I feel like I stayed in a different condo than what was described in the other reviews. As others stated, it was definitely very convenient to restaurants and shops, had access to a wonderful pool across the street from the ocean, and had a nice ocean view in the middle distance. There was also a significant walk up stairs as described (no big deal if you are in good shape).

But the troubles began when we went to the Diria front desk to check in as directed. They specifically told us we did not have access to the pools, beachfront lounges, etc. on the beach side of the resort, which is different from what is stated in the listing. A key attraction of the condo since it wasn't on the beach was to be able to sit by the beach in the hotel's grassy area with access to pools, but that wasn't to be.

When we arrived at the condo in the late afternoon, the cleaning crew was finishing up, and Joel arrived shortly thereafter to tell us about places to eat and get groceries. After he left, we started to unpack and discovered several things that were broken (living room slider doors, master closet door), and I realized how dirty the whole condo was. The dishes and cabinet handles were greasy. The floor made my feet black from walking on it. The rugs were so filled with dirt that I drug them all into the guest bedroom and piled them up to just get them out of the way. The sheets in the master were tattered and stained, so I washed them before sleeping on them. Many of the kitchen towels were stained as well. The bathrooms might have just been old and stained from the water, but they seemed dirty too. I felt better once I had scrubbed everything down, but it was just so strange that so many people commented on how clean the condo was previously.

When I spoke with Joel just as we were leaving, he said we should have called him, and he would have remedied the issues. Two issues with that. First, the cleaning crew was leaving when we arrived, so obviously they didn't know how to clean, so inviting them back would have been pointless. Second, it would have taken hours to clean the condo up and fix the broken things, and I do not want to spend my vacation dealing with things like that. I just cleaned it myself and didn't worry about the broken things. But I felt others should know the situation.

I've had many good experiences with VRBO rentals, so hopefully this is just a hiccup.