Great Marsh Views But House in filthy condition
Review Submitted: July 27, 2009
Date of Stay: July 2009
I wouldn't rent this house!The home was large and parking was great. However, it was a stretch to advertise great ocean views from every bedroom. You couldn't see the ocean except to walk to the side balconies.You have to lean across the balconies to see the ocean.The left side of the home was the best view, which had a big air conditioning unit on it.
Upon arrival an inspector came to check the pool and hot tub. He called someone to ask why it hadn't been cleaned. They finally came Tues. -4 days later-to clean the pool, and they never cleaned the hot tub. A big dead palmento bug greeted us at the entrance. The entry door on the inside was covered with dirt all around the knob. We had to take a Lysol cloth to the rails. With one swipe they were dark gray. The tile floors were spotted with sticky dirt and the walls and most baseboards were disgustingly dirty. I can live with marks - you expect that, but this was dirt. The sides and baseboards of the island(where you eat)were caked with dirt. The kitchen tables and coffee table had grooves in them. In these grooves were sand, dust, and dirt.On the deck outside going to the pool was a big glob of dog poop. There was spaghetti sauce on the inside backs of the chairs around the table. The louver doors were caked with dirt and dust. The carpet in the stair well was very worn and dirty. I was going to mop the floor, but the mop was so disgustingly dirty and smelly it would have been useless.One frig smelled like fish.The pool area and carport had sand and dirt all around so there wasn't any way to keep from getting it in the pool. The area around the gate (to go to the beach) was so overgrown, the bushes scrapped you as you walked through. I contacted Rental agency to let them know we needed a king bed on the lowest floor to be made into 2 twins.This was not done correctly and I was promised it would be corrected. We ended up doing it ourselves. I expressed our concern with the uncleanlyness. I was asked when they could send someone and I gave them a time. I wasted my vacation time to be sure to be at the house when they were supposed to be there. I had to call again and finally someone came. These nice housecleaners did what I asked, but it would have taken them a several days to really clean the house thoroughly. An adult stepped on the pool ladder and it broke.Century 21 was less than helpful. Upon return I notified the owner, told him of my displeasure and had pictures to verify my complaints- no response
Owner's Response: There is another side to this story. After having my home reserved for the 4th of July week for months, this renter tried to change their reservation to a cheaper home at the last minute. My managment company would not allow them to make the change which would have left me without the opportunity to rerent my home for a peak week. So they came to the beach unhappy. After that they tried everything they could to try to get a discount on the home, making unwarranted complaints and finally, after returning home, trying to force me to give them a refund with the threat of a bad review. Sorry to say, but occasionally we get a renter that just does not want to be happy.
The facts are as follows. The cleaning of the home was inspected by the managment company and the cleaners were given their bonus for doing a good job. When the guest complained the management company immediately sent over an inspector. The home had been properly cleaned. I check the home on Saturdays about every 3 weeks and I meet the cleaners. The cleaners are very conscientious. They do a good job. The home does take a lot of abuse over the summer and we repaint and do major cleaning/ pressure washing etc every year. We clean the carpet on the stairs 2-3 times per year. The pool was cleaned as always on Saturday morning and 2 times during the week. The pool ladder did break. The salt air took its toll. We immediately replaced it. Yes, there is sand that gets tracked to the pool, we are at the beach and sand is unavoidable. There was some grey dust on the handrail. We had a break-in during the off-season and the handrails had been dusted for fingerprints. No matter how hard I tried to clean it all off that stuff keeps showing up. We do not allow dogs at the home...there was no evidence of a dog visit as suggested by the renter.
The ocean views are from the side decks as shown online. They are very good third row ocean views, however the dramatic view from this home is of the marsh, unobstructed 180 degrees, beautiful sunsets and huge deck.
In conclusion, I take personal pride in this home. I built it and work hard to maintain it for our guests. We have had hundreds of happy guests over the last several years. But sadly this one guest just could not be satisfied. We hope you will contact us for more information or to reserve the home.
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