Vacation Rentals by Owner

Great Week at Diamond of Destiny

Guest: Leslie (Murfreesboro, TN USA)
Date of Stay: 07/02/11 Review Submitted: 07/19/11

My family and I have been coming to the Gulf for 20 plus years for vacation. With the addition of sons and daughters-in-laws and grandchildren, our needs have changed throughout the years. This year we decided to try a beach house. After looking at several, we picked Diamond of Destiny in the community of Destiny by the Sea. Wonderful choice! Even with 14 people, we never felt crowded. Plenty of room for everyone to come together for meals, and enough room for everyone to have some privacy. The furnishings are beautiful. Enjoyed being right on the beach and having the community pool just a short walk away. Enjoyed the bikes and the proximity of restaurants and shopping. The weather was perfect. Dinner one evening at Capt. Dave's on the Gulf was delicious, and walked to the Crab Trap for appetizers and drinks one day overlooking the beautiful gulf waters. Had some seaweed in the ocean one day, but still enjoyed swimming and snorkeling in the otherwise clear water. Tile floors are user-friendly for coming off the beach, and really loved the balconies for ocean views. Everyone had a wonderful time no matter what age - from 3 years to 78 years! Will definitely plan to return, and would recommend this property to anyone looking for a fun and relaxing beach vacation.

Owner response:Thank you very much for your comments. We certainly enjoyed having you as our guests and look forward to seeing you again next year.

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, tourists without a car, sightseeing.

Perfect Family Vacation Home!

Guest: Max (Chattanooga, TN)
Date of Stay: 04/23/11 Review Submitted: 06/01/11

Our family rented this home at the end of April 2011. There were 8 adults and 4 kids with plenty of room and beds for everyone. The house is in excellent condition and right on the beach! This is a private beach with your own personal beach chairs/umbrellas set up for you each morning. Ideal location for access to local restaurants and groceries as well. We had an issue with getting the wireless internet to work and the owner had a new router to the house the next day! Highly recommend this beachfront home for any family looking for a perfect beach getaway!

Owner response:Thank you for your review. This was a wonderful group of families ( from the great state of Tennessee ) with lovely children. It was great having them enjoy the Diamond of Destiny beach house. We just love seeing kids on the beach playing in the waves while their parents are running after them trying to put sunscreen on them. The parents rode bikes around the neighborhood and hopefully had a little time to themselves after all the kids were asleep ( from a day at the beach ) each night. Its great when families make memories that will last a lifetime in our property.

Recommended for:Families with young children, romantic getaway.

Boogie Boarding and Snorkeling Grandpa

Guest: Jim M. (NY,NY)
Date of Stay: 04/09/11 Review Submitted: 07/01/11

I have 5 grandchildren between the ages of 4 and 10. I spent hours every day chasing crabs and small fish on the beach. My wife said I had to slow down, but this is the one week of the year I have to connect like this with them. A trip the second day to the pharmacy and a big bottle of advil and I was good to go. It may take me a year to recover from all the fun we had, but I’ll be ready again next year. Seeing the joy in their eyes, giggling, and occasionally a scream when a crab got a little to close was priceless. As long as this grandpa is around, I’ll be doing this trip every year with the kids and grandkids. The Diamond of Destiny is the perfect place for this. Beautiful home, beautiful beach, and beautiful and safe neighborhood.

Owner response:Thank you for your review. I hope that advil worked.

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, pet owners, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Susan - Piperton,TN

Guest: Susan (Piperton, Tn)
Date of Stay: 03/12/11 Review Submitted: 04/04/11

We had a wonderful stay at Diamond of Destiny. We had a group of moms and high school daughters on spring break. The house was beautiful. The floor plan was perfect for us. The entire first floor was for the girls:they loved that. The other floors accommodated all our other needs. The location was great between 30A and Fort Walton. We ate at restaurants in both areas. The close location to the Crab Trap was the best. The girls "and sometimes moms" would walk there right from the beach for lunch. The beach rentals were wonderful too. Every morning they would be set up just waiting for us. Thank you so much for a wonderful stay.

Owner response:One of our most favorite groups to ever stay a the Diamond of Destiny. Moms and daughters making memories that will last a life time is the perfect use for our home. Thank you for being our guests.

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, sightseeing.

