Liza Munchies Watercrest

Unit 1607 at Watercrest was clean with an open concept which we loved. However, it is dated. The view was spectacular. The building is not conveniently located. There are no restaurants nearby. We had to drive out for food. The condominium complex is old and in need of repair. See Pros and Cons below: Pros: • The three spacious bedrooms have comfortable beds. • All three bathrooms were also spacious and clean. • The living room/communal area has plenty of seating. • The dining room table was large enough to seat most of our family. • The ocean front view was great. • There were plenty of dishes/pots and pans. • The pool proximity to the beach was great. • The beach was exceptionally clean and well kept. Cons: • The building is old with no lobby. • The tiki hut has limited food selection. • The walkway to the pool was dirty with standing water. • No restaurants nearby • There was a strong vinegar smell in the unit when we arrived. • The water in Master bedroom 1 was too cold (Only had 1 hot shower after maintenance • The water in master bedroom 2 was too hot (maintenance repaired • Cleaning surcharge fee was $359.00, and we were asked to: a. load and run the dishwasher before leaving. b. Take out all trash before leaving. c. Start a load of towels before leaving. (We washed all towels when we arrived as well because we did not trust that the previous guest properly washed them. d. Strip the bed sheets. e. Clean excessive fingerprints from glass f. Leave the unit in the same condition as when we arrived. • Linen – Additional Guest surcharge fee was $140.00 (We had no additional guest and was asked to: a. Wash a load of towels before leaving. b. Strip the bed sheets. • Additional parking surcharge fee was $69.00 for a second car. • Management Property Protection surcharge fee was $69.00. • The property manager only responded to text messages. Did not answer phone calls. • We were uncomfortable with the ‘ring doorbell’. We felt like we were being watched when coming and going.

The location is convenient to popular restaurants but not entirely family friendly as there are strip clubs with generous advertising close by. The building was great, had good parking, and amenities. Our balcony and view was amazing (unit 1610).

Upon arrival, the unit was older, but looked OK. Shortly after entering the unit, we discovered that there were dirty pans in the dishwasher with caked on food. Also, the Mr. Coffee pot was never cleaned from the last occupant. A representative arrived shortly after our arrival to give us our parking pass, pool wristbands and to inform us of the broken towel bar on the glass shower doors. She said that maintenance was aware of such and would be up to fix the shower bars. The following morning, we discovered so much more wrong with the unit. Per instructions of our booking through VRBO, we immediately called and texted Emerald Coast Destinations to inform them of the problems. We texted the below to her the day after our arrival: “We spent all morning cleaning the unit: 1-sweeping the floors, particularly under beds, dressers and chairs- There were piles of dirt, papers and other debris, including a condom wrapper in the 3rd bedroom! 2-vacuuming the rugs- The dirt cup was full and we emptied it. With every sweep of the machine, you could see a lighter stripe in the one rug. When we were done, the cup was filled with sand. 3-defrosting the freezer- The ice maker is defective. It leaks and an iceberg is created locking in the tray and creating one solid mound of ice in the tray. 4-cleaning the mold inside the clothes washer as best we could with Clorox wipes. 5-scrubbing a used tray that was in the dishwasher and never run. 6-Cleaning the coffee pot which was never even rinsed since last tenant. 7-Disinfecting the dining room table which was grimey and sticky. 8-Cleaning the air conditioner return vent which was caked with grime that was so disgusting. It really should be taken off and scrubbed on both sides. 9-cleaning the dryer vent of accumulated lint since last occupant. 10-Wiping all tables in bedrooms which was sticky to the touch 11-Wiping the fan blades which were layered with dust 12-Cleaning the refrigerator drawers and glass surfaces which had caked rings from previous occupant. 13-Cleaning the furniture covers which had crumbs and other food scraps in the crevices. Additionally, the towel bar on the shower door in the secondary bedroom is broken. We were told maintenance would be up to fix it. It is still broken. Generally, we are very disappointed with the cleanliness of the unit, especially since there is such a high cleaning fee attached to the rental through VRBO. It appears that beds are made and towels piled and that is all that is actually done by the cleaning crew.” Emerald Coast Destinations indicated that she would address the above issues on Monday morning. Despite several texts and phone calls, she never contacted me again. I would never book one of these properties or through VRBO again. There is no guarantee that you will have what has been represented. To make matters worse, upon our arrival home, I contacted VRBO and was told that it was too late to verbalize any concern about the unit since we were no longer there. I told the agent that I contacted Emerald Coast as directed, but she kept saying it was too late to do anything about it. In addition to the above, the mattresses are sold old it is as if you are sleeping in a hammock. You lie down on the bed and roll directly into the middle. Half of the lights do not work. They are missing the on/off knobs, have non-working lightbulbs or are simply not plugged in. Two of the lightbulbs in the 2nd bathroom did not work and one of the other bulbs flickered on and off repeatedly. The kitchen is only modestly appointed. The TV in the 2nd bedroom only received 2 channels: #2 and the Hallmark Channel. The view from the balcony is wonderful, but the amenities of the residence are far from adequate, and even when you follow the booking directions, you are deceived into believing that your concerns will be addressed. No one ever does address your concerns, and everyone points figures at the other to address the problem. VRBO says we have to contact the owner, but we have no contact information for the owner of the unit. I WOULD NEVER BOOK THROUGH VRBO OR WIT

1208 is horrible compared to our past experiences here. The unit was dirty. You get very little of the basic toiletries. The owner didn’t care. I’ll stay away from Sandcastle Vacations and the units they own here in the future. We’ve rented nice units here before so I don’t think this is representative of the rest of the condos at Watercrest.

We enjoyed our stay in Watercrest Unit 604 which we rented from Wanda through VRBO. Our 3 bed 3 bath unit was perfect for 5 adults and 3 children. The elevators were fast with no wait. The balcony was a nice size and made for a beautiful evening view. The unit was clean. Beds were comfortable. We had the cooking items we needed. The grounds and hallways were kept clean . The adults wore the arm bands but I did not put them on the children.....12, 4, 2. We experienced no problems. Will definitely consider staying here again.