A Good Place To Stay on the Beach

Guest: CAH (Rocky River, OH)
Date of Stay: 04/16/11 Review Submitted: 01/22/12

We have been visiting the gulf and Navarre for more than ten years. Study the photos--you'll see what you are renting. This rental is just as the pictures depict--very straight forward, not overly cluttered with excessive decorative furnishings. It's not plush, but there is plenty of good quality, comfortable seating and the beds were comfortable and good. We really enjoyed the deck and the open first floor layout. It worked well with our dogs as they could come in and out with us very easily. They had room to spread out, as did we. The wall of windows allows you to sit inside to enjoy the gulf view once the hot afternoon sun hits. It is true you do not see the edge of the water, but you still do see and hear the gulf. Ever since the year (2005?) when four or five hurricanes repeatedly hit Navarre and the gulf, many properties no longer do see the waters' edge unless you are on the third or fourth floor or a roof top deck. The dunes built to protect property when the beaches were restored all along the gulf from Cape San Blas, Panama City Beach, Okaloosa Island, Destin, Navarre, Pensacola do make the views and the beaches very different than they were prior to the devastation of Rita, Ivan & Katrina. Navarre is no longer a wide, flat beach. Drive to the national seashore to the west to enjoy. The kitchen had everything we needed to prepare meals for the week. I found every kitchen gadget I needed. There were ample kitchen towels and potholders the week we visited. The baths were well supplied with towels. We arrived early and the cleaning crew allowed us to bring in our seafood, start carrying in our bags, and sit out on the deck while they finished up. Other places I have been, we were told that should we arrive early we would not be able to sit outside unless we paid an additional fee. The home was clean and did not have sand upstairs although the entry way and stair well to the first floor did have some sand--Nothing you would not expect from having a beach front house. The owner was very cooperative about answering all my questions. We did have one issue with the electrical, but it did not interfere in anyway with our stay. We could not get the socket in the master bedroom to work so we had no clock--we did not need it. I would have preferred to have a few chaise lounges to lie on, but the deck furniture met our basic needs. We would stay here again. I have recommended it to family and friends. There was no phone so bring a cell.

Recommended for:Families with teenagers, pet owners, age 55+, people with disabilities, girls getaway, families with young children.

New Years at the beach!

Guest: gmaw (Brandon Ms.)
Date of Stay: 12/30/11 Review Submitted: 01/10/12

I took 3 of my daughters to the beach for New Years we had a wonderful time. View from this townhome is awesome! Minor problems with house itself but overall it was great.

Recommended for:Pet owners.

Loved this Beach House & WILL Return!

Guest: DeLene (Dallas, TX)
Date of Stay: 06/18/11 Review Submitted: 06/29/11

We rented here for the first time June 18-25, 2011 my family of six which includes myself, husband, son, his wife, & my 2 Grandsons. There were 34 of us in all on Navarre Beach for a Family Reunuion and we by far had the best place! Loved having the 2 decks, one on the bottom with direct access to our own beach area and a small deck off of the Master Suite. The 3 Bedrooms PLUS 3 Full Baths were great for all of us. The owner was communicating with us fequently to make sure all was OK & if we had any questions. Yes there was some sand but it's a Beach house right on the water not across the street like most! We definitely plan to rent here again in the future. Well worth it! Granite countertops in kitchen, full Laundry, large Master Suite, boys room had 4 bunkbeds so they had cousins come sleep over one night. Away from all the tourists and crowds like Destin or Pensacola Beach but close enough to go there. Nothing but great Memories here! Also saw the Blue Angels perform at the Naval Base! I'd recommend this place to anyone!!

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

A Breezeway Shangrala

Guest: Nick & Charlotte Rowdy & Chaz (Montgomery, AL)
Date of Stay: 04/10/11 Review Submitted: 06/27/11

We stayed at The Breezeway in April 2011 and found this home to be cozy, comfortable, spacious and nicely furnished. The privacy of the master bedrooms deck was wonderful at night looking at the stars and ocean. During the day we enjoyed the ocean breeze as we sat on the front deck overlooking the gulf. Our pets loved being able to play in the sand by the lower deck, while we sat in the swing in the breezeway under the main deck. We are looking forward to coming back again.

Recommended for:Pet owners, age 55+, families with young children, romantic getaway.

Very Dissapointing

Guest: Sadly Dissapointed (Gladewater, texas)
Date of Stay: 05/21/11 Review Submitted: 06/03/11

I would definitely not call this place "fabulous". We were very excited about staying in a beach house instead of a condo this year, and thought we would spend more than we normally would, for what appeared to be a really nice home, for the privacy. Also I would like to add my husband and I planned this trip not only for us and our 2 boys, but this was a 38th anniversary trip for my Mom and Dad. So it was very embarrassing taking my parents to a home that was very dirty. There was dog hair everywhere, I'm not talking about a little, I've had dogs in the house before, but this was ridiculous. It was in the mattress cover, in the sheets, on all the extra blankets in the closet, on the couch along with sand, on top of the kitchen countertops, and the furniture. The house is also almost 30 years old and it shows, there was new appliances and tvs, but no real "update". It also says there are plenty of towels, but we found one or maybe two sets in the tiny bathrooms. Also no towels in the kitchen. The only good view is from the deck at the top, in the master bedroom. You can't see the beach from the main deck. We had a problem with staying in this house, we just could not be comfortable with the condition it was in. It was very depressing driving 14 hours and coming to a very dirty house. The last thing I was going to do was clean this house when I'm suppose to be on vacation. Isn't that what I paid for? I could continue on with how I feel about the situation, but it's not going to change what happened. Let me just say also, I'm a janitor, I clean for a living, I know what clean should look like and what people expect, this was really inexcusable. I also cleaned and worked my tail off to take this vacation, so Im pretty upset about it. I would NOT recommend this place to anyone.

Owner response:I had some one on the way to our house within 10 minutes of receiving the call that our house was dirty. I had been at the house 2 weeks earlier to have a Spring cleaning done. The manager arrived as these guests were leaving. He saw none of the complaints that she describes here. I flew down the next day to see for myself and slept in the bed that she said had dog hair. I did not see 1 piece of dog hair. Before leaving, she told my manager that there were no towels in the house. There were actually 14 sets in 3 bathrooms! I don't know their reasoning, but this woman is not being truthful with her complaint. What they say is not true, and even if it were any issues, they didn't give us a single opportunity to make it right. Both my property manager and I went there to see, and fix, any problems. Neither of us could find anything to fix. I, and others, figure that they must have found a cheaper place and hoped to get their money back. I did refund half of the money even though there were no grounds to do so. To leave a review like this, without even staying in the house, and without giving us the opportunity to engage a problem is beyond belief. We have been through 2 Hurricanes and numerous Tropical Storms since we have owned this house. Also many normal homeowner issues have come up. But we have lived through them all, as have many guests who return year after year to enjoy our home. This kind of attack, for whatever reason they may have, is crazy. The husband indicated that upon receipt of one half of his rental that the issue would be settled. He apparently is not a man of his word. Ed Jackson

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