A Great Place to stay in Destin

Guest: Robert J. (Dallas, Tx)
Date of Stay: 07/24/10 Review Submitted: 07/30/10

The Diamond of Destiny and Destiny by the Sea are a great place to stay in Destin for a vacation. Our family including the kids and grandkids are stay this week in the Diamond of Destiny. We hate to go home tomorrow. So far, it has been six days of wonderful times. The beaches have been beautiful. The home has been wonderful. And my family has connected again like I had hoped for. We are 12 in number total and we still have plenty of room. We are already planning our vacation next year at the Diamond of Destiny. You cannot beat being all in one location. Eating together, going to the beach together, and generally spending some quality time together and making memories that we will always cherish. My wife and I agree. A week together with our kids and grandkids is the best present we could have given to our family and to ourselves. Our photo album will be packed with this year's trip.

Owner response:Thank you so much for your review. Please send us a copy of those photos. LOL...Nice family...

Recommended for:Age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, pet owners, sightseeing.

A Vacation Fantasy Come True

Guest: Carol J. (New Orleans, La)
Date of Stay: 07/17/10 Review Submitted: 07/25/10

We stayed at the Diamond of Destiny for a week and loved it. The home is more beautiful than the photos. The home was spotless clean when we arrived. The owner was helpful by suggesting attractions in Destin for us to enjoy. I would recommend this property to anyone wanting a first class vacation in a beautiful neighborhood. The Diamond of Destiny is a beautiful and great place to spend a week. The new decorations and remodeling are fabulous. We played golf and went to the water park during our visit. The restaurants and bars in Destin are close by and the food and nightlife were first rate. We can not wait until next year to return to the Diamond and have another great time.

Owner response:Thank you so much for your wonderful review. I will pass your comments on to housekeeping. They take great pride in the home and love getting compliments. Who doesn't ?

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, pet owners, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

The Diamond of Destiny was the ultimate vacation spot for our family !!!

Guest: John Allen (New York, NY)
Date of Stay: 07/10/10 Review Submitted: 07/25/10

After reviewing what seemed like hundreds of vacation locations for our family, we decided on the Diamond of Destiny in Destiny by the Sea. There were 12 in our group. 2 grandparents, 3 kids and spouses, and 4 grandchildren. The beaches were beautiful and the house was great and the we had more than enough room for our large clan. The neighborhood is absolutely gorgeous. The grandkids chased crabs in the water as their parents chased them to keep sunscreen on them. I was proud to have supplied a wonderful experience for my family. We were able to stay all in one location and cook and eat together. I grilled a few nights with a little help from my son, and I must admit, I got quite a few compliments on my cooking prowess. The home is a beautiful piece of property to keep your whole family in one location during your entire vacation. You don't have to be in multiple hotel rooms and separated from each other even for breakfast. Just get up a little earlier than the rest of your family and enjoy a quiet cup of coffee on the living room balcony while listening to the gentle waves of the gulf in the background.

Owner response:I am so glad you had a great time. What a wonderful group. I am glad grandpa got a little " me time " with his coffee.

Recommended for:Age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, pet owners, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Beutiful Romatic Week at the Diamond of Destiny

Guest: Sarah W. (Atlanta, Georgia)
Date of Stay: 06/26/10 Review Submitted: 07/26/10

My husband and I had a romantic week at the Diamond of Destiny recently. We had our three children along, but after our family had a fantastic day at the beach or fishing and enjoy the restaurants in Destin, my husband and I still had time for a glass of wine on the terrace of the master bedroom overlooking the gulf of Mexico. The moonlight on the ocean is quite romantic late at night while listening to the sound of the waves on the beach. Even after 15 yrs of marriage my husband seemed inspired by the setting. The house couldn't have been better for our family. It is large with five bedrooms so everyone had more than enough space. The house is perfect for cookouts, family breakfast, or a quick lunch before heading back down to the beach. We added many friends ,that we met, to our list while enjoying the beach. Destiny by the Sea and the Diamond of Destiny are truly a unique location and our family thouroughly enjoyed our visit to Destin. It was relaxing and exciting at the same time. The owner was more than friendly but everything in the house worked perfectly and we only needed a little advice on what restaurants to take our family to. We will definitely be back next year.

