Palmetto Retreat, ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL!

Guest: Happy Mom (Atlanta, GA)
Date of Stay: 10/07/10 Review Submitted: 06/23/11

My family first stayed at Palmetto Retreat about 4 years back, and we've gone every year since because we truly love it. It's the most inviting, comfortable, family friendly beach home we've ever rented. It feels like home. Perfect for lounging after a full day on the beach, and equally as wonderful for entertaining. Last time we were there, our kids met a family with kids a few doors down, and that night we had the best time listening to the indoor/outdoor music, eating and drinking at the gazeebo at the front of the house. The kitchen was fully equipped, had everything we needed. And I love that it's fenced so all the kids could play without getting away from us. Oh, and the walk across the street to the beach is a bonus, so close to all that beauty. We'd swim, then walk back to the house, grab lunch and bring it over, and get right back to collecting shells and watching the water. White sand beach, not at all over-crowded, just beautiful. And Palmetto Retreat has beach chairs/umbrellas all ready for you. Even beach toys in the house - our kids were grateful. Seemed like every time I realized - oops, we forgot this or that - all I had to do was open up a cabinet or closet and there it was in the house left by the owner for visitors to use. We plan to visit every year, can't wait until our next trip! Thanks to the owners for giving us exactly - even more - than what we imagined.

Recommended for:Girls getaway, families with teenagers, romantic getaway, tourists without a car, sightseeing, families with young children.

Great Vacation Spot!

Guest: Kary (Bethesda, MD)
Date of Stay: 05/08/09 Review Submitted: 06/22/11

My husband and two children and I stayed at Palmetto Retreat durning the Panama City Half Ironman race. It was a perfect vacation home for our family. Not only is it as close to the beach as you can get without being beachfront - it is about a 3 minute walk to the 3 Carillon Beach pools and amenities. The house is on a double lot and has a fence around the whole property which was perfect for my young kids to play. The kitchen was fully stocked with high end appliances and great to cook in. For a small cottage, it had plenty of storage and made great use of the space. Both bedrooms had flat screen tv's and the beds were very comfortable. We felt so safe in this quaint, gated community and our kids could ride their bike everywhere. Being so close to the water was perfect for running back and forth - and chair service was included! I would highly recommend this house to any family traveling to the Florida Panhandle.

Recommended for:Girls getaway, families with teenagers, romantic getaway, age 55+, families with young children.

Bad Customer Service on our Honeymoon

Guest: duke0090 (Lebanon, TN)
Date of Stay: 05/02/11 Review Submitted: 05/20/11

This is for Palmetto Retreat House in Carillon Beach, maintained by Carillon Beach Rentals. First let me start by saying we searched for months to find a house close to the beach for our honeymoon. We found the perfect house with a big yard, lounge chairs, and a gas grill. The only downfall was the couch in the house was filthy and we had to put a sheet over it to sit down. The stackable washer would not work and we had to call maintenance out twice. The air conditioning did not work in the house. We stayed at one of the houses in Carillon Beach. After being there two days our Air Conditioning unit went out. When we got back from the movies at around 9pm a lady from customer service desk called and said it is not safe to stay in the home. We had to pack all our things and move to a guest house that was not even finished that night. They advised us they would try and find another place, and they did which we did not like at all. It did not have any chairs out back for lounging and a old charcoal grill. We decided to leave during our honeymoon and go back home after two days. We were planning on staying another four days. We asked them if they would refund us the night we had to pack up and move (in the middle of the night) to the guest house. They said they would call the owner and try and get us a refund. Which they never called and let us know either way if they could refund us. The way they acted when we left made us think they didnt give a crap about us leaving or not. I would think if I was customer service I would go out of my way to help my customers out. We were going to have a great time and probably would have stayed had the customer service personel been friendly. That was a huge reason we left because they acted like they didn't care wether or not we liked the house they put us in or not. This company Carillon Beach Rentals needs a new staff that are very welcoming and friendly to the customers who pay alot of money and drive miles and miles for some fun on the beach!

Owner response:We are the owners of Palmetto Retreat and love this house, so to hear of your experience is very troubling. In fact, we have owned and rented the house for several years and this is the first negative review or comment we have ever recieved. We believe this is the best guest cottage in Carillon and it consistantly recieves rave reviews from our friends and guests. We have constantly upgraded this home and feel it is the perfect beach getaway. Since we value feedback, we have recently inspected our house again and installed a new high end queen size sleeper-sofa. That said, we would like to address a few of the other issues rasised by this guest for all of you that may be considering Palmetto Retreat. and for the honeymoon couple directly. First, as with every house, there are unpredictable events that occur with things like air conditioning. We have maintained and serviced the air conditioning unit regularaly and we were sorry to hear that this unit broke down during your stay. The unit has since been thoroughly overhauled and has worked properly since your visit. Second, the washer and dryer in the hosue are new units and worked properly when they were checked after your stay. The unit is a stackable, front loading model and requires a brief amount of time for the water to fill. If this process is interupted or if the user tries to open the door the machine has to reset itself. There are explicit operating instructions mounted on the front of the machine to assist. Perhaps the issues you experienced were a lack of familiarity with these units. We will make note to explain better to guests upon check in. Finally, the issue of custiomer service is something we take very seriously. As the homeowners, we realize everyone has a choice in where and who they rent from for their vacations. We have discussed these issues with Carillon Rentals and we are confident in their committment to our high level of customer service standards. We are sorry to hear that the three upgrade options you were offered were unsatisfactory. We know that Carillon worked tirelessly to help alleviate your frustration and it appears we all didn't meet your demands. For those wishing to rent our bueatiful beach home, 12 steps to the sand, we hope you know that we have a great little cottage near the white sandy beaches of the Florida Panhandle with owners and caretakers that value your vacation happiness. I hope you come check us out - you won't be disappointed!

Recommended for:

Perfect Gem!!!

Guest: L-N (Atlanta)
Date of Stay: 05/27/10 Review Submitted: 06/01/10

I just loved our family vacation in this perfectly designed house. We were right there, just steps away from the most beautiful beach, with sugar white sand and turquoise and azure water- absolutely pristine!!! The house was very comfortable for 4 adults and 2 children and the fenced in yard was wonderful- my young children could go outside and I didn't have to worry about them one bit.The house was supplied with everything we needed to cook our meals and the Publix and Winn Dixie are 2 minutes away. All the amenities of the neighborhood are even nicer than we imagined they would be.The pools are wonderful and the little downtown is so attractive. The landscaping is so lush in the public areas you can tell a lot of thought was put into designing this community. We hardly used our car,everything we needed and wanted was in Carillon Beach. It was the perfect trip!!! I would highly recommend this gem of a house and amazing destination to anyone.

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