Vacation Rentals by Owner

Luxury Oceanfront Home Close to Historic District [#39907] | View Property

St. Augustine
House, 5 Bedrooms + Loft, 3 Baths (Sleeps 12)
$2200 - $3200/wk US Dollars
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Traveler Reviews (12)

• Best Equipped Rental Ever

  Best Equipped Rental Ever

  • Guest Grammy
  • Date of stay 06/16/12
  • Review Submitted 08/13/12
  We loved our stay at Pelican Retreat. It was large enough that we didn't get in each other's way, beach front and very comfortable. I loved that there were safety gates, pack 'n plays, high chairs for our youngest granddaughter; beach toys, surf boards for our older two. Thanks for providing those things. We loved having enough towels and linens, but really appreciated the extras -- so many beach towels, paper products and spices in the cabinets. I just wish we had known that they were provided for our use -- so we wouldn't have packed and carried them from home. As several other people reviewed, the couches were difficult to get out of. Our only other complaint was the cars on the beach. We were not aware that there was driving on this part of the beach and it really kept us on guard watching out for our young grandchildren. My only suggestion would be to put mirrors in the bedrooms on the main level of the home. We had to share bathrooms and could have done "hair and make-up" in our rooms if we could have seen ourselves. Would we stay there again? In a heart-beat. Thanks for a great vacation.

  Owner response: New sofas have arrived the first week of November. Thanks for your input.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 2/2

• Fabulous! Lives up to the description!

  Fabulous! Lives up to the description!

  • Guest Sharon C.
  • Date of stay 06/09/12
  • Review Submitted 06/22/12
  Our family of 10 adults and 4 kids had a wonderful vacation at Pelican Retreat! The home definitely lives up to the description provided! The furnishings are all in great condition and the luxury of not having to provide our own linens was a nice break from our usual summer rentals. We couldn't believe how well-stocked the property was for a week away from home. Blow up beds, beach toys, beach umbrellas, hair dryers, bed and bath linens (incldg beach towels), plenty of extra pillows, everything you can think of in the kitchen, even the trash bags were provided! And the extra refrigerator downstairs was great for food overflow and keeping drinks chilled. Beautiful views with the beach just steps away; only 3-4 steps up onto the private boardwalk...so nice when juggling kids, chairs and beach bags. Plenty of deck chairs on the porch for relaxing. New Publix grocery store within walking distance! GREAT location....Nice residential area with no big condos or hotels looming....And historic St. Augustine just 5 minutes away! And best of all for us, the lifeguard stations! This property is located between two lifeguard stands. Nice peace of mind for parents that assistance is available should an emergency arise. We loved our vacation and would recommend any of this owner's properties in a heartbeart! Thank you Ahmed and Wanda!

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/1

• A Wonderful Week!

  A Wonderful Week!

  • Guest Judy S.
  • Date of stay 04/14/12
  • Review Submitted 04/23/12
  This home pleased every one of the eight women who stayed for a week of golfing, sight-seeing and shopping. The home had every one of the amenities mentioned plus more. It was clean, with comfortable beds, and plenty of linens. Even some items normally not provided were there. So check the house before you shop! The owner and manager provided excellent, friendly service. We especially enjoyed Cap's Restaurant and The Reef. Taking the hop-on/hop-off trolley in the city was interesting and fun. We would not, however, recommend the nightly ghost tour - we all felt that was a rip off despite the ticket-sellers' recommendations. They must make good commissions for selling those tickets!

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/2

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

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

  • Guest Julie
  • 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: Age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/1

• Annual Deep Sea Fishing Trip

  Annual Deep Sea Fishing Trip

  • Guest Christine A.
  • 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: Age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, sightseeing.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/1

• Awesome Vacation Home

  Awesome Vacation Home

  • Guest Nancy
  • 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: Adventure seekers, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, pet owners, sightseeing.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/1

• Week in the sun

  Week in the sun

  • Guest nanna
  • 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

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/1

• Perfect home for a wedding weekend celebration

  Perfect home for a wedding weekend celebration

  • Guest florist
  • 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: Adventure seekers, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 5/5

• Nice Beach House!

  Nice Beach House!

  • Guest CoachJ
  • 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: Age 55+, families with young children, tourists without a car, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 6/6

• Great week on the beach!

  Great week on the beach!

  • Guest paggrg
  • 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: Age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, sightseeing.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 6/6

• • Guest Patti7
  • 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!

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 0/0

• Guest comment entered by owner

  • Guest Chris
  • Date of stay 06/25/08
  • Review Submitted 06/24/08
  Wanda, the place was fantastic! Thanks so much for a wonderful home for our vacation, Chris

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 0/0