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, pet owners, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Guest: Michael....The Owner
Date of Stay: 06/26/10 Review Submitted: 07/06/10

We do not have renters stay at the Diamond of Destiny. We have guests that reserve the property for their family to enjoy the ultimate vacation. Our guest book in the beach house is full of wonderful comments from the families that have stayed with us over the years. We have enjoyed meeting our guests and seeing their families enjoy this property on the most beautiful beach in the world. And after dark Destin is the ultimate resort setting with wonderful restaurants, fun activities, exciting shopping, and even energetic bars and clubs for the younger crowd. Discover what hundreds of thousands have. Destin is the best vacation spot in the U.S.

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Recent guest at Diamond of Destiny

Guest: Terri (Mandeville, Louisiana)
Date of Stay: 06/19/10 Review Submitted: 06/29/10

My family, guests and I thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Diamond of Destiny. You can't beat being directly on the beach. It was a very relaxing and comfortable vacation. Thank you!

Recommended for:Age 55+, families with young children, girls getaway, romantic getaway.

Guest: The Williams family from La
Date of Stay: 05/22/10 Review Submitted: 06/01/10

We had a wonderful time during our stay at the Diamond of Destiny. The home was beautiful and extremely clean when we arrived. The beach was breathtaking and the sugar white sand was like a dream come true. This home is directly on the beach and in the master bedroom my husband and I slept like babies listening to the waves lap up on the beach. The kids were catching crabs in the water and even the adults seem to return to their childhood in this beautiful setting. The home was perfect in every way. A television in every room and a bathroom for every room. It made getting ready to go out to dinner a breeze. The owner was friendly and helpful ,but we had no problems to take care of. The neighborhood is definitely upscale and all the homes and the people staying there are friendly and sophisticated. If you want a first class vacation, Destiny by the See is the place to go.

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Diamond of Destiny

Guest: jamiea (Texas)
Date of Stay: 07/11/09 Review Submitted: 03/26/10

This property was listed as a 4 million dollar property which seemed more appropriately to be a 200,000 house on a 3.8 million dollar lot. We honestly were disappointed with the quality of the house. Upon arrival, we opened the bottom floor door which was the only exit to the beach, and the door handle broke completely off. The elevator was not operable, so that moving in was quite challenging. We contacted the owner and the door knob was fixed in a timely manner, but the elevator was never repaired and therefore not operable the entire week. The location was great but the house was not up to our standards.

Owner response:Please note that this group stayed in our home almost a year before submitting this review. Due to changing our homeowner's insurance our home was recently appraised by the insurance company. It appraised at 1.2 million for the home and 2.8 million for the beachlot. Our home received a 5/5 rating just two weeks prior to this rental. Destin is a small town and elevator repairmen are difficult to get at a moments notice. The elevator repairman was out of town during this week (they have families too). The door was repaired promptly. As for the first floor being the only access to the beach. Don't know what to say about that. The beach is on the ground. All the homes in our neighborhood access the beach from the first floor. After 4 years we were eventually going toget an average rating rather than all our excellent ratings. We will strive to get back on our excellent rating run. Thanks.

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Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 06/04/09 Review Submitted: 06/04/09

The Boyd family from Brookhaven, Tupelo and Oxford Mississippi enjoyed a wonderful 2 weeks in Diamond of Destiny. It is a perfect setting for a relaxing, inspiring beach vacation. The setting could not have been more perfect. Thank you for sharing your lovely place with our family!

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Guest: Jim and Diane Blevins (Carrollton,GA 30116)
Date of Stay: 09/10/08 Review Submitted: 09/10/08

We had a wonderful time. The house was beautiful and being on the beach was fanatastic! We hope to visit again. We also love the website VRBO. Jim and Diane Blevins and family

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What you read is not always what you get!!

