At the time the guest's review was posted, our condo had received 53 guest reviews from other guests, all of which awarded us with 5-Stars, many noting the outstanding cleanliness, attention to detail, the overall quality of the accommodations, and the amazing view of the beach the condo offers.
The same high bar of service was provided to the guests on their visit with us. This fact is confirmed by the text messages received from the guests themselves. In one text, the guests state “Everything looks just perfect, thank you!” (7/28/18, 4:45pm). In a follow up text, the guests refer to the condo as “a perfect paradise!” (7/28/18, 4:50pm).
It was thus a great surprise to receive a message from the guest a day after their stay stating that he had assigned a 3-Star rating to our accommodations. In his message, the guest stated “I put in a review for 3-stars simply because the weather was simply awful” (8/5/18, 9:18pm). The guest went on to state that his wife suffers from a condition that requires special care and that “between her needs and the weather it was difficult to find much beach time” (8/5/18, 9:18pm).
I responded to the guest that while I could certainly empathize with a guest who is disappointed to have poor weather during their beach stay (a period of record rainfall during their stay, unfortunately) or that is inconvenienced by their spouse (this is sarcasm; I was appalled at the assertion that his wife’s "needs" detracted from his enjoyment of the vacation), both of the conditions listed in his message to me as reasons for assigning the 3-Star rating were wholly outside of our control as owners and that the ratings system is designed to provide a review to assist other potential guests in making informed decisions in selecting accommodations when visiting a destination. The guest did not respond to my message and proceeded to assign a rating of 3-Stars.
As to points in the posted review, (1) rain, unfortunately, does fall even at the beach, (2) the fact that the condo is on the 3rd floor and is accessible by stairs was discussed with this guest, and all guests, via phone conversation at the time of booking to help insure guest satisfaction, (3) the listing of amenities is very detailed and does not include a blue-ray player (does specifically note DVD & CD player), and (4) the fact that Caswell Beach is a quiet family beach very dissimilar to larger more commercial beaches was discussed via phone conversation.
