The stay, communication with management, the beach access all was great! Other than the lights not working around the stairs everything was perfect. I would recommended repairing the lights as it is a hazard should you have elderly guests with vision issues.
Spring Break Family Vacation with Wife and Four Kids
rove down from Iowa with my wife and four kids in our minivan during Spring break. We had never been to Dauphin Island or even Alabama before though we saw pictures of the home on the listing and of the surrounding area and decided to book and drive down. We had a very memorable and fun experience and the kids loved it. The white sandy beach in front of the home was great. We loved how close we were to the West-end beach on the island. The ocean front view from the home was beautiful, especially from the two decks. We enjoyed the sound of the ocean from our beds at night. We liked the picnic table to eat at and chairs to watch the kids from the deck and the sunset. The climate control made our stay comfortable, though we often didnât use it due to temperate weather and having the doors open. The home water was warm during showers. The washing machine and dryer were nice which we used daily along with the dishwasher and three bathrooms. The refrigerator was very clean and they had things to prepare food including a pizza cutter. We plan on staying here again based on our positive experiences next Spring Break in March, especially if we can get another great deal. Only criticisms would be replacing two noisy ceiling fans (bearings) and cleaning the outside of the windows for a better view of the ocean.
Beautiful home directly on the Gulf. Just steps away from the water. Our family enjoyed the house. It was very clean and well equipped with everything we needed to enjoy our family weekend.
Great place! We loved the unobstructed view and the sound of the waves crashing on the shore. I am so glad that we opted for the gulf side of the island, especially in the winter months when sunshine is at a premium. We were lucky with the weather, in the 60s and no rain. The whole place was clean and seemed to have fresh paint throughout. The wooden floors were worn and appropriate for a beach house. We loved them - no worries. Although the kitchen and baths aren't newly remodeled, they were clean with new shower liners and quite adequate. The kitchen did not have a lot of counter space, but with the huge wood table, it wasn't an issue. This VRBO had no spices or oils (not even salt and pepper), a roll of paper towels, 3 dishwasher tablets, small amount of liquid dish detergent, small soap bars in the showers and at the each sink, small shampoo and conditioner in each shower and several extra trash bags. We brought extra supplies because we had asked beforehand, but just be prepared. Communication was quick and easy.We would not hesitate to book again. This is a great place and reasonably priced!
Two families stayed in the home for a week - it was the perfect size for our group of 4 adults and 5 kids. We appreciated the sleeping arrangements and the very large dining table. There was plenty of space for everyone, and the location right on the beach can't be beat. Thank you for a great week!
We absolutely loved this house! I loved how easy everything was to book it, and find it. I gave a 5 star on everything except for communication. Hurricane Helene was sending us big waves and our property was flooding. We didn't want our truck flooded so we packed up and left 2 days early. Shortly after we left I received a call saying we could park inland and they would transport us to and from the house. I was impressed with this, however I wish I would have gotten the call sooner. Everything else was perfect!!! We definitely will be staying here again sometime.
Overall my family enjoyed our trip due to our time together and the proximity to the gulf. However, the home needs maintenance improvements, driveway maintenance and a deep cleaning. We first noticed that there were food