Let me start by saying this place is lovely, in a high end gated community, it's incredibly clean and well appointed with luxurious bedding and a really comfy bed. The neighborhood is pretty and if you golf the course is the backyard. The beach is a 1.6 mile walk down the road through a really pretty area. Depending on what you're looking for this place is beautiful.
This was definitely not a good fit for me though. I have a toddler and was looking for a truly detached unit as she is often up in the night crying and I didn't want to worry about disrupting anyone's sleep. This unit is actually under a bedroom and next to the main house, attached to the garage, it is essentially the unused maids quarters, so very attached. You have to walk past the front door to get to it. It meant I worried a lot about keeping people up which wasn't relaxing.
I was also looking for a safe yard that was gated that I could let her run in - she has a LOT of energy so it's important to me to be able to relax for a minute and have some coffee and not worry that she can run off. I discussed this with the landlord and she assured me my daughter would love the yard. It turns out that the yard is actually the golf course, there are no fences and there is active golf play going on at all times. Not a place I can relax.
I live in Michigan now, I used to live in the bay. I was looking to spend time at the beach with my baby as this is our first real trip since she's healthy enough to travel. This rental is a perfect midpoint for friends to connect with me. The owner assured me the beach was very close, the thing is 1.6 miles one way with a toddler on an unlighted back road is not close. I had envisioned coffee on the beach watching the sunrise or set. That took some serious determination and planning.
I was hoping for even a super basic way to prepare food as I prefer to cook my daughters food. She was in the hospital the first year of her life so I have to be careful what I feed her. We ended up eating every meal out, which raised the cost our trip significantly.
I did express these concerns before coming out and I'm not sure where our wires got crossed. Obviously I misunderstood her entire posting as it seemed to meet our needs when we were discussing it but was so obviously not what I was looking for when I got there. The thing is, the owner is very nice, the place is beautiful and clean which is so important, it's just not at all what I thought it would be.