Oasis at North Jax Beach, Steps to Beach

James, we appreciate and thank you for your feedback. We have had a deck repair company standing by for a few weeks to make repairs on the walkway, just needing to wait for an opening on the reservation calendar so as not to disturb guests. The very rainy summer we have had in Jax Beach has created issues with a small portion of the decking, which is still sturdy but in need of repairs, and we are happy to finally be able to repair that over the next two days. We also requested that our pest control company spot check for rodents in the area, over and above the monthly pest control treatments. We are happy that you enjoyed the relaxing pool and short walk to the beach, as well as our updated kitchen for large gatherings. We enjoyed hosting you and your guests.

Angela, We appreciate your feedback and are happy to hear you enjoyed your stay. Please come back any time.

James, we are very sorry that you did not enjoy your stay at the beach house. You did advise us of an issue with the AC two days after the issue started, at which time we had an AC tech out to the beach house within a few hours. It was repaired immediately. Unfortunately, you mis-read the House Rules (which simply requests that "upon check-out" please turn the AC to 74 degrees) and you thought you were supposed to keep the AC at 74 degrees at all times. We re-read those instructions to see if we could make them clearer, but they simply say "upon check-out" so we are not sure how we can make them more clear. We are sorry for the mis-read. As we discussed, Florida in August, (for that matter, most of the country in August) has mosquitoes. Your complaint of the pool area and mosquitoes is the ONLY complaint about mosquitoes that we have had. You complained that the trees and shrubs need to be cut down to solve the problem, but as we explained, the trees and shrubs are there for privacy and noise absorption. We explained that we do have pest control monthly, in and out, but to try to appease you we did send a gentleman out to spray the backyard again. You complained that the donuts you left out in the upstairs kitchen drew ants overnight. Our apologies, the sweets can attract ants. Within 25 minutes of you advising us of the ants we door-dashed you two dozen freshly baked donuts. Again, we were trying to appease you and make your stay pleasant. It is our absolute goal to make our guests as comfortable as possible. We clean the vents regularly, but it is a older, quaint beach cottage and the the vents do rust a bit around the edges. We keep the dehumidifier in the lower level during the hot humid months of summer and with you staying for a week it was full, and we understand that pregnant women can be sensitive to smells. We will add a note to the front of the dehumidifier letting guests know that it is fine for them to empty it if it fills up. We would be happy to send someone out to do that but it may be disruptive to the guests during their stay. If you had let us know this was an issue at the time we would have been happy to empty that on the spot.

Unfortunately we did not have a good experience with Natalie. After booking, she messaged with requests and demands as well as complaints about the vacation rental they were currently staying in on the West Coast of Florida. Two days prior to arrival she demanded that we make sure we have the pool heated to 82 degrees by the time they arrive, their previous property pool was not that warm and it was not acceptable for use. We reminded them that our pool is not heated but does have the dark bottom and sides to retain heat from the sun and we hope that it will acceptable to them. They checked into the beach house at 6:36 PM according to the keypad records and messaged later to say that they did not want to stay there because the floor (which is slightly slanted, and we specifically mention that in the listing) and the bedding was not washed. She demanded a full refund on the spot and threatened to call various people and agencies, while she never once called VRBO to discuss the situation). She insisted it was very difficult to find lodging at 5 PM on a Sunday and they were lucky to be able to do so. Again, they did not even arrive at the beach house until 6:36 PM. We immediately sent our management team to check the beach house and we also reached out to VRBO. We knew for a fact that the beach house was cleaned just that morning because we communicated with the cleaning team while they were on site. Every thing was immaculate. All beds were clean and freshly made. Six of the eight beds in the beach house had not even been disturbed, they still had the distinct tucking in of the sheets that our cleaning team uses. Two beds had the bedding pulled back, which we carefully inspected and found the bedding to be clean and fresh. We use white bedding so that guests can see at a glance how clean and bright the sheets are. We have very high cleanliness ratings and have cleaning crews that have been with us for years and are extremely concientious and reliable. Natalie continued threatening and leaving bullying messages. VRBO advised us not to continue to respond. They felt if there was a legitimate problem Natalie would have contacted VRBO herself. We do want our guests to be able to relax and have a stress free vacation in our beach houses and never want a situation such as the one we encountered with Natalie. In retrospect, we feel that Natalie perhaps found a place she thought she would like better and booked it before she even visited our beach house. It was a very unfortunate situation for all of us.

