Booked an extremely nice condo in Destin only to be told one week before the trip that it was 'no longer available.' After responding IMMEDIATELY to their offered alternatives (email), they sat on it for 3 days causing all their properties to book up except for this one ("Hermitage") on Okaloosa Island.
Let me tell you, this property was NOTHING like what I'd originally selected nor like the alternative we should have received had RealJoy performed their job properly and changed my selection in a timely manner. It was a complete insult - incredibly outdated interior/furnishings, disgustingly dusty/filthy, and uncomfortable beds/pillows. The blinds were broken, the bay view is a stretch, baths and showers had mildew everywhere, and worse of all the carpet was so filthy our feet were BLACK 15 minutes after arrival!! Incredibly, the wi-fi never worked and RealJoy never delivered us the hotspot the promised.
The worst part about everything for me, is this was supposed to be a VERY special vacation for my two young kids and I- our first family vacation in 3 years since my divorce. Having already shown my kids pictures of the condo I originally rented at The Palms Resort (ocean view, resort-style pool, modern, clean, updated) and then arriving to THIS property was such a disappointed to us all. I called immediately upon arrival and after at least 20 calls and several hours later, FINALLY spoke to someone empathetic to our situation and who promised to make things right. While she wasn't able to get me a discount, promises were made to have something special put together for my kids and us adults (my Mom, Aunt, and I). Specifically, promises of pirate cruise tickets and dolphin cruise tickets for us all, some alcoholic beverages for the adults, some cool beach items for the kids, and a giftcard to a really nice restaurant. This made me feel better, but sadly they did not come through next day as promised, so I was left calling them everyday, several times a day, on our vacation until FINALLY they decided to partially come through on the LAST day of our vacation. It was an insult to me to be honest, that they could make such promises and then go silent and then show up on the LAST day with half of what was promised.
There is no doubt in my mind that I was the victim of a classic 'Bait-and-Switch' scheme with RealJoy Management. They should have allowed me a full refund.
Needless to say staying with Real Joy wasn't a Real Joy at all. Not one bit.