Nice house but outdoor photos are misleading.
Submitted: November 21, 2012
Stayed: November 2012
The house is great - very well stocked and comfortable, it even has a piano! For that, the house gets four stars. However, the outdoor photos are misleading, which was disappointing, and that's the reason for the three star rating.
It appears that the house is a beachfront property but this is not the case. There are roads running along two sides of the house between the house and the ocean. And although there are a lot of window that offer great views, there are no unobstructed views of the ocean - every view includes houses or rooftops and the photo of the view from the rooftop deck is zoomed in. We realize that owners want/need to make their houses look desirable but would have appreciated full disclosure and more accurate photos (the indoor photos were accurate). When I contacted the owner to see about getting a refund for our remaining days and moving to a beach front property. She was kind and offered to refund one night of our stay but not the remaining nights. In the end, we decided to stay instead of losing money on our weekend.
If you're not concerned about having an oceanfront property, this house does have good views and everything you'll need to be comfortable during your stay.
Owner's Response: It is always good to hear from our guest. The website states that the house has a Panoramic view of the ocean with spectacular sunsets, which is definitely the case. It is located on the ocean side of Highway 1 and does have other homes in view. However, after renting for several years to people all over the world, this is the first time anyone has complained about the houses, given that the view is so expansive, from all directions.
This custom built home sits on a knoll that is 300 feet above sea level. There are homes directly on the bluff facing due west out to the ocean. Our view looks directly over these to the open sea. The Irish Beach community has done a great job at keeping the building heights and view corridors open to every house that is located there. We have watched many whales go by without the houses impacting our view.
The scenic outlook to the south also sees a few homes, but again, they do not impact our fantastic view of the beach, waves, light house, and the cliffs. There are only about 15 homes that are located in that section of Irish Beach, with only a few of those in my view corridor. The local streets that are near the house are not intrusive at all. Given the amount and speed of the local traffic, you can barely hear the cars go by and in most cases you cannot even see them due to our landscaping and being high up on an elevation .
My refund policy is very clear in the rental agreement that every quest signs before their stay. Since these guests had already spent one night, and I had talked to them on the phone several times, I thought it was fair to refund one night, but not 2 or 3 nights. I will be happy to add some new pictures of the view with and without the homes, and even point out where the roads are since it was never my intent to deceive anyone.
The owner
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