Pictures are Misleading
Submitted: July 31, 2012
Stayed: July 2012
Let me preface this by saying we have travelled extensively (19 countries) and do not expect American standards when we travel. We are not complainers, and have never left a vacation early.
I travelled with my two children in search of a relaxed, beach vacation. Upon arrival, I noticed that the house was very hot. Air conditioning is in the two bedrooms only. This would not be so bad, if you could open the windows, but with the screens on three windows broken, we were forced to either be roasted, or be infested with bugs.
The beach and area are totally infested with sand fleas. The morning after arrival, I counted 112 bites on my daughter and we had been diligent about keeping bug spray on. The bugs are just unavoidable.
The final issue, was that the beach is completely un-swimable. This is the part that I feel mislead about. The water is full of turtle grass and vegetation. We tried to tough it out and swim anyways. We were in the water for about five minutes before getting stung by a jellyfish.
We ended up leaving after three days, and going home, something we have never done before. Upon coming home, I tried to contact the owners, as the apartment is taken care of by caregivers. I was not expecting my money back, or anything like that, I just wanted to ask them to tell people ahead of time that the ocean was not able to be swam in, by the house. They never emailed me back. They have been unreachable.
Owner's Response: This review is unfair. We have been out of internet and phone service and unable to respond earlier. We also felt it prudent and fair to discuss the matter with our manager who said the following. The little girl got a lot of sand fly bites on her back. Mom and the boy were not affected. She reacted with more of a macular rash around the bites and said they did not bother her much. I offered to take her to the clinic, gave her Benadryl spray, cactus juice, Skin So Soft. I returned her refundable security deposit, the money for the 2 weeks WiFi and offered to take her to the airport. I think she is scared for her little girl. I can understand that. I told her there is a good pediatrician at AKR clinic, her worry lifted a little. I know she was not happy the kids could not swim right off the beach because of the turtle grass. I really do not think she liked it here. Our manager was never informed about the jellyfish sting, always a risk in oceans, and would have provided first aid. Our Guest Brochure at the house has a section discussing first aid for them, also. We are honest about the turtle grass in the water in front of our home and never state you can swim there. We say to swim in the 5 to 6 foot deep water at the end of the dock where turtle grass is not a problem. Sand fleas are subject to the weather and unavoidable but we have the beach raked once weekly to help control them. All of our rooms including the veranda have fully functioning, efficient ceiling fans in addition to the 2 bedroom air conditioners. This is clearly stated in our ad. Our house has 20 windows with screens. Can 3 broken screens be that much of a problem? In the 7 years we have owned and rented, we have never had complaints of guests roasting. We have been trying to get them repaired but only the company that sold them can do that. They have not responded to our frequent emails and phone calls but we will persevere. We are proud of the efforts of our manager to assist this guest to no avail. We are sorry her vacation was not what she expected but we know you can not please everyone. We spend a great deal of time, effort and money maintaining and improving our home. We are proud of our accomplishments. We spend 1 month there every year so we know our house, the climate and conditions of the beautiful island of Roatan. We proudly stand behind our ad, pictures and our wonderful on site manager. We are certainly not unreachable.
Helpful votes: 2/2
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