Our Stay: Feb 2022, 4 mid-30s adult men for an extended weekend
Pros: Whole apartment to ourselves with very easy check-in and key-less entrance, with 4 comfortable and clean queen-sized beds, one for each of us. Plenty of towels (not beach towels), soap, shampoo, pillows, bedding for our group of 4. Roku on the TV with apps, good Wi-Fi. View as advertised. Heated pool, gym and rec room access, and direct beach access (with purchase of FOB) as advertised. 20 minute beach walk to the Hollywood Broadwalk. Lots of Ubers. Host was very nice and answered all my questions. And I didn't search too long, but in terms of price, this was the most competitive for what we needed.
Cons: I took two stars off my rating, one for cleanliness/effort and one for misleading descriptions. First, cleanliness/effort. Both bathrooms were a little rough in their construction, and both showers had visible mold that really bothered one of my guests, who decided to refrain from showering the rest of the trip. There was also a very foul smell coming from one of the shower drains by the end of the stay. I would say everything is topically cleaned, but it would be worth it to complete a deep clean as it seems one has not been done in awhile. The furniture in the apartment looked fine in the photos but spending a weekend with it, we realized how cheap and dingy much of it was. Which bleeds into the lack of effort discussion. Most notably, the "dream kitchen" was missing a lot of the things we needed for cooking. There were no baking pans or oven mitts (we used foil), there are no pots for boiling water, there are no large bowls or platters. There are beach items, about 7 chairs and kids toys, but the umbrellas are missing the stakes, so they are unusable. There was notably a lack of seating in the main room. One couch that the 4 of us ended up sitting on 4 across (lol) as the chairs on kitchen table were uncomfortable over a longer period of time. Second, misleading descriptions. First, the "dream kitchen" which is hilarious now. The photos don't hide it, but obviously it is very small, and not a place "where everybody wants to hang out". As mentioned above, it did not come "completely stocked with cooking needs, including a huge selection of pots, pans, serving dishes, platters, glasses, cups and more." missing several key items. Utensils, plates, glasses were fine. but 50% of the cabinets are completely empty. And I do not consider 2 dull kitchen knives "Plenty... for the chef’s in the family." That's probably what bothered me the most, as the "Dream Kitchen" is nothing but a small under-stocked run of the mill kitchen and should not be advertised as something out of HGTV. Other things: Says there are Sofa Beds, plural, that allows you two sleep 12. There is only one couch, so with one crib it only sleeps 10 plus one toddler. Lots of space, the place is big, but yes, very hard to sit comfortably with 4 people, couldn't imagine 12.
Overall 3/5. I think with a little more effort, a deep clean, and some money spent on missing items and upgraded furniture, it would've gotten a 5. I would check with the host if they've been able to address the Cons I mentioned above before you book, and I would not use at all if you have more than say, 6 people.