We had a great week at the castle! Location is great, the village is literally just a walk down the street. Beach access number 5 on Siesta public beach is within walking distance as well, but if you are dragging a lot of stuff or don't like walking in your bathing suit you may want to make the short drive (go early and there is parking available). It was awesome being on the canal and the kayak provided was fun to use. (It took us a couple days to try the kayak because there were no plugs in it so we weren't sure it would float but we had no problems with it. The seats weren't in the best condition, but overall it worked great and it was really fun exploring the canal.) We were able to fish off the dock and even saw manatees. The pool was fantastic and our family spent more time there than anywhere else. We did wish the spa got hot for evenings. Some of the patio furniture was a little worn, and one anti-gravity lounge chair had a big tear in it, but there was more than enough for our family of 11 to be able to sit outside and enjoy. The outdoor shower was fantastic as well for cleaning off after the beach. The house had plenty of open space for our family to be together in the living/dining/kitchen area. We cooked a few meals there and were able to all sit down together to eat. Few things about the kitchen area: we couldn't find any dish rags or pot holders. The oven is in the 2nd floor kitchen (we only used a couple times for biscuits, cinnamon rolls, and cookies so it was no big deal to walk up the steps). There are plenty of bath and beach towels so no need to bring those from home. The master bedroom is beautiful and the shower in the master bath is lovely! The other bedrooms are kind of plain, but all you are really doing is sleeping in there. Everything was super clean and the housekeeper even came back the first day we were there to pour drains down one of the bathroom sinks to ensure we had no problems there. Loved the "moat" with the fish and all of the "castle" details throughout the house. It might be helpful to label what all the light switches are for as we couldn't figure some out. We never did figure out how to work the ceiling fan in the master bedroom which would have been nice to have though the AC worked great. Overall we had a fantastic week at the castle and would stay here again. Thank you Don and Elizabeth for sharing your home with us!