magical, especially talking well into the night in the Ocean Room. It will be even better to come back again when the weather is above freezing!!
This is a big old Victorian house . It has lots of older furniture . We loved our stay because it was a beautiful location on Long Island Sound. We were visiting family that were close by so it was perfect for us . There were some tensions with neighbors which made us a bit uncomfortable so we were careful with noise etc. We were comfortable in the house and loved the sound of the water at night . Air conditioners in rooms were available . Children loved the beach. We had a very enjoyable stay .
Fran was easy to reach and very responsive. The house was the perfect getaway from the hustle and bustle of New Haven where all the graduation activities were taking place. It was wonderful to end the day in a serene setting by the water. The view was incredible. I wish we had more time to explore. Off the street parking was a plus, We had a Suburban and a mid size truck. The entrance to the back parking area was doable but tight for the Suburban, but since we only had 2 vehicles there was room to maneuver and get the right angle. Overall, a wonderful stay! Thank you, Fran!
Beautiful waterfront property perfect for Family Getaway
I can't say enough great things about our experience at this beautiful home. The home is beautiful and filled with beautiful antiques. My children who are young adults joined my husband and I along with my mother in law and we were comfortable at all times. Francis was the greatest host, responded to all messages promptly, had everything you could need available in the home, including linens and cookware, offered to pick us up anything before our arrival. We couldn't have asked for a better host. The view of the water was gorgeous and the house is located close to grocery stores and convenient in location in case you have to run out and get something. Yet its located in a quiet neighborhood so we got to relax and enjoy the view with the company of our loved ones. I highly recommend this stay, it is worth every penny and we will definitely stay again. Thank you Francis for everything!
Six unrelated friends stayed over a long weekend in September 2023. If there was a higher rating for location than 5 stars I would give it. This is a premier location in Branford, direct waterfront with wonderful yard and chaise lounges and a covered porch both overlooking the Thimble islands. 6 bedrooms upstairs- all decent size. Kitchen fully equipped.
Note the pictures of the furniture- mostly antiques but we found it fine and usable. Not your typical vrbo style but for adults its fine. It's an older house with idiosyncrasies but charming. Other reviewers have commented on driveway/parking- it's a bit awkward but we had 4 cars and never had an issue of not being able to get any one of them out.
Not economy priced for sure but highly recommend if you want waterfront views in great neighborhood and need lots of bedrooms!
We had a fantastic stay. The beach is perfect for kids (bring water shoes as it's rocky), gentle and fun, changing with the tides. View from the lounge chairs or covered porch is even better than pictured. House is an old charmer, eclectically decorated and comfortable. No central air but window units do the job when needed. Would have been five stars but for one wrinkle, unfortunately not in the owner's control: one of the neighbors had a LOUD generator running up to 8 hours a day during the hotter stretches, despite the neighborhood having power. The houses in the neighborhood are close enough together that the generator was a presence in our house, and it unfortunately made it difficult to enjoy the porch for some of the stay. But again, that's not owner's fault. Overall a beautiful place to unwind, connect with local family, and relax.
We stayed here in August 2022 and had 8 people ranging from 15 to 70 years old. The house is much larger and brighter than it appears in the pictures and was spotlessly clean when we arrived. There were a lot of bedrooms, and it was pet friendly which was a plus for us. Tons of room for us to spread out.
We spent almost all of our time outside on the large porch which had a gorgeous view of the water and some of the islands. There's not really much 'beach' but you can sit on the lounge chairs up on the lawn and get the view and with water shoes on, it was easy to get down the stairs to the water. At high tide, the stairs go right into the water. Low tide you get a small beach area. In August, the water was really warm and it's very calm water so it's easy for swimming, rafting, kayaking, etc.
The location was great, about 5-10 minutes away from various restaurants, breweries and a boat tour of the thimble islands.
The only negative (and this is not the owners fault) is that, as mentioned in a few other reviews, the neighbors have a generator that runs on and off during the day for extended periods of time, which kind of ruins the peace of the back yard. At night it wasn't an issue for us as we had the AC running and that was great for white noise.
All in all, it was a lovely vacation and I would highly recommend this rental if you're looking for a relaxing vacation.
The house was roomy enough for our group which included four adults, a teenager and a two year old. The porch is really the best hangout space! We spent a lot of time there. There are lots of local beaches to explore and the house is close enough to shopping that you don’t have to load in everything in advance.
The bedding is a bit heavy for summer, but we just put it aside. For all the decorations, the place is admirably dust-free, which surprised us all. It’s an old house so the floors are creaky and the bedrooms aren’t particularly large, but it is a comfortable place for a family to spread out or gather. The stove is excellent! And the kitchen very well equipped.
Lots of TVs, and it was very easy to do AirPlay from our PBS app to the living room TV, which we appreciated.
Plenty of bath towels, though we brought our own for the beach as there weren’t dedicated beach towels.
Bring insect repellent - we found ourselves with lots of bites as it was August and we weren’t prepared!
We lost power on our last night due to a big storm, and loved the candelabra on the kitchen table. It provided lots of light and we luckily had brought lighter sticks so we could light the stove. We had plenty of hot water for washing up even without power. It was kinda fun!
Overall a good location and a comfortable house for a varied group.
This home is great for a large party. We had 8 adults and 2 children with room to spare. We all fit around the dinning room table and found a folding table and folding chairs (in addition to the patio furniture provided) that made it possible for everyone to enjoy meals on the very large porch. While this home is great for large groups, I wouldn't recommend it for very young children. There are lots of fragile and expensive items throughout the home and no age appropriate toys. However there are board games and plenty to do outside for older children!
The backyard was spacious. The property had many padded chairs for sunbathing. There is still plenty of room for the yard games we packed too.
The shore cannot be seen from the porch or yard. (Again, and issue for younger children, not so much for older ones.) It's a rocky shore, so I recommend water shoes. But the rocks are generally round and not sharp. The waves are minimal due to the location and that was a good thing for our family.
Fran (host) responded quickly to any questions and readily available to come in person upon request. A landscaper came to quickly mow the lawn once, but Fran gave us notice and they were quickly in and out.
Communication with owner was fantastic! The best of the property is that it has its own private beach. It’s not sand, but pebbles. Water is delicious and my family brought a couple of paddle boards and Francis had a kayak for us. We went in the water everyday, sometimes 3 or 4 times a day since the beach is just on the backyard and has its own stairs. The house had a huge porch and my husband BBQ every night! We ate on the porch that has a very spacious iron and glass table with very comfortable chairs. The porch also had a tall table with 2 chairs and a bench with plenty of seats. The first 4 nights were no insects ( mosquitos, etc) but unfortunately the next door neighbor fumigated for fleas and ticks and we got bitten by fleas on our legs the night after she fumigated. We had to wear insect repellent on our last 2 nights!
The house is very spacious and has 2 living rooms with 2 very nice flat screen TVs. The kitchen has plenty of space, it’s fully loaded with plates, cups and utensils as well as pots and pans. Keurig was a plus. It has 2 bathrooms and we were 7 guests and had no problem at all sharing them. There were plenty of towels, we didn’t even get to use them all and the water pressure on both showers was fantastic. It has no central AC but the ACs in each room as well as kitchen and living room was more than enough to keep the whole house chill and comfortable.
We will definitely come back! I strongly recommend the experience. It was very relaxing and definitely worth it!
We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at this waterfront home with room for the whole family. The view was lovely, the kitchen was well-equipped, the host was most accommodating. Thank you Francis!
Charming Victorian style home overlooking breathtaking views of Long Island Sound. Close to restaurants and se hops. We will be back!
David M.
Stayed 3 nights in Jun 2022
About the host
Hosted by Francis Wihbey
I purchased the house as a second home. I will eventually move here full time, in the mean time I rent it out on occasion to help with the expenses. I classify the house as my personal residence, but yet like to offer it to others to enjoy on their vacation. As you can tell it is really not a rental property, but i have satisfaction in having other people enjoy the views and relaxation time.
Why they chose this property
I purchased this vacation home to eventually retire to. I use it for a retreat and to vacation.The views are breathtaking over looking the thimble islands as well.
What makes this property unique
Breakfast dining on the deck. Viewing the ocean, boats and sunsets. Walking along the shore during the day. The house is overwhelming with Victorian charm and warmth. The linens and towels are of high quality. Relax in a tranquil retreat to unwind and reconnect, In the setting of understated elegance in the hospitality of a bygone era. Step back in time into the 1885 queen and Victorian cottage directly on the ocean where you could have your breakfast overlooking the ocean and relax on the grand porch. Experience timeless luxury over the past century and a quarter in this Victorian ocean house which has overlooked the ocean and stood the test of time.
We invite you to come and enjoy this remarkable property surrounded by Furnishings. Read a book on the deck listen to classical music or just relax on the front lawn. In the morning awake to an ocean view with a great cup of coffee and have your breakfast right on the ocean.
Languages:
English
Premier Host
They consistently provide great experiences for their guests