Taste of Summer at South Ponte Vedra Beach

• The Beach House That Would If It Could

  The Beach House That Would If It Could

  • Guest Gammy J
  • Date of stay 02/16/13
  • Review Submitted 04/10/13
  We have rented many houses from VRBO, all over the country. This is the 2nd house with this particular management service. Pros: GREAT location, great deck. Cons: Overall maintenance of the house. This house has been on the market for a long time and to call it a 'fixer-upper' is being kind. When we arrived, at first we thought the mgmt. co. was playing a joke on us when we saw the windows. They were so dirty they looked like they had been soaped - we cleaned the big ones so we could enjoy the view. We had to locate and install screens in the windows that were able to to opened (and all the windows malfunctioned in some way). We fished the beer bottle cap out of the disposal so it would work. The dishwasher wouldn't, so that got fixed a few days later. Most of the light bulbs were blown - we found out why a few days later .... The threshholds on all three doors leading to outside had broken free from the foundation so you had to be careful not knock it out of position each time you would go in or out of the house. A storm that came through the begining of our 2nd week revealed the blown bulb phenom... We are used to beach living brown outs and such...but this was something on a whole 'nother level. When the rain started coming down the fireplace chimney at a good clip, we found a bucket to catch the water (no raincap). Then a bit later the GFI switches in the kitchen start crackling and popping with black smoke curling out (had to throw the breakers). In all the TVs (2), WiFi, cable boxes, garage openers (2), ice maker, microwave, and oven got "fried" in the power surge that flowed through the house. Our sonic toothbrush charger bit the dust. When the power company finally came the next afternoon and showed us the condition of the connectors and what was still there once they were gone was unnerving. 4 days of no tv or WiFi, no microwave or oven makes you glad to at least have the beach! This house gets 2 stars because of location & the deck. It could be a great house if the owner took care of it. It's old and very tired.

  Recommended for: Pet owners.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 0/0

• True beachhouse..

  True beachhouse..

  • Guest Darlene
  • Date of stay 06/30/12
  • Review Submitted 07/17/12
  This is a true relaxful beachhouse with a lot of sleeping area. I will stay here again and plan to rebook for next year. Making the reservations and any issues we had was very easy.

  Recommended for: Pet owners, families with teenagers, families with young children.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 2/2

• The Perfect Beach Getaway

  The Perfect Beach Getaway

  • Guest Sandra20
  • Date of stay 12/20/10
  • Review Submitted 08/30/11
  We have fallen in love with this beach house! We have rented it several times. The house is a perfect beach house - it is casual and comfortable. It is right on the ocean and there are no houses across A1A so the only neighbors are other beachfront neighbors. Most of them don't live there full time so you only see a handful of people on the beach. We have two dogs and the whole upstairs porch area is gated so our dogs could run around and not be able to run off. The floors are all wood and tile so it was easy to sweep up the daily dog hair and sand mess. There is also a hose out on the deck for rinsing off. The master bedroom has a huge window so you fall asleep and wake up looking at the ocean. Another bedroom also faces the ocean and one faces out front. Since that bedroom faces the road you can hear traffic on A1A but it isn't exactly a busy road. It is a quiet residential stretch of A1A so most people just zoom by. We didn't use the downstairs room either except for laundry. This would be a perfect room for teenagers. The door is a separate outside door so you wouldn't leave young children alone down there overnight. The previous review mentioned the salty chairs - that is how beach living goes. You wipe them down one day and the next they have a salty residue on them. Same with the windows. We didn't mind wiping the chairs and windows down every now and then. And the house is older - the bathrooms are original tile. But they were clean and everything worked fine. I prefer my beach houses that I rent to be a little bit more casual. If everything is granite and polished wood I feel like I can't track in any sand or come in wearing a wet bathing suit. Or bring my two dogs inside that were just swimming in the ocean. On our last visit the fridge had been replaced and I think they were also replacing the washer and dryer. Both worked fine - they just had some rust on them. Again - part of beach living. We both grew up in Florida on the coast and understand that everything metal in a beach house starts to rust but it still worked fine.

  Recommended for: Pet owners, families with teenagers, girls getaway, romantic getaway.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 4/4

• All I can say is "Wow"

  All I can say is "Wow"

  • Guest littlejeanne
  • Date of stay 04/17/10
  • Review Submitted 04/28/10
  We so looked forward to this vacation...upon arriving at this house, we were a little dismayed by the outside upkeep, but even more so upon entering the house. An overwhelming musty smell hit us, as if the house had not been used in months. The windows would not open to let in any fresh air. We looked around, excited to finally be at our destination, and found nothing but filth, rust and mold. The bedding in all the rooms was either dirty, or tattered and worn, and there were two happy spiders residing on the pillows in the master bedroom. The couch and chairs in the living room were filthy. The refrigerator was rusted and filled with mold, as was the oven and dishwasher. The kitchen utencils were sparse at best. The washing machine was completely rusted out, and unfit for use. The downstairs "bunk room perfect for the kids" was not even connected to the rest of the house; the kids would have to go outside, and use the deck stairs to enter the main living area. The front door lock didn't work properly. I started to wipe down the outside Adirondack chairs and windows to make it look halfway decent and livable. After I complained to the owner, he did come through and reimburse us our full rental fee, and I thank him for that...but then we had the chore of finding new accomodations for seven people for the rest of the week. We lucked out and stayed in Palm Coast in a luxurious condo. Looks can be deceiving, especially with these very dated photos that were posted.

  Recommended for: Pet owners.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 14/16

Rate April-May 2013: $2200.00/wk plus 10% tax (inc. cleaning, linens, etc)
Rate June-July 2013: $2500.00/wk plus 10% tax (inc. cleaning, linens, etc)
Rate August 2013: $2300.00/wk plus 10% tax (inc. cleaning, linens, etc)
Rate Sept-Dec 2013: $1900.00/wk plus 10% tax (inc. cleaning, linens, etc)
Daily rentals require a two-night minimum and are not always available.
Monthly rentals available except June and July; Sat to Sat rentals only then.
All rentals require a $500 refundable security deposit by credit card to reserve.
Last-minute specials sometimes available within thirty days of arrival date.

Note: Until confirmed, rates are subject to change without notice.