FUN

Guest: sharona (new orleans)
Date of Stay: 11/18/11 Review Submitted: 11/22/11

Beautiful house- great location. Love the pool and hot tub. Very clean and maintained. The owner was helpful and I would recommed this house to a friend. Sharona- New Orleans, La

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, girls getaway, families with young children.

Wish I could live in Rosemary Beach ALL the time!

Guest: Beach Traveler (Franklin, TN)
Date of Stay: 07/18/11 Review Submitted: 08/03/11

Our stay in Rosemary Beach was the best ever! This was our first time here and it will be where we go on vacation every year! It is so family friendly and incredibly beautiful. The beach is pristine with it's pure white sand and blue blue water and the town of Rosemary itself is so incredibly unique with all the shops and restaurants. HEAVEN!! We chose this house because of friends of ours had previously rented it and raved about it. First time walking into this home is just breath taking. It is absolutely beautiful. The owners did such a great job at decorating and furnishing it. It feels like a beach home and oh so comfortable. The layout is absolutely perfect for each floor has it's own "hang out" place to just be and to relax. The middle floor was perfect for our grown kids and our grandchildren. Everyone had their own floor and space! Perfect! The location of the home was also great as it is just steps away from the beach and from the downtown area. How great to be able to walk to dinner! The owners could not be any nicer and take pride in their property. Thank you for sharing your little corner of paradise! Our week could not have been any more perfect!

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

Not What We Expected

Guest: Shelley (Nashville, TN)
Date of Stay: 05/28/11 Review Submitted: 07/26/11

My extended family and I rented this house for our annual Rosemary vacation and we were disappointed with our choice. Many things in this home have been neglected...light bulbs out in showers and closets,shower in the downstairs bedroom that would turn itself on in the middle of the night,seal on refrigerator door broken,freezer broke on our first day,no iron or ironing board,some kitchen appliances not working properly(stove top burner,toaster),curtain rod dangling from bedroom wall upon arrival,spotty furniture, etc. As none of these things alone are huge deals,they are still reflective of the general care of the house.We sent the owner an email detailing all of these things-and more issues-immediately after our stay.We told him that we made a conscious decision to not call him during the week about every little thing because we didn't want to spend our vacation making phone calls and complaining.His response to our email was short and curt. It read "Got your email.Have a nice summer." We didn't expect any sort of refund or even an apology.It would have been nice, but not required. All we really wanted was a note of assurance from him that some of these things would be addressed for future renters, and maybe a thank you for bringing them to his attention. His response was so confusing to us, as he was very nice when we met on the first day.And we were VERY understanding and nice about our broken freezer all week-only texting him once to see when the repairman might be coming. I should mention we got our ice for the week by making trips to his garage freezer adjacent to the house. Thank goodness that was available or we really don't know what we would have done.The freezer was finally repaired the afternoon before we left. I, too, would not recommend this property based on the overall lack of attention to detail on a house with this rental price tag.

Owner response:I wish the people renting our personal home would take the time to care for it like we do. However, we can't always be there to change a light bulb when it goes out, or repair a curtain rod when the previous renters children hang on it, or dry clean the slip covers when their kids eat on the furniture. Its just not possible when its rented back to back with 3 hours to clean before the next guests arrive. We do everything we possibly can in that window to get it ready but there are times it won't meet your expectations of perfection. I would love to write a detailed explanation to you Shelly explaining how difficult it is to keep a home in pristine condition when you rent it weekly to people that don't treat it the right way. I try to give respect to people's privacy when they are on vacation but when things break, they are not repaired here the next day. I lived in Atlanta and in that city repair people come the next day with the proper parts in hand but its different here. Its the beach and when you call for a repair, you get on a list for the first available time and then parts have to be ordered and when they come in you get on the list again for a time (convenient to a renter) when they can install it. That's the way it is here and people don't always understand that and their expectations aren't met. So its easier for me to simply wish you a happy summer instead of trying to explain to you how life is different here. I am sorry the house didn't meet your expectations but its a beautiful place that we love and care for.

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Extremely happy with this home

Guest: Beach lover (Atlanta,GA)
Date of Stay: 05/22/11 Review Submitted: 05/30/11

We found out about this home as a recommendation from friends of ours that rented it last year. They gave high recommendations so we booked it right away. We come to Rosemary once a year and have stayed in many homes, but this one was our most favorite. We had a large group and the layout of the house could not have been more perfect. Everyone had their favorite spot to relax... the porches with the beautiful views....the courtyard with the pool... or the living areas on each of the floors. The decor was simple, beachy and classy but most of all comfortable. They have many extras they share with their guests....the pool...pool toys...their bikes...beach chairs, umbrellas, movies, games...so many to mention. The owners live in Rosemary so they take excellent care of their home making sure every detail is taken care of. They also have added to Rosemary with the addition of La Crema. Our favorite restaurant by far! Owners were gracious hosts and we will definitely recommend this house as our favorite! My only complaint is that I can't live in the house all the time! WE WILL BE BACK FOR SURE!!

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

Did not meet our expectations

Guest: Family of 9 (Birmingham)
Date of Stay: 05/07/11 Review Submitted: 05/24/11

We were extremely disappointed with this house. This house has potential to be a great rental house, but it is clear upon setting foot on the premises, the owners have neglected it since they built it and clearly take shortcuts in keeping the house clean for their renters. Upon arrival, the house was not appropriately cleaned, smelled like smoke, appliances did not function properly, light bulbs out, pool not filled, a couple of toilets did not function properly. The owners made attempts to rectify issues we had, but much too late and insulting for the amount of rent being charged. The pictures clearly misrepresent the house as some of the furniture is not the same or worn severely, and information in the description of the house is misleading. The biggest complaint of the house is the owners own a restaurant (La Crema) and use the carriage house garage as a storage area for the restaurant, which consists of employees using the courtyard area of the house (next to the pool) to enter the garage constantly throughout the day. This means no privacy while sitting at your "supposed own private" pool. I would NOT recommend this house for future renters.

Owner response:As an owner, it’s tough to see a review like this. We live next door and manicure this house daily and when this family called us on day 4 of their visit with a few things to discuss my wife and I both went over to address their concerns in person. We explained how to use the European toilet handles (They aren’t broken, you just hold the handle up to flush) We explained that one of the four eyes of the Viking stove needed a new igniter but could still be lit. We let them know that because they came in 3 hours before check in time they could still smell the previous renters breakfast (smoke). My wife even took the rest of the day to wash each of the slip covers for them to ensure they were pristine and I topped off the pool as I do every 3 days. We even installed black out on the glass garage door so no one entering the garage from the street could see into the courtyard. As we finished all of this, the renters expressed such gratitude to us that we thought we were friends. We gave them gift cards to our restaurant which they used and raved about. In fact on departure (which was 45 minutes after checkout) they said thank you again for everything. So it’s puzzling why they would paint this picture. We take extreme pride in our 4 year old Rosemary home and treat it that way. Especially the comment about the pictures as everything depicted in every single picture is EXACTLY the way it is now.

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