Oceanfront escape w/ views of downtown and hills - short walk to the beach

Spent several days at the condo and it was good overall. Picked it because of the location and quick access to the beach. We enjoyed having the space after prior days at hotels. The place needed some love with some fixing that needed done and maybe decor. Of all the condos there, it was the one closest to the street with virtually no driveway. We couldn’t park in the tiny garage due to our rooftop carrier so we parked along the railroad tracks next to the building with no issues. Instructions for the condo says that it’s okay to park in the lot behind the condo, don’t do it! It belongs to another complex with very obnoxious people. We woke up to see our van almost being towed! Had to pay off the driver! The other condo owners are not very friendly and you get the impression that they didn’t like strangers much, especially kids. Rockaway is a very sleepy spot but that’s what we liked about it. It was further than it looks from cannon and seaside especially with the white knuckle drives at night with fog! Truth be known, for the price of this rental, there are probably better options around.

THE TOWNHOUSE WAS VERY BEAUTIFUL AND WELL MAINTAINED, BUT NO VIEW OF THE OCEAN

We all loved the townhouse and the town, but we had a few troubles...

the power had been off for some reason so we had to reprogram the thermostat, the bed in the guest room had a bad leg so we braced it up

with a bed cover and a sheet...The wi-fi did not work at all and the tv was out also... other than that we had a good time

PROS: This property is a short walk from the beach. My kids had a blast playing in the little creek nearby. There is plenty of room for 2 cars in the garage, but it's a tight fit if your driving a large vehicle. The kitchen, bedrooms, and bathrooms were all a good comfortable size.

CONS: The worst thing we found was a fan upstairs with a cord spliced together with wire nuts and electrical tape, no joke. Two of the windows on the third floor wouldn't stay open. The third floor toilet ran. We found a sour, moldy cup of coffee under one of the beds. We had read reviews that the blinds were missing slats and the property manager's response that it had been fixed, but were surprised when there were so many missing slats still. Broken slats were stockpiled in the bedroom closets. To be clear, these are the vertical blinds on the sliding glass doors on the bedrooms and living room and you have another condo just 50 feet across the road that could easily see in the home. This pretty much eliminated any idea of privacy for the home. I had called the local property manager about these issues, and left a voicemail, but never heard back the entire week we were there. Her voicemail said she was on medical leave, so I called the number she gave in her out of office voicemail, but still no callback. The home is right next to Highway 101 and a train track, so it's kind of noisy at times, especially Saturday and Sunday when a steam locomotive stops a few hundred feet away and lets out a loud whistle multiple times each day, usually right around nap time for the kids, so parents of young kids beware. It was also unfortunate that there were no dressers for clothes, and no hangers in the closets. We had planned to unpack a little since we were there 1 week, but we had to live out of suitcases instead.

SUMMARY: If you don't mind no privacy and noise and just want to spend time on the beach, this is a great place to stay for the price. Just make sure you're okay with all of the CONS listed above before booking.

This is the perfect beach escape. No great views but it is steps away from the beach and market for all your needs.