One House for the Whole Family: 8 Bedrooms and Room for 22 on Topsail Island

Topsail Paradise sleeps 22 in one house: 8 bedrooms and 6.5 baths on the quiet north end of North Topsail Beach, NC, about a two-block walk to the beach. It has a private pool with free, self-serve heat from October 1 to May 15, 2 hot tubs, 2 charcoal grills, a ground-floor freezer and an EV charger. Book direct and save 15%.

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I'm Dipen, and I own Topsail Paradise. Most of our guests are exactly who this page is for: extended families, multi-family trips, reunions and military families who would otherwise split across two or three rentals. Here's how the house works for a group of 22, room by room, with nothing rounded up.

Where everyone sleeps: 8 bedrooms for 22

Every bed below is from our house layout and matches our Airbnb listing. The count of 22 uses beds only, with no sofas or air mattresses.

Room	Beds	Sleeps	Bath
Bedroom 1, master (third floor)	1 king + adjoining kids loft with 3 twin beds	5	Private
Bedroom 2, master (third floor)	1 king + adjoining kids loft with 3 twin beds	5	Private
Bedroom 3	1 queen	2	Private
Bedroom 4	1 queen	2	Private
Bedroom 5 (first floor)	1 queen	2	Shared with Bedroom 7
Bedroom 6 (first floor)	1 queen	2	Shared with Bedroom 8
Bedroom 7 (first floor), bunk room	1 twin-over-twin bunk bed	2	Shared with Bedroom 5
Bedroom 8 (first floor)	1 double	2	Shared with Bedroom 6
Total		22	6 full + 1 half

How groups usually split it:

• Two families with young kids: each family takes a master. Parents get the king and a private bath, and the kids sleep next door in the 3-twin loft.
• Grandparents: a queen room with a private bath (Bedroom 3 or 4). Grandparents and anyone who'd rather skip the stairs can use the outside elevator, which runs from the ground floor to the first and second floors, and it saves everyone hauling luggage and groceries. The third-floor masters are reached by stairs.
• Teens and cousins: the bunk room and the double room, which share a bath with the queen rooms beside them.
• Couples: the remaining queens.

See the floor plans and bedroom photos on the layout page.

Space for everyone to be together (and apart)

The second floor is the gathering floor: the kitchen, the dining area, a large open family room, a half bath and a deck. As one guest put it after an extended-family week, "The middle floor made the perfect spot for gathering and sharing meals."

• Bar nook: a coffee and wine nook off the kitchen, with a coffee maker, a wine fridge and a table for four, so the early risers and the night owls each have a spot.
• Kitchen and dining: a full kitchen stocked for cooking for a crowd. The dining table and kitchen counter together seat about 10 to 12, so there's room for big family meals, with the deck and the grills for overflow.
• 2 charcoal grills: run burgers and hot dogs on one and fish or veggies on the other, so dinner for 22 comes off at the same time.
• Ground-floor freezer: extra freezer space for ice, popsicles and a week of groceries, so the kitchen fridge isn't packed solid.
• EV charger: a Level 2 charger on the property.
• Laundry: 2 washers and 2 dryers, which matters by midweek with 22 people and beach towels.
• Wi-Fi: 1 Gbps, for the one cousin who has to take a work call.
• Beach and pool gear: storage on the ground level for pool and beach gear.
• Rinsing off: 2 outdoor showers out back and 2 hoses out front for sandy feet, toys and gear.
• Parking: the driveway fits 6 to 8 cars, with more parking along the side, so there's room for a group arriving in several cars.

A private pool with free heat, plus 2 hot tubs

The pool is on the ground level, and the 2 hot tubs are on the first-floor wraparound deck, so the kids can swim while the adults soak.

Free pool heat, October 1 to May 15. The heater is self-serve, so you turn it on yourself with the instructions in your guest guide. No request needed. Weather and wind affect the water temperature, and it won't feel spa-hot. From May 16 to September 30, pool heat isn't included.

Many rentals charge $600 to $650 a week to heat a pool. Ours is free for the whole off-season, which makes winter and spring a great value for reunions: you get a swimmable pool, 2 hot tubs and a quiet beach without the summer crowds.

Planning a family reunion at the beach

A reunion for 15 to 22 people goes smoother when everyone's under one roof. Here's what works.

Planning tips

1. Pick dates early and lock them in. The hard part of a reunion is the calendar, not the house. Choose two or three date options, poll the family, and book as soon as you have a majority.
2. Use the off-season. From fall through spring the minimum is 3 nights, check-in days are more flexible than the summer, when Saturday-to-Saturday stays are preferred, and the pool heat is free. A Friday-to-Monday weekend is easy for people driving in.
3. Assign rooms before you arrive. Use the bedroom table above. Families with little kids in the masters, grandparents in a private-bath queen, teens in the bunk room.
4. Split meals by family. Each household takes one dinner. With 2 grills, a full kitchen and a separate freezer, three cooks don't collide.
5. Stock up once. The Food Lion in Sneads Ferry is about 7 miles (roughly 13 minutes) away. One big run on arrival day, then use the freezer.
6. Plan one group photo and leave the rest free. The beach is about a two-block walk, and late-afternoon light on the north end is the best time for it.
7. Get travel insurance for June through November. A storm or a mandatory evacuation isn't by itself a refund of rent. See our FAQ for the full cancellation policy.

