Steps to the beach with the best owners we ever stayed with

Guest: Toronto (Toronto)
Date of Stay: 07/02/11 Review Submitted: 08/05/11

We are a family of four and recently (July 2011) we spent a fantastic week at the beach cottage. Too many superlatives to write about but here are the top highlights. 1) There was no little issue that was not automatically picked up by the owners and resolved immediately so that we had a completely stress free vacation. They were very easy to be found when we needed them but nowhere to be seen when we needed our privacy. In short, the service we received was impeccable. 2) The property is half a block from the ocean with no main street to cross to get there, only a laneway. We were able to sit back and relax at the finely appointed cottage if we chose so while the kids(16 and 13) were on the beach. The third bedroom is in a separate unit downstairs with its own small kitchen tv and bathroom. My son(16) loved being in his own private studio. No concerns for his safety either as this shares the same courtyard with the upstairs two bedroom unit. There is a secure door that leads into the courtyard. In summary, being this close to the beach makes a huge difference as does the size, comfort, and aesthetics of the cottage.

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

Great Place

Guest: Jerry (Santa Monica)
Date of Stay: 05/01/11 Review Submitted: 05/19/11

We use this cottage at least once a year for our extended family when they come to visit. This property is well maintained and the owners are very nice to deal with.. Its located very close to beach and to everything else you would need like restaurants and shops.. We enjoy the private courtyard that has a BBQ and patio furniture for family cook outs..

Owner response:Super people.. Invited us over for a BBQ while at our cottage and it was the best we have ever had eaten!! Thank you for your business..

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

Neglected customers

Guest: Dissatisfied (Missoula, MT)
Date of Stay: 02/16/11 Review Submitted: 03/27/11

My family of 5 stayed at this fairly cute but small property for 10 days. The 3rd bdrm. can only be accessed by an outside staircase. There were some fairly funky features such as the main shower which was an old fashion tub cowboyed into a shower, and that we had to hand light the stove. The owners completely ignored our many requests for standard items such as propane for the grill, an additional key, toilet paper and dishwashing detergent, etc. They never returned our calls once we prepaid for our stay and checked in. We have stayed at over a dozen vrbo rentals and this is the only time we have had any problems at all; I would never recommend this property despite its nice location a block from the beach. The parking space (one, not two as advertised) is tiny and the other garage space is attached to the third bedroom and rented out separately which means someone else is constantly right on the other side of the wall, which is pretty weird. It greatly erodes privacy. You can do much better in Venice than this, especially at the price.

Owner response:This family of 6, not 5, stayed with 2 dogs that they did not mention before hand. We DO allow dogs but with prior notice. The garage space is small, like a lot of beach properties built in the early 1900's, and is mentioned in the rental agreement. We recommend on the rental agreement renting a medium size car. We did return calls, and furnished all that we are required to. I believe that they wanted hotel concierge type service. As for the "Cowboyed" tub, this is a classic claw foot tub with a shower. Which was the original tub that we replaced when we bought the house.The stove is a Wolf stove that they may not be used to. My husband and I used this house as our beach house for many years before we moved to Venice permanently and we love it! We worked painstakingly together to make use of the space of this beach cottage and spared nothing to make it comfortable for us and our family. It is our favorite place we have done so far. We have had dozens of families stay at this particular property with many returns. They are happy that our management office is right next door. I believe this disgruntled woman is angry that she didn't get away with free dog boarding and sneaking in an extra person. Some people don't read what they sign and retaliate by writing bad reviews. That is their right and we at Venice Beach Bungalows invite all feedback, bad or good! This is an unfortunate, as we have had thousands of people stay at all of our properties and not 1 bad review for the past 10 years we have been in business. Our attention to detail is one of our strengths and stand by this! Thanks, Venice Beach Bungalows

Recommended for: