Gulf Front Beach House

We loved it that the home was right on the beach. The pool is great and shared with the 3 homes. If the waves are to high the pool is perfect. The home has an elevator and we didn't have to lug the bags. The elevator is great for the handicap or the elderly.

We have been coming to "Courageous" every year.

We rented this house for two weekends and I would DEFINITELY rent again.

The Great:

(1) Direct beach access and semi-private pool. We had to fish out crabs from the pool every morning which was funny (we even found a couple of frogs one morning!). Loved having bathrooms outside near the pool.

(2) Dining room table seats 10 plus three at the counter but only seating for 7 in the livingroom.

(3) This house has big bedrooms (except the twin room) with clean bathrooms. I'm very careful about where we stay-I checked every bed. This house was bedbug FREE and the mattresses looked new with mattress pads. I received several comments from family that their beds were extremely comfortable and everyone slept VERY well.

(4) The open living/dining/kitchen area was fabulous for family gatherings. All appliances worked (just don't fill the fridge with 5 cases of hot drinks and expect any fridge to stay cold--it will take awhile to cool that many hot items--better to add them a couple at a time).

(5) The owner was great to work with. I reserved this a year in advance and had multiple email conversations with him throughout the year. I really liked communicating directly with him and then paying online securely through his management company. Meyer is a well known company and they had an awesome response time to the two calls I made (less than an hour resolve time).

The Good:

(1) There were plenty of plates, glasses, silverware and bowls. These are all glass items in good condition, no plastic for kids. There are three small sized cookie sheets and I recommend bringing tinfoil to cover them. Plenty of strainers for pasta and a couple of large stock pots. The owner recently purchased a few new (inexpensive still wrapped) skillet sets.

(2) Wi-fi is good in the living/dining/kitchen and Master but not good anywhere else.

(3) The elevator was great; however, it only goes from the parking area(1) to the main floor(3) where the living/dining is. There are two bedrooms on this floor(3) but neither of them have handicap or walk in showers. You walk up 18 steps to floor(4) the Master or down 18 steps to the lower floor(2).

(4) It has carpet on every floor which feels homey but can get really dirty by the end of the season.

Needs improvements:

(1) Grab bars in the tub/showers

(2) Wired internet in bedrooms or wireless booster

(3) a doorbell for when maintenance comes

(4) larger tv in livingroom

(5) updated bedding

Robin is an owner who is wonderful to talk to and work with.

We had 4 families, 9 adults and 5 children, along with 4 other family members who ate with us and spent most of the day. The elevator was a God send for those of us who don't handle stairs well. There are 2 bedrooms on the bottom floor, 2 on main floor, and 1 massive suite with lounge on the top floor. This setup gave each couple and the family of 7 privacy from others. The common area was a nice size with a great kitchen for a lot of cooking. From this level the mostly covered deck overlooks the pool area which is shared by the 3 buildings and was delightful. Bar chairs, dining table, and deck tables and chairs allowed us to seat our 19 people easily. A nice grill in a gazebo was also used. It was a short walk out the back door to the beach which felt very private. New friends were made among the kids and adults. The house feels sound proof between rooms and the outside, was clean and well cared for. This is an absolutely wonderful condo for a family gathering like ours and we will definitely use it again. A few problems were handled quickly by friendly maintenance men. Night strolls netted many shells and crabs which the kids loved. Pool is lighted for night swims and is well fenced for safety.

INCONVENIENCES: Cleaning crew wasn"t done until almost 4:30 and asked us to wait. An ice maker or second frig would be nice for so

many people. Take a SHARP knife or two. The WiFi only seemed to work in the main common area.

We had a glorious week and wish we could have stayed longer., Jelly fish were a problem for a few days so the pool was appreciated. Fishing from a boat was good. There are convenience stores close and Walmart is about 30 min away. According to Robin, many of the furnishings have been updated since we were there.

Go for it, be "Courageous"!

The location of the house is great, and so nice to have a pool. However, the house is definitely showing wear and tear. Everything was in working condition, but in need of a good cleaning, and the appliances are definitely in need of replacement, especially the dishwasher and refrigerator. We had to use our ice chests and buy ice all week to keep much of our food cold. There were plenty of dishes for our group, but the pots and pans need updating, as there are not a large variety of sizes, and the available ones are on poor condition.. Luckily we bought a large pot from home that we used for most of our meals. The fi

We were also disappointed in the televisions, the only decent one was in the family room, and it was rather small for that area. The downstairs door is very hard to open and close, as is the main sliding door going to the large deck in the family area. The pullout sofa was in very poor condition, and we ended up buying some of our own pillows after seeing the condition of the ones provided. Bring your own! All of the living room and dining room furniture is very worn and stained. So sorry we could not have rented this house a few years back when it was cleaner, as it definitely has great potential.

My family rented this beach house for my wedding. I cannot tell you how perfect it truly was. The private clean beach was practically empty and we had miles of white sand all to ourselves. The home is beautiful! It gives all of your guests their own privacy and bathrooms while still allowing everyone to hang out together in the common living areas. I took full advantage of the huge master suite on the top floor all by itself with the stunning view! We watched dolphins every single day. The owner was such a pleasure to work with and I cannot wait to go back for our anniversary! You can't go wrong with this beach house!!!