When did you last play King of the Castle? Stay at The Lookout to enjoy an enviable perch indeed. This 4-bedroom vacation rental sits high atop a sand dune and overlooks Crescent Beach and miles of ocean beyond. From sunrise each morning, you’ll have the world at your fingertips.

You'll love this architecturally important beach house. Designed by renowned Gainesville architect Harry Merritt, this house is a true one-off and rewards the observant. A landmark property on Crescent Beach, you’ll be able to spot home even when out on beach walks. Ocean views here mean full panoramic paintings. Merritt’s design maximizes the home’s location and its walls of floor-to-ceiling glass bring the ocean to you.

Pack up the kids, dogs and maybe even your mother-in-law, to arrive at The Lookout with ten guests total. With four bedrooms and two and a half baths, you can easily divide your time as you wish - getting both family time and individual relaxation all in one place.

A perfect ‘gathering’ house, it boasts large open areas on both the first and second floors. ‘Upside-down’ in layout, the kitchen and living rooms are upstairs to maximize the views in the places you spend the most time. An open-plan kitchen and dining area is ideal for a large group on vacation, when ‘living to eat’ takes on new meaning.

The large, white modern kitchen with a huge center island makes light work of any menu you tackle. A long dining table for ten makes big meals easy - you won’t have to split your group between the dining room and kitchen and kids won’t ever feel punished being relegated to ‘the kids’ table’.

The decor here is inviting and casual. Board shorts and bare feet are the dress code. Enjoy either morning coffee or a sunset gin and tonic from the patio. Downstairs, kids will love their own playroom with pool table. Kids’ playroom has a delightful porthole and two truly tropical Adirondack chairs. Floral print sofas make it a happy room in which to cool off in the heat of the day.

A sleeper sofa extends your space and extensive entertainment options include new LCD TVs and pool table. There’s a guest bedroom downstairs as well, boasting a queen bed and its own bathroom. This is an ideal bedroom for privacy-hungry teenagers or night-owl guests.

Seeking true decadence? Visit your master suite to find a king-sized canopy bed, even better than you imagined. With east-to-west aspects, it’s got the best views of all. Choose between two balconies, one oceanfront and one over the Matanzas River. Round out the five-star experience in your en suite master bath. With washed clapboard, bamboo furniture and breezy white tab-top sheers, we think you’ll like life here.

Two further guest bedrooms offer the choice of an ocean or inter-coastal view. The former has a double bed while the latter has a queen. Awake in either to see palm trees peeking over the top of a private balcony, with gorgeous sparkling water views beyond.

This is a great beach house! The Lookout sits way up high on the beautiful Crescent Beach dunes, about 1.5 miles south of the Mantazas Bridge. It is hidden from A1A by gorgeous 30 year old Red Bay trees - very private. Even the neighbors on the north and south sides are minimized by all the natural vegetation. Built for views, the rooms have walls of glass that overlook both the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway.

The Atlantic Lookout is next door to the Crescent View Beach House which easily sleeps up to 12 and two houses from Crescent Cottage which sleeps up to 8. Rent all 3 houses together for a large reunion or wedding.

When out and about, enjoy Crescent Beach’s many charms including beach-combing, diving, fishing and countless other water-sports. Located on wildlife refuge Anastasia Island, the beaches remain pristine and are home to many of Florida’s most beloved creatures.