Thoroughly enjoyed our stay and plan to return next year!!

Guest: Julie (Seattle, WA)
Date of Stay: 12/19/11 Review Submitted: 01/04/12

Awesome house and location! We stayed at this home for Christmas holidays and enjoyed the house it so much that we plan to make it a new family tradition. My family included myself, my husband, 5yo, my parents, my sister and husband and their 2 twin babies. House was super clean, everything in working order and as advertised, lots of open space and closets for everyone to spread out, and great kitchen for cooking (we made big Christmas dinner there no problem - lots of cookware, dishes, etc. and room for highchairs and everyone to sit together). Extra frig in garage was super nice for surplus food and bait. Surf fishing was very easy and fun in front of house. Views super from living/dining/kitchen and loft. Very peaceful. Peek-a-boo view from bedrooms on main floor with blinds up, we discovered. Beds/pillows very comfy, nice decor, great bathrooms/linens. Neighbors and shopkeepers very friendly (surf shop and cuban restaurant near to the soon to open Publix were great!)...this part of Vilano is a cozy, walkable beach neighborhood. Trip to St. Augustine very easy and quick. We really enjoyed farmer's markets on Wed and Sat in St. Augustine Beach - good music, great veggies/fruits, and nice gifts. Thank you to Ahmed for offering and maintaining such a great vacation home, and to Wanda for being so responsive and easy to work with in reservations/contract. We look forward to returning!

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

Annual Deep Sea Fishing Trip

Guest: Christine A. (Anderson, SC)
Date of Stay: 09/08/11 Review Submitted: 09/14/11

The house was easy to find. It was located right on the beach. House was very spacious, clean, orderly, and it had a very welcome feel to it. We felt right at home. We eventually figured out why are feet and socks stayed dirty so much. The dirt did not come from the floors inside the house, it was from being out on the deck with no shoes. We all made sure we kept our shoes off indoors but failed to put shoes on when we walked on the deck. Other than that our vacation was AWESOME. All restaurants and site seeing was all in short driving distance. The process of renting went extremely well. The rental was very affordable. We definitely will re-book again here and will recommend to others as well. Thanks for allowing us to vacation here.

Recommended for:Sightseeing, girls getaway, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Awesome Vacation Home

Guest: Nancy (Birmingham, Alabama)
Date of Stay: 08/01/10 Review Submitted: 08/23/10

As newlyweds with 8 children, this was our first "blended" vacation and we needed a house large enough to comfortably hold 12 adults and 3 children. Pelican Retreat was the answer! Having only ever vacationed at Panama City Beach, this beach was such a pleasant surprise. Although the sand is quite different from PC, I enjoyed the huge beach front and the fact that we could actually drive on the beach and unload our chairs and coolers. The listing is completely accurate on all levels; amazing view from the loft, large family/eating area with everything you could ever want or need at your fingertips. I communicated with both Ahmed and Wanda several times prior to the trip regarding certain needs and we were thrilled to find cribs, highchair, beach toys, towels, grill, deck chairs, etc. ready & waiting for our arrival. Such awesome service! Everything was clean, the beds were comfortable and there was plenty of seating area for everyone. I would suggest paying for use of the Serenata Beach Club if you want a pool. For no additional cost, we had a daily set-up of 12 chairs & unbrellas, use of the dining area, bar, exercise room, adult & baby pools & towels. Amazing club definitely worth the minimal weekly fee & only about 3 miles from the house. We also loved that downtown St Augustine with all of the shops, eating and history was only about 5 miles from the house. I would suggest "Cap's, ON THE WATER", a local restaurant located about 2 miles away. Excellent food, service and ambience. We also danced to live music at the Tradewinds Lounge and dined at Columbia, an excellent Cuban restaurant. As for Pelican Retreat, the only luxury that I missed was a covered deck. Although the deck was spacious with plenty of seating, it was too hot to sit outside for very long. The only real complaint was the noise level in the rooms below the kitchen/living area. Because 2 of the children went to bed early in those rooms, we had to be careful walking or moving chairs at the table as the noise was magnified in those bottom rooms. Overall, this was a family vacation that we wil never forget that was made even more memorable by the friendliness and hospitality of both Ahmed and Wanda. You should not miss an opportunity to stay at Pelican Retreat!

Recommended for:Sightseeing, pet owners, adventure seekers, girls getaway, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Week in the sun

Guest: nanna (Kentucky)
Date of Stay: 07/10/10 Review Submitted: 07/23/10

We just returned from a week at Pelican Retreat with our family of 15 (7 children included) ages 1-62. The kitchen was stocked very well with lots of pots and pans and dishes, plenty of towels and bedding and a view of the ocean from both the 2nd and 3rd floors. Bedrooms were all very pleasant and bright, The beach walk is very short and especially during the weekdays the beach didn't have too many on it. The weekend was a little more populated. There were cars parked on the beach during the day and at first we were very concerned but quickly found that there were very few cars driving on the beach (only parking) and plenty of room in front of them for playing and sunning. There was plenty of room for all of us to eat together with one large table, one small table and the kitchen bar. The grill enabled us to do most of our eating at the house...and some fun trips to downtown/fort area and shopping. Very convenient to stores but far away enough that it seemed like we were very secluded. Definately a place we would consider going again.

Recommended for:Families with young children.

Perfect home for a wedding weekend celebration

Guest: florist (New Port Richey, Florida)
Date of Stay: 01/26/10 Review Submitted: 02/11/10

We housed 5 couples and we even had a rehearsal party with family and friends. Lots of room to gather and socialize. We expected 50 but ended up with 75 people. Our out of town guest stayed at the Hampton, heard about the party and came on over. We set up a fire pit outside in the back yard, and brought a shish kebob grill and we still had tons of room. We ended the party at 8 so that we didn't disturb the neighbors. The house almost seemed sound proof and with the ocean wave action it was very quiet. The new kitchen stove and granite counter top really spruced the place up. The view out the top windows on the third floor was amazing to wake up to. Sunrises are spectacular. We left $600 in the sheets that the maid found and Wanda and Ahmand called us right away to tell us. We are thankful for everyones honesty. The shower on the second floor is a bit hard to figure out, but we called Wanda and she told us how to work it. Wanda was available to us the entire week when we could not figure something out. The kitchen is fully functional and a pleasure to cook in. And we were cooking for 50 people. The master bed is very comfortable. The couches in the living room are a bit hard to get out of if you are 50's+ but workable. Just sit on the edge or have someone help you up. The garage was a god sent, since I did the flowers for my son's wedding. Plenty of parking for 4 or 5 cars off the street. With the public parking on Vilano it was convenient for others to walk to. A1A Ale House has great food. We were concerned about the garbage only coming once a week, with the trash we were expecting to have, but the cans are enormous. We will definately visit this home again. We own a rental (college kids) in Historic St Aug. and family that live in town, so it will be a great house to have a family reunion in a few years. Don't hesitate to book this wonderful home. Since this house is three stories you will get your exercise loading and unloading for your stay but well worth the effort. Many thanks to Wanda and Ahmand for being the perfect owner and contact. We would not hesitate to come again. Everyone that came over loved the home and will be calling to book for their family get togethers some day. Don't miss this home, you will not regret it. Again, thanks Wanda and Ahmand for allowing us to relax and party in this amazing place.

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, sightseeing, adventure seekers, girls getaway, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Nice Beach House!

Guest: CoachJ (Fairmont, WV)
Date of Stay: 06/27/09 Review Submitted: 07/07/09

Pelican Retreat was just as described, a well-kept house right on the beach! We had two families with 13 people and it slept us all comfortably! Kitchen and dining areas were larger than we expected and the view from the deck was beautiful. The chairs and beach equipment came in handy! Lots of restaurants we liked, but our favorite was close to Jaksonville, called Sam's off of I-295! We also golfed St. John's Country Club and it was a wonderful course! Their is a lot of beach parking in front of the house, but beach still didn't get too crowded through the week! Great place for a vacation!

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

Great week on the beach!

Guest: paggrg (Yankton, SD)
Date of Stay: 04/18/09 Review Submitted: 04/26/09

We rented this house April 2009 for one week. It is huge- plenty of space for our family of 10. Especially appreciated the beach chairs, toys, and pack and plays. Kitchen did not lack for anything. After a long day of flying, was nice to get to the house and already have TP, kleenex, and paper towels before we could get to the store. Plenty of big towels too. Vilano beach was great- long walks, sand castles, finding lots of shark teeth, playing in the water. We liked driving to the historic part of St Augustine for dinner a few times. Enjoyed Columbia restaurant.

Recommended for:Sightseeing, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Guest: Patti7 (Weeki Wachee, FL)
Date of Stay: 03/06/09 Review Submitted: 03/06/09

The house was perfect for the December Rehearsal Dinner Party for our son & his wife-to-be!

Recommended for:

Guest: Chris (-)
Date of Stay: 06/25/08 Review Submitted: 06/25/08

Wanda, the place was fantastic! Thanks so much for a wonderful home for our vacation, Chris

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