Lots of space but lots of problems

Guest: Debbie151 (-)
Date of Stay: 07/02/11 Review Submitted: 01/31/12

We stayed at High Tides in summer 2011. We'd stayed down the road the year before and loved it. But, we were coming back with extra family and a pet and had limited choices. The space and layout was great and the location to the village was great. Everyone had a private bed area and you couldn't hear noise from other parts of the condo. However, the place itself was in serious disrepair. We were most distressed about the much touted wifi, which did not work, as it meant my husband was unable to handle some work issues that arose while still at the codo. He had to go into the village and use the wifi at a business there. We made repeated calls to the owner who claimed to have no knowledge of a problem. We found that somewhat disingenious since it didn't work all week and I doubted we were the first to complain. She eventually suggested we call the internet provider. We did this and found out the condo wifi setup was illegal. We also discovered the tv in the main living room area was not digital cable ready so it would only receive the first 12 channels. One of the tvs upstairs didn't work at all. The condo was not filthy but it was certainly not clean. We had to wait past checkin time for the cleaning crew to finish up. We also had some pretty specific instructions about the household trash and pickup and all of the trashcans were already overflowing when we arrived. There were no drapes in the master bed but the broken rods were still up. We contacted the owner about all of these concerns with the hopes of a response. We'd always received prompt responses when it involved booking and payment. However, the owner never got back to us. If you need a large place to stay that is close to the village and don't care about some dirt and some missing amenities, then this place would work. However, if you are booking based on the listed amenities, then you will likely be disappointed with this rental.

Recommended for:

Needs major sprucing up...

Guest: Sunny in GA (Atlanta, GA)
Date of Stay: 05/28/11 Review Submitted: 12/06/11

We arrived at the property in late May 2011 and it was very disappointing. The rugs in the living room were so dirty they looked soiled. The bed in the basement of the home was broken. The owner did come have it repaired immediately upon us calling. She also replaced the bedding since it looked like it had not been cleaned or replaced since 1990. We found the premise to be very dirty as well. Not once during the week did we walk around barefoot which was no fun since it was a beach vacation and we were coming in and out of the house from the beach. I do believe we were offered a cleaning service but we were just so disappointed all together, nothing would have helped. We did our own cleaning. It may look "clean" and "neat" from a "quick glance" perspective. But when you got to looking in corners and closely it was downright dirty. The area where the trash can is housed in the kitchen had food stains all over the sides of the wall. The outside trash was only taken out once while we were on premise. The outside furniture was old and dirty and there were pieces missing. There was a nice large space out there and not enough seating, not even a full patio set. The back door of the home to the porch was COVERED in dog hair. We did let the owner know and they promptly offered a cleaning service, we took care of it since we did not want to be disturbed. The premise should have been looked at closely before guests arrived, it should have been in "ready" condition. The unit needs an overhaul and then it would be a lovely place. You cannot beat the location, parking was easy, owners were easy to deal with, plenty of space but boy they simply need to spruce this place up!

Recommended for:

Favorite place to stay

Guest: rl (Jasper ga)
Date of Stay: 12/20/08 Review Submitted: 10/26/11

Dec. 2008 we stayed for the 1st time at High Tide - side B. Our family enjoyed our stay here. This is a great location to just spend time watching ships, dolphins, the ocean tide. Marjorie and John were responsive to anything needing taken care of. We have since stayed 7 times in the top floor unit and hope to continue as often as we can. This year will be our 2nd time spending Thanksgiving here with our family.

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, tourists without a car, sightseeing, girls getaway, age 55+, families with teenagers.