What it costs per person

We don't post one price because rates change by date. Here's how to compare fairly:

Run the same math for two or three smaller houses. Each one adds its own cleaning fee, its own booking fees, and its own check-in. The one-house total is usually easier to split, and nobody ends up in the "other house."

A sample reunion weekend (off-season, Friday to Monday)

• Friday: check in at 4 PM. Turn on the pool heat with the steps in your guest guide. Grill dinner, then the hot tubs.
• Saturday: walk to the beach in the morning. Lunch at the house. Afternoon swim, then the family photo on the beach before sunset. Dinner cooked by family #1.
• Sunday: cousins' day at the pool while the grown-ups take a drive over the bridge to Sneads Ferry for fresh shrimp (see our things to do guide). Shrimp boil or grill night cooked by family #2.
• Monday: coffee in the bar nook, one last walk on the beach, checkout at 10 AM.

Another guest told us simply, "We had a great family reunion week at this beach house!" Read more on our reviews page.

Friends' trips: one house, a real room for everyone

For a friends' trip with several couples or a big crew, everyone gets a real bed in a real bedroom: 8 bedrooms and room for up to 22, with no air mattresses in the count. Bedrooms 1 to 4 each have a private bath, and bedrooms 5 to 8 share in pairs, two rooms to a full bath, so the morning line for the shower stays short.

The days take care of themselves. Walk about two blocks to the beach, swim in the private pool, and end the night in one of the 2 hot tubs on the wraparound deck. Two charcoal grills let two cooks run dinner at once, the ground-floor freezer holds the ice and the extras, and the coffee and wine bar nook is where the early risers start the day. From fall through spring the minimum stay is 3 nights, and pool heat is free and self-serve October 1 to May 15 (no request needed; weather and wind affect the water temperature, and it isn't spa-hot).

Girls' weekends at the beach

A good girls' weekend comes down to a comfortable bed and a bathroom without a wait. Here, both master suites have a king and a private bath, and Bedrooms 3 and 4 each have a queen and a private bath, so four bedrooms come with their own bathroom. Bedrooms 5 to 8 share two full baths in pairs.

Slow mornings happen in the coffee and wine bar nook, which has a coffee maker, a wine fridge and a table for four. Afternoons are for the beach, about a two-block walk, or the private pool. Evenings are for the 2 hot tubs. Cook at the house on the 2 charcoal grills, or drive over the bridge to Sneads Ferry for seafood. Outside summer the minimum stay is 3 nights, so a Friday-to-Monday girls' weekend fits, and pool heat is free and self-serve October 1 to May 15 (no request needed; weather affects the water temperature; not spa-hot).

Military families near Camp Lejeune

Topsail Paradise is about 11 miles, roughly 20 minutes, from Camp Lejeune's Sneads Ferry Gate, which is listed as open 24/7. Visitors without a military ID need to pre-register for a pass, so sort that out before your family arrives.

For a graduation, a homecoming or a family visit to a Marine stationed at Lejeune, one house for 22 can stand in for a block of hotel rooms, with a kitchen, a pool and room for everyone to sit at one table.

Military families get the golf cart free ($300 value) when booking direct. Mention your service when you book. More in our guide to military family stays near Camp Lejeune.

The golf cart

The golf cart is an optional add-on, $300 per stay, when you book direct. Military families get it free when booking direct. Add it on the booking or inquiry form.

It's the easiest way to move a group's chairs, umbrellas, coolers and little kids to the beach. The cart has house-registered tags, so golf-cart parking at the beach access is free. It stays on the road and parks at the access; it isn't driven on the sand. Park your cars at the house. Details on the golf cart page.

Why stay on the north end?

North Topsail Beach is the quieter end of Topsail Island, and it's known for larger homes built for groups. That makes it a good fit for reunions, multi-family trips and any group that would rather have room to spread out than a crowd.

From Topsail Paradise:

• The beach: about a two-block walk.
• The 4x4 beach access: about 0.7 miles, at the end of River Road on the north end.
• Seaview Pier: about 3 miles, for fishing or a walk out over the water.
• Camp Lejeune's Sneads Ferry Gate: about 11 miles.

The quiet end still keeps the beach, the pier and the base within easy reach. See our things to do guide for more on the north end.

Why book direct

Book direct on our site and save 15%. You also deal straight with me, the owner, from the first question to checkout. The $300 golf cart add-on and the free cart for military families are both booked through our site.

One 22-sleeper vs. two or three smaller houses

	Two or three smaller houses	One house for 22 (Topsail Paradise)
Being together	Split across houses or streets; someone's always "at the other house"	Everyone under one roof, one main floor for meals
Meals	Multiple kitchens; hauling food between houses	One full kitchen, bar nook, 2 grills, extra freezer
Pool	Often no private pool, or one house has it	Private pool, free self-serve heat Oct 1–May 15, plus 2 hot tubs
Fees	A cleaning fee and booking fees for each house	One cleaning fee; save 15% booking direct
Logistics	Several hosts, check-ins, door codes and rule sets	One host, one check-in, one set of house rules
Kids	Cousins split up by house	Two kids lofts next to the masters, bunk room, one pool
Booking	Hard to find matching dates on two or three houses	One calendar to check

Frequently asked questions