Guest: Dr. Wham (Rockwall, Tx)
Date of Stay: 07/05/08 Review Submitted: 07/18/08

After doing a lot of research on renting homes in Destin, Fl. I decided to choose Diamond of Destiny for the three families that had chose Destin not only for our summer vacation but it would be our first time to visit Destin. I chose the Diamond home according to all the amenities the owner had listed, even quoting "to many to list". They said the house had a foosball table, pool table and a ping pong table--having six kids with us I figured this would be great for them to have something to do when they weren't at the beach. But there was no such thing and when we asked the owner she said she would have to get with her husband because she was not quite sure why that was listed on the description. Never heard an explanation. The day we got to the rental home we notice the freezer was not freezing which also lead to the refrigerator not keeping the food very cold. We had already bought chicken, meat, eggs, etc. and was scared of it going bad. They had a beverage refrig in the bar area but the door had falling off and it did not work. We called the owner and asked if he could send out a repair man. Before he could even get there the dryer stopped working. The owner only provided about one towel per person so we desperately needed the dryer to wash our towels. The owner had another home in the same neighborhood that we used the dryer at but we spent one of our days going back and forth. They did get a repair man out that fixed the dryer and defrosted the freezer so it would work for the rest of our stay. Hopefully it lasted for the next people. When you spend as much as we did to rent a home you (or at least I do) expect it to be as it is described. The home was in a great location but needs a lot of repairs. Also it was not very well cleaned- dirt and trash under the beds, dusty etc. I guess what was the most upsetting part was how rude the man was that owns the home. His wife tried to help and said that the last day they would sit down and talk with us but she never showed up or even called. We would love to go back to Destin but we would not rent this property nor would we recommend it to anyone. It could be a nice place it just needs repairs, a good cleaning and for the owner to list the correct amenities.

Owner response:All of these problems have been taken care of and the Diamond of Destiny is in first class condition. We tried to reimburse these renters for the problems they had during their stay, but they would not accept our generous offer. We sincerely apologized for their problems, but it was one of those weeks where everything seemed to break at the same time. All appliances have been replaced or repaired. My people skills may not have been their best being frustated by a number of things going wrong.Having said that, the home is now more beautiful than ever , and everything is new and working fine...

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Guest: Blevins Family
Date of Stay: 06/21/08 Review Submitted: 06/20/08

Comment from Guest Book: Thank you for sharing your home! We have had a wonderful week. The weather and the water have been outstanding!! The grandchildren had a great time. They loved eating out on the balcony and watching the beach and ocean.

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Guest: Tallent Family
Date of Stay: 06/14/08 Review Submitted: 06/13/08

Comment from Guest Book: Will call later for next year's reservations. Thanks.

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Guest: Hotchkiss Family
Date of Stay: 06/07/08 Review Submitted: 06/06/08

Comment from Guest Book: We had a great week at the beach! The weather and water were terrific! We enjoyed our vacation so much. Comment from children: We loved fishing! ( we ate them too ). We loved crab hunting!

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Guest: Burchfield Family
Date of Stay: 05/31/08 Review Submitted: 05/30/08

Comment from Guest Book: We had a fabulous Memorial Day! Beautiful house...great weather.. we couldn't ask for anything esle! Thanks so much!

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Guest: Hein Family
Date of Stay: 05/17/08 Review Submitted: 05/16/08

Comment from Guest Book: Matt and Krista Hein joined the Hein and McGettrick families and stayed for the week. We had a great time and the house was perfect! Thanks...

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Guest: Hein Family
Date of Stay: 05/17/08 Review Submitted: 05/16/08

Comment from Guest Book: The Hein's from Erie, Pa with the above familys from Austin and Dayton, Oh had a great 60th birthday party here. Great beach, great house, great time.

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Guest: Garza Family
Date of Stay: 05/17/08 Review Submitted: 05/16/08

Comment from Guest Book: Emily Hein and Jason Garza from Tx. had a wonderful time staying in Destin. The beach was the best! Don't want to leave. Thank you for everything.

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Guest: Rodimel Family
Date of Stay: 04/11/08 Review Submitted: 04/10/08

Guest Book Comment: The Rodimel family from Carral, In had an awesome time. Enjoyed the fabulous view and loved being right on the beach. Thanks for opening your home to us! (smile) Comment from Rodimel family little one; I liked the home too!

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Guest: Apgar Family
Date of Stay: 03/29/08 Review Submitted: 03/28/08

GuestBook Comment The Apgar Family from Indianapolis stayed here. Lovely home.

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Guest: Owner..Michael Archer
Date of Stay: 02/10/08 Review Submitted: 02/09/08

We do not have renters stay at the Diamond of Destiny. We have guests that reserve the property for their family to enjoy the ultimate vacation. Our guest book in the beach house is full of wonderful comments from the families that have stayed with us over the last year. We have enjoyed meeting our guests and seeing their families enjoy this property on the most beautiful beach in the world. And after dark Destin is the ultimate resort setting with wonderful restaurants, fun activities, exciting shopping, and even energetic bars and clubs for the younger crowd. Discover what hundreds of thousands have. Destin is the best vacation spot in the U.S.

Recommended for: