Overall, it was an okay stay. Here is a list of pros and cons:
Pros:
- good location in a nice area
- nice grounds and close to the beach and pool
- good size townhouse style condo, with 2 suites in the upper floor (having 2 levels was convenient) with extra bed on ground floor
- washer and dryer
- they provide a "starter kit" which includes toilet paper, paper towel, dishwasher detergent, laundry detergent, and a tiny bottle of shampoo and conditioner.
- beach chairs and beach towels provided
Cons:
- this unit needs a renovation. I'm surprised it commands this price/night at its current state. Carpet is gross, walls need to be painted, etc. It makes the unit seem dirty. We did not spend much time at the condo, so it wasn't that big of a deal, especially since everything did work fine.
- no A/C on the first floor.
- the unit backs up to a busy street. We could hear the cars speeding by in the middle of the night. Bring a noise machine.
- I asked the host if there were any beach toys, snorkeling gear, etc and was told there was not; that it was available for rent. So I packed these things for my kids. When we got there, there were toys, fins, snorkels, small boogie board, etc. Something that should have been a pro turned into a con because of a lack of knowledge/communication by the property managers.
- there were these "ant/bee hybrid insects" in the master bedroom that woke me up in the night. I felt something walking on me. I got up and killed about ten of these.
- I could have dealt with every con listed above, but this last issue is what I cannot get over. There is a PEST ISSUE with this unit. Under the house rules, they ask you to not leave crumbs and take out the trash out every day, which I thought was very reasonable, as I understand that would attract bugs. On our first night, we didn't use the kitchen. It was late and we were so tired, we just went to sleep. The next day, my kid opened a drawer and saw a big bug. I went to check and it was a huge COCKROACH (just under 2 inches). After a bit of a struggle I was finally able to kill it. That's when I started to notice there was RAID spray (poison to kill cockroaches/pests) in every cabinet in the unit. Over the next few days, we saw FOUR other cockroaches, most of them dying from some kind of poison (not from me spraying it). I even left the last cockroach dying on the kitchen floor so that the cleaners, or whoever comes to check the property, could see it. This is clearly an ongoing issue, and it was never disclosed. I am very surprised no one else mentioned this in their reviews! I know I would have opted for a different place if I knew about it. It's just gross!