Lacey, it is our goal as hosts of the beach house to make our guests feel comfortable and relaxed and make great memories. Our apologies for any issues you incurred while at the beach house. We were stunned to hear at the time of your check-out that you intended to give us a bad review because you had issues with pests and AC vents. The high humidity during stormy weather at the beach can wreak havoc on anything metal, especially a/c vents, and we had just come through a few weeks of hard rains which made everything damp. That dampness is also why the upstairs exterior door swelled up and the door keypad handle broke while trying to force the door open. With the recent hurricane and rains, pests, especially at the beaches, try to get inside to dry out. Unfortunately, that is what happened here. While we do put out preemptive traps during such wet weather to forestall any issues, unfortunately one did get past the traps. You said that a rodent scratched the corner of your daughter’s tablet, and we immediately refunded you $200 to replace the tablet cover. We were surprised that you had not reached out to us immediately with these issues when they occurred. You contacted us the first night you checked in with a couple of issues to which we immediately responded and resolved. We felt you were aware that we are responsive and do try to take care of things immediately. The evening you checked in, you let us know that a propane tank was low on propane, later in the evening you thought there may be a leak in the upstairs bath as there was a small circle of water on the floor. We immediately reimbursed you for taking the propane tank down to the corner gas station and switching out the tank, and the plumber was there within 12 hours to repair a small leak in the toilet tank. You said that otherwise you were enjoying your stay. There was no mention of any pool issues at all, otherwise we would have had the pool technician come directly to the beach house to check the pool. We do have photos of the pool from the afternoon you checked in and the pool was clean and clear (it has the black bottom and sides so it can be hard to tell in the deeper end, however you can see that the water is very clear on the pool tanning shelf. Our pool technician went to the beach house the day after you checked out and immediately called us to report damage to the automatic vacuum hose (it had to be replaced) as well as finding over 50 (1-3 inches) rocks in the pool (thrown in from the rock garden behind the pool area), a large piece of cement, plastic bottle, a can, and two six-inch piles of dirt (not sand) in the pool on the tanning shelf. We understand things happen, especially with children, however we would have asked that you please remove the rocks and debris thrown in the pool and clean out the dirt from the tanning shelf. We would have appreciated it if you had let us know the vacuum hose was broken so that we could have replaced it immediately. We felt like we now understood the reason for the abrupt turn-around in your attitude. When we brought this pool damage to your attention, you immediately said that you did not even go near the pool at all because it was “cloudy”. We are fairly certain that you would have brought a “cloudy” pool to our attention immediately. You stated that you didn't even go into the back yard except to go into the laundry room on the back of the beach house. We do have photos of the chaise lounges around the back side of the pool before you arrived, and after you left. It is clear these chairs have been moved around and used, (cushions added or removed). Again, we are sorry that you did not enjoy your time at the beach house, and we know you were upset when we asked you to please return the three bath towels, three beach towels, six hand towels and six washcloths that your cousin took with him when he left, but we hope you understand that is simply too many missing items to overlook.

Joan, unfortunately your visit to the beach house started out all wrong. Your stay was right when Hurricane Debby hit and the winds were blowing hard for the three days prior to and the day of your arrival. You were trying to get into the beach house early, walking around the property 40 minutes early trying all doors and windows. Therefore, the property manager elected to withhold the door code until 4 PM which is check-in time. You were sent the code at 4:01 PM. In the meantime, you had already called to complain that you did not have the code and the pool had leaves and debris in it and you wanted someone to come out immediately and take care of the leaves and twigs, all the while Hurricane Debby was still blowing hard gusts. We had our handyman out at the beach house at noon on Aug 7th clearing up the leaves and small branches as they fell. It was simply not possible to stay on top of the blowing leaves and small branches. When the host returned your call your frustration with not being able to get in early was evident and you were demanding and rude to the host. When a guest starts out rude it usually gets worse. You told the host that you "do not want to stay" at the beach house and he agreed to give you a full refund if you cancelled immediately so that the dates that you reserved could be released. You agreed to do so, but then did not, the host agreed to refund your money anyway. It is our goal that guests enjoy the beach house and are able to make wonderful memories with family and friends. We did not want you starting out unhappy, as it usually doesn't get better. We are happy that you were able to find other accommodations.