We came to Virginia Beach over Labor Day weekend for the Rock n Roll Virginia Beach half marathon. We chose this house based on its positive reviews and close proximity to the start/finish line.
I'll start with the positives:
-Location: Super convenient to oceanfront. This was by far the best part of the rental
-Communication: the landlord was in communication with us throughout the weekend. She was super kind and helpful! It was nice knowing she was available since we came during Tropical Storm Hermine. I knew if anything happened, I'd be able to get in contact with her rather quickly
-3 bedrooms & 1.5 baths: It was really nice having the half bath in the master
-Kitchen stocked with appliances/utencils
-Quick deposit refund: But see below for more info on deposit.
Room for improvement:
-Deposit: I was pretty shocked when I first saw the $1500 deposit. To be honest, it almost prevented me from booking this property. For a 3-day stay that came to around $600 total, I felt it was unnecessary. Especially since it was withdrawn a full 2.5 weeks before our stay. For an older house that honestly seems to have its fair share of wear, we couldn't understand why it would need to be that much in the first place. As I stated above, the landlord did request our deposit be refunded shortly after our stay. However, as a teacher, the $1500 being withdrawn out of my account for 3 weeks was truly a financial burden.
-Wear and tear: In particular, the shelving unit over the toilet in the full bathroom. It was very unsteady and actually almost fell on my friend. A quick bolt to the wall should fix it! There were also holes in the wall that seemed to be patched but not painted, decorative fixtures broken/hanging, and other things that seemed to take away from the overall charm.
-Another suggestion-- not a huge deal-- would to provide a few more bath towels.
Overall, we did enjoy our stay. However, I'm not sure we would book again because of the large required deposit, which seemed a little unnecessary.