Madeira Norte- A Hidden Gem on the Gulf Coast

Guest: mideb01 (Hopatcong, New Jersey)
Date of Stay: 08/20/11 Review Submitted: 09/28/11

We stayed at Ron's condo the week before the previous reviewer's. My wife and I, my daughter and her friend, and my in-laws had a SUPERB week at Madiera Norte, renovations not withstanding! The condo itself is a home away from home, the beach is steps from the elevator, and Johns Pass, just across the street, has numerous restaurants, bars, and shops as well as jet skiing and sightseeing tours! My wife and I enjoyed it so much we went back 9/24/2011 ( without kids or in-laws) and I'm writing this review from the condo!! The lack of a pool was a small inconvienence at worst! The renovations will be done shortly and the pool will be open. As far as the condo itself, it was immacualte when we arrived 8/20/2011 and we left it as clean as our own home except for the towels and linens! When we arrived for this trip it was immaculate once again! I believe he had a problem with the previous cleaning person and has since hired a new company! I have stayed at dozens of places in my many years and would not hesitate to recommend Ron's condo and have already made plans for next year!!!

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

Disappointed

Guest: C (Canada)
Date of Stay: 08/27/11 Review Submitted: 09/16/11

We stayed at Ron's condo at the end of August for 4 nights following a cruise. We are very familiar with Madeira Beach as we visit yearly. This is the first time we have stayed at Ron's condo and we are disappointed that we did. We arrived and discovered that the pool is closed until Oct. Ron never once disclosed this to us in the conversations that we had with him!! We have three children who were as expected very disappointed. Ron was clearly aware that the pool was closed as the building was having repairs done and all unit owners were given notice in advance. Also, the cleaner was not aware that we we arriving and the unit was not cleaned from the previous guests. While waiting to hear back from Ron we went out and purchased cleaning supplies and cleaned the unit and did laundry, as sheets and towels obviously needed to be cleaned. We have always stayed at wonderful units/facilities in the past in Madeira Beach as we love coming, however, due to Ron not being honest and informing us that the pool was going to be closed and him not communicating with the cleaning lady to come and clean the unit, we will not book with Ron again. This was so disappointing to be on vacation with your family and have these issues. Also, there is not a telephone in the unit. This is a concern as if there is an emergency and you have no cell phone with you, it is a safety issue for guests. At least, having a telephone installed for local calls only would be more accommodating for guests. We will return to Madeira Beach yearly however will not recommend this unit to anyone due to our unfortunate experience.

Owner response:It is with great disappointment that I read my very first negative review. Unfortunately some renovations to the building caused the pool to be closed and required some unsightly scaffolding and inconvenience to visitors. I made a trip to Florida after this review and found the cleaning to be less than my standards so I hired another company. I learned that the internet service was dropped so I installed my own high-speed service. I upgraded my TV cable service to include more channels and cleaned the unit thoroughly. I took the advice of the visitors remarks and installed a land line telephone. I also offered to make things right with the disappointed visitor and will honor that offer if they decide to stay again. My condo is very important to me and I care very much about the enjoyment of families who decide to spend their vacation there. I hope future visitors will notice that every other review is a five star rating. That is and will always be my goal.

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Wonderful beach condo!

Guest: Happy Family (Ohio/USA)
Date of Stay: 06/15/10 Review Submitted: 07/10/10

We stayed here in June and it was awesome! The condo is like home away from home. You literally are steps away from the beach once you get off the elevator. Everything we needed was in the unit. The balcony is huge and has a great view of the beach and bay. We couldn't have asked for better weather, warmer water, and great sunsets.

Recommended for:Families with teenagers, sightseeing.

Guest: donna fritchman (Springfield, Il)
Date of Stay: 03/16/10 Review Submitted: 03/16/10

Hi Ron- We rented your condo and stayed the entire month of February,2010, as you well know.We absolutely loved it!! The location is absolutely perfect as was the condo. Nothing was lacking, and all was in perfect order when we arrived. The weather could have been much better, but we still managed to have a really good time. I would recommend this condo to anyone! See you again next year! Sincerely, Bob and Donna Fritchman

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Guestbook Comment

Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 10/01/07 Review Submitted: 10/25/07

Hi Ron. We're back and all rested and happy! The condo was great and we felt right at home. Everything was to our liking and hope to take advantage of your hospitality again soon. We explored Gulf Blvd. and found nice places to have some libations, good food, and made some new friends too. Thankx so much and hope we were good guests. ; ) Have a good day. Bonnie

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Guestbook Comment

Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 08/01/07 Review Submitted: 08/28/07

We had an exceptional 5 day vacation in this condo: It's beautiful, and very well maintained. The building condition was as good as the individual condos. The kitchen is exceptionally well furnished for anything from warming leftovers to cooking a full family meal. The furnishings are quite comfortable. Great stereo & TV arrangement in the living room. The kids enjoyed having their own TV in the second bedroom. The beach and pool access are protected by locked gates, and the beach is only a few steps out of the elevator. The parking is protected under the building in numbered spaces with easy street access. This rental is definitely worth the price; we'd happily go back for another visit.

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Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 08/15/05 Review Submitted: 08/15/05

For many years we have been renting condos in Ocean City, Maryland for 2 weeks. Through the years, I knew what we wanted and what to ask, with questions such as, “Do you have a balcony?” With replies, “Yes, we do.” Forgetting to ask, “..but, do you have furniture on those balconies? Those were things I learned to ask. Well, Mr. Duff had it all and they certainly have it right from the beginning. Everything we needed for us, as older adults, to my granddaughter at 11 years old. You thought of everything and didn’t forget a thing. It truly was wonderful from the beginning to the end, beautiful, neat, clean, lacking NOTHING.Just a cute story. As I was cooking and we cooked a lot (again everything we needed in the kitchen and more). I was thinking what a great time we had and how you managed to remember everything, and then I thought I would write you a little not telling you how wonderful, but with just 1 suggestion and that would be a crock pot for the days we are swimming at the pool and that would make it all complete. Well I opened the closet door and there it was, the crock-pot. “I smiled and just shook my head. You had thought of it all.”Thank you so much for making our vacation so enjoyable. In this crazy work we live in, going at such a pace, these times we can get away, relax and lay back are “priceless”. Our 8 days were a joy, and like the other lady said, “thank you so much for letting us share your dream hideaway”. It was perfect. Hope we can make the trip again next year, but hope to make it 2 weeks long.Thank you again so much Mr. & Mrs. Duff. It was wonderful and so was dealing with you. I’m sorry this is so long, but I’m Italian, I can’t just say these things in 2 words (HA, HA)

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Guestbook Comment

Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 08/01/05 Review Submitted: 08/15/05

For many years we have been renting condos in Ocean City, Maryland for 2 weeks. Through the years, I knew what we wanted and what to ask, with questions such as, “Do you have a balcony?” With replies, “Yes, we do.” Forgetting to ask, “..but, do you have furniture on those balconies? Those were things I learned to ask. Well, Mr. Duff had it all and they certainly have it right from the beginning. Everything we needed for us, as older adults, to my granddaughter at 11 years old. You thought of everything and didn’t forget a thing. It truly was wonderful from the beginning to the end, beautiful, neat, clean, lacking NOTHING. Just a cute story. As I was cooking and we cooked a lot (again everything we needed in the kitchen and more). I was thinking what a great time we had and how you managed to remember everything, and then I thought I would write you a little not telling you how wonderful, but with just 1 suggestion and that would be a crock pot for the days we are swimming at the pool and that would make it all complete. Well I opened the closet door and there it was, the crock-pot. “I smiled and just shook my head. You had thought of it all.” Thank you so much for making our vacation so enjoyable. In this crazy work we live in, going at such a pace, these times we can get away, relax and lay back are “priceless”. Our 8 days were a joy, and like the other lady said, “thank you so much for letting us share your dream hideaway”. It was perfect. Hope we can make the trip again next year, but hope to make it 2 weeks long. Thank you again so much Mr. & Mrs. Duff. It was wonderful and so was dealing with you. I’m sorry this is so long, but I’m Italian, I can’t just say these things in 2 words (HA, HA)

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Guestbook Comment

Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 08/01/05 Review Submitted: 08/09/05

LOVED IT! Everything from showerheads to the toaster oven was top notch. The decorations were beautiful. The TV/DVD in every room even made my grandkids happy. We watched storms from the balcony and enjoyed the show tremendously. It rained once a day for a hour or so, then cleared beautifully. We even saw a couple of rainbows. The place is wonderful. Thank you so much for letting us share your little slice of heaven.

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Guestbook Comment

Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 03/01/05 Review Submitted: 03/10/05

We had two wonderful weeks on the Gulf: great attractions, great weather, great beach, great seafood; the accommodations were excellent.

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