The location get five stars, the house gets four stars and the booking process/hospitality gets one star.
Booking:
• The nightly, date-specific rate jumped significantly over the originally advertised rate at booking (apples-to-apples—neither rate inclusive of taxes). Why?
• Upon booking, VRBO charged us a their (expected) fee and ditched us. Everything else was done off-line directly with Surf or Sound (SoS), the rental company.
• SoS stated that an expensive damage insurance policy was mandatory. This was never disclosed until the entire vacation became non-refundable.
• SoS charged a significant fee for using a credit card, plus sales tax on the fee! This, too, was never disclosed before booking.
• The fees felt like extortion given the non-refundable status of the booking. We felt angry and resentful before ever setting foot on the property.
• SoS suggested I book directly with them next time, cutting out VRBO. This, they said, would have offset their undisclosed fees. Ethics?
Communication—overall, contradictory and money grabbing:
• We were told we needed to pick up a key at the office and we were told we had an electronic lock and didn’t need a key. Which one?
• Linens? We were told bed linens and towels, bed linens only, no linens. It was bed linens only but—amazingly— there was a service that would sell us towel service for the week!
• SoS bombarded us with emails offering to rent/sell surfboards, kayaks, tours, etc. It bristled coming from the company that bilked us for undisclosed fees.
Location:
• Fantastic! The house is located on a quiet street. The beach is beautiful.
The House:
• Photos are accurate; the house is really nice overall.
• The star of the house is the third floor.
• Stairs are steep, slippery and cut around corners meaning they taper to two inches wide in places. The handrails don’t run around the corners.
• The electricity went out on us five times over 30 hours.
• Bad water stains and drywall damage on the third floor ceiling.
• Ceiling damage on first floor.
• The detergent dish on the dishwasher is broken.
• The toilet in the third floor master bedroom randomly runs.
• Bed linen packs were short on pillowcases.
• The hot tub wasn’t ready.
• No tables on the decks.
• Minor ant issue. Disturbing issue with pest control company that showed up unannounced and fled when we tried to interact with them.
Nice house, great location, a little cold on service.