Don't be fooled by photos that were taken years ago

Guest: Rebecca (Atlanta)
Date of Stay: 11/20/10 Review Submitted: 10/26/11

We stayed at this rental during Thanksgiving 2010 and I came back to this site to see if the owners had repaired and cleaned anything since our visit last year. I was hoping that the owners would have fixed the place up so that we could come back, but from the 2011 reviews, I can see that they have not. This place could really be so nice, but not until the owners do some major work.The pictures for this home are very old. They had to be taken years ago because no one has taken care of this place for years. Not the house, not the landscaping, not the furniture. The furniture that is shown on the balcony is either gone, dirty or pieces are missing. The master bedroom balcony had one folding chair and the ceiling was rotted. There were no blinds on the master bedroom windows, so early risers (6am) this is the perfect room for you. The indoor furniture is old and worn out with holes. Items in the kitchen are rusted or had calcium deposits and dirty. The ceiling above the dining room table had bad water damage and looks like the master bathroom shower might just come on through. Also, there is no beach unless it is low tide and you can not get down to the beach unless you walk down the street a few houses and then go down the public steps. You are not allowed to climb over the rocks and you wouldn't want to do so after you see the thousands of bugs that live in the rocks. This house is divided into 3 rentals, two sides and the penthouse which is the entire top floor. The two side rentals include the basement but I would never sleep down there. It is musty and there are dead bugs on the floor. The bed is sunken in and the furniture is gross. Thank God we didn't invite our friends to join us because thats where they were going to sleep. If the owners read this, please please repair this house, get new furniture including balcony furniture, clean up the basement and air it out. Get the landscaping back to the way the pictures show. The ocean front view is spectacular and I would LOVE to rent your house again in the future if you would do your job as a homeowner and landlord and take care of what you own. I bet you wouldn't publish current photos of the interior and balcony's would you? People come to your house for vacation and the photos of your house are so nice but it is in such bad condition that you are ruining peoples vacations. I will keep checking back on this site in hopes that I read a current good review on the condition of the house and furniture.

Recommended for:

Fall 2011 Scary Getaway

Guest: Ginny (The Villages, Fl.)
Date of Stay: 09/17/11 Review Submitted: 10/05/11

My husband and I found the High Tide Cottage to be completely misrepresented. The pictures showed a clean and well maintained home. In reality,it was filthy and all the furniture seen in the picture was either dilapidated or missing. We had four couples and the bottom fourth bedroom was locked. We peered through the door window and all we could see were dead palmetto bugs on the floor along with a heap of towels. The microwave door was completely rusted, the stove was dirty and only one burner worked. The lights (other than the ceiling) in the kitchen were rusted and didn't work, the cabinets and dishes and utensils were dirty and the dishwasher wouldn't turn off (even though it was supposed to have been fixed). The downstairs toilet wasn't working properly, the AC didn't cool, the ceiling fans were full of dirt and the AC filters were almost completely black. The smoke detector upstairs was missing the front and didn't work, the lights on the upstairs balcony ceiling were missing and rugs were all stained. The right top corner of the Master BR balcony was rotted and someone had nailed a piece of board over it to cover it up. We had to cover all the outside furniture with towels to use it because it was so dirty and the inside furniture we covered with sheets for the same reason. The people moving into the B side of the house found that side to have never been cleaned. So, the owner moved them to the upstairs penthouse and had a cleaning lady come clean that side. If it weren't for that, we would have had to leave because we moved two of the couples into the B side after it was cleaned (ha-ha). We bought bottles of bleach cleaner and wipes and cleaned the places ourselves. By the way, the other side also had almost black AC filters, wires and light bulbs laying on the balcony and a fan that was basically hanging by a wire. We've never experienced such a nightmare as this was. Even some of the local visitors took pleasure in asking what we thought of our rental because they've heard many of the same stories coming from that house for the last four years. To charge for something like this is beyond reprehensible. I'm sorry, but I wouldn't recommend something like that to my worst enemy. This house was probably very pretty at one time and the pictures were probably right on if it were back around 2001.

Owner response:Marjorie and I regret that the guest was not satisfied. We investigated her claims and found them to be completely without merit. Yes, there is a small area of rust on the microwave door, but it is clean and works perfectly. There are no dead palmetto bugs in the property that we could find. All the burners on the stove work. The cabinets and utensils are cleaned thoroughly between guests. This guest did not call us or give us a chance to make her happy. The filters are not black, and are changed regularly. This is such a complete misrepresentation of the state of our property that I must question if the guest was describing another property. Please read all the reviews and decide for yourself if correct. Way too many 5 star ratings in the past 12 months for this to have been true. Marjorie and I wish this guest good luck in the future, but would ask her to contact the owner of ANY rental immediately upon arrival if anything is not to her liking. Waiting until you leave then writing a nightmare scenario is not helpful, either to the owners or prospective guests. If anyone has ANY concerns about this review, they are invited to call the owners directly and talk about what really happened.

Recommended for:

Thanks for an amazing and relaxing vacation!

Guest: Jana (Montgomery, Alabama)
Date of Stay: 09/12/10 Review Submitted: 10/09/10

My family and I (from Kentucky, Alabama and Ohio) spent Sept 12-18, 2010 in this beautiful condo that had spectacular views, ample space, beautiful and comfortable decor and all the amenities you would ever need. We considered the cost very reasonable and could not have asked for a nicer, more considerate and helpful owner than Margorie. When we arrived, the first thing we noticed was how clean and orderly everything was and the amazing lightness and gorgeous view from almost any point in the house. The master bedroom was like something out of a magazine and so incredibly comfortable and HUGE! All the members of my family were more than satisified with their room and bathroom. Everything worked fine. We enjoyed the walks along the beach, which was practically at our backdoor, the beautiful lighthouse and park area and all the great restaurants and shopping. The people we encountered in St Simon's were very friendly and seemed sincerely delighted to have us visit. To say the least, we will return and recommend High Tide Cottage to our friends and family.

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, tourists without a car, people with disabilities, sightseeing, pet owners, girls getaway, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

High Tide August 2010

Guest: em (Kentucky)
Date of Stay: 07/31/09 Review Submitted: 08/14/10

The pictures on this website are very decieving. We arrived at High Tide on July 31 and stayed a week. There were three couples and two kids staying. The basement level was DISGUSTING! Cock roaches everywhere, the bed sheets had not been washed in any of the bedrooms, so we had to wash all of our bed sheets when we arrived. The washer and dryer both had towels in them & the dish washer was also full with DIRTY dishes. This rental was definately a $500 rental, not what we paid! On the last day we were there, the power went out and we were told that it was because the owner didnt pay their bill! Very disappointing! We did love the town of St Simons, but not the house! We would not recomend this house to anyone. The family that rented the other side of the house was not happy either, that shows that it wasnt just our family that was unhappy!

Owner response:We are sorry that your stay was not what you expected. As we did during your stay, we will respond honestly and promptly to each allegation in this review. We personally took each photo displayed on the VRBO website as well as the ones on our photo gallery. They are actual photos taken with a standard point & shoot Olympus camera set on “automatic.” We do not believe they are deceptive in any way. We use a professional cleaning service who have an excellent reputation for spotless turnovers, and they always change and wash and dry all the linens and towels on all levels. They always wash and put away any dishes left in the sink or dishwasher. We also use a professional pest control service. On the final day of your stay last year, the Georgia Power Company suffered an overloaded transformer, and all the electricity on our street was out for several hours. The story of our non-payment is a complete and utter fabrication, and we resent the implication that we do not meet our obligations. We know that we are not perfect, but we try hard to make every guest’s vacation as comfortable and worry-free as possible. We go to great lengths to be responsive and available, and have assembled a team of professionals on the island who are dedicated to high standards and quick response. We regret that you were disappointed with our home, and sincerely hope that you will be able to find more suitable accommodations in the future. We ask all potential guests to read our other reviews and decide which makes more sense. *****

Recommended for:

Best Family Vacation

Guest: KK (Nashville, TN)
Date of Stay: 07/17/10 Review Submitted: 07/30/10

We spent a week at High Tide Cottage on St. Simons Island. We took the whole family that includes 3 grandchildren - ages 3, 5, 8. This was our first visit to St. Simons. It was the best family vacation that we have ever had. High Tide Cottage was awesome - clean and comfortable. And every window that you looked out was a view of the ocean. We enjoyed sitting on the porch watching the big ships go by and watched the dolphins that were playing quite close to the beach house. We saw the dolphins 2 or 3 different times. The owners were quite helpful - I would recommend this property to anyone. It was lovely! We enjoyed the history of St. Simons - took the ghost tour that went to the top of the lighthouse one night. We spent a day at Jekyl Island and enjoyed the water park and took a horse-carriage ride that gave us the history of Jekyl. Most of all we enjoyed the location of High Tide so that we could walk or bike to the village or just sit on the porch and relax. It was awesom!

Recommended for:Tourists without a car, sightseeing, age 55+, families with young children.

the best family vacation ever!

Guest: pennyl (Mission Viejo Ca)
Date of Stay: 05/02/09 Review Submitted: 05/28/10

Our family of 9 adults and 2 three year holds spent a very memorable week at Hightide west. Perfect weather, easy walk to the village,and our great hosts, the Adam's. Marjorie went above and beyond to make our stay comfortable. The house was perfect! My grandchildren had the beach as their yard!Great walks and beach lunches were the best! Thanks for the wonderful memories.

Owner response:Marjorie and I are absolutely delighted you guys had a great time at HIGH TIDE COTTAGE. We love it too, and it means a lot to us that yall had a wonderful vacation on the island. Our long term goal is to create a family of friends that come back year after year and claim HIGH TIDE COTTAGE as their home away from home. Thanks for the kind words.

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, tourists without a car, sightseeing, girls getaway, families with young children, families with teenagers.