Gulf Shores Vacation Rental condo

Overall, our family of four had a terrific time in Gulf Shores. What attracted us to this unit was the price and the pictures of the unit, itself. The price could not be beat. We were looking for a "budget/economy" type trip but were uneducated about what "budget" really means. Although, overall, the unit was cute, it was not very well maintained/clean. The carpet was visibly dirty in the master BR, with stains on it and there was sand all over the floors when we arrived. A good yearly carpet steam clean would probably alleviate the problem. There were cigarette butts/ empty pack on the balcony (bad housekeeping crew). The unit's stove seemed to be a relic of decades gone by and the burners were lined with aluminum foil...they smoked when we used them and we actually ended up setting the smoke detector off when cooking. The cushions on the furniture were not clean and the dining room chairs had stains on them. The unit did not have some simple conveniences, such as a blender, crab/lobster cracker, etc, and the cook-ware was a bit to sparse and in poor condition. When it rained, the condo had a foul odor for about a day...On the upside, the convenience of the unit could not be beat, the condo has wifi/ dvd/ cable and there is cable in the Master BR also. The beach was beautiful and our children loved the condo, regardless. My sense is that this unit is used pretty much just for an investment (although I may be wrong) and that the owner(s) probably don't get down there much to keep an eye on the place. Again, we had a wonderful vacation- I think you just need to have an educated understanding of what "budget and economy" means.

My sister-in-law and I spent a wonderful week at Beverly's condo at Harbor House. Everything was in good shape and in working order. The photos in the ad don't give you the whole perspective of what a good view you get from the condo. While it's not 'directly on the beach', you get unobstructed views from this condo from three different rooms, and there is a wrap around deck to enjoy the views from also. Beverly could not have been nicer. She returned my deposit quickly. I recommend this place to anyone. I look forward to renting this condo again. We had great seafood meals at some really good nearby restaurants, enjoyed the shopping, walked on the beach, and even the last night, when the weather turned nasty, we ordered in a Pizza from a resturant called Old World Pizza that's just up the street. It was really good! I recomment this place highly.

This was our first time renting a "condo" and we'll probably never stay at a hotel again. Our stay was GREAT! Everything we needed was provided in the condo. It was perfectly clean, the property was very clean and best of all, it was within minutes of anywhere we wanted to go. The pool and beach were only steps away and the view from our balcony was wonderful. Beverly went above and beyond with her communications with us. As it turned out, we only lived 4 or 5 miles from her home and when the mail in our little town turned out to be a little less than reliable, she drove over to our house to bring our "reservation package". Our deposit refund was received within a couple days of our return. Everything was exactly as described. The condo was beautifully decorated, (and even had a box fan that we pulled out of the closet as we are used to sleeping with one and love to hear that hummmmmmm to go to sleep). None of the rules were unreasonable. We will definitely be contacting her again if we go back to Gulf Shores. The price was more than reasonable (less expensive than most hotels I called). Our vacation was a pleasure and I would certainly recommend the Harbor House complex to anyone considering a vacation to Gulf Shores. On a scale of 1 to 10, this one rates about a 12!!! Thanks Beverly for a vacation we will never forget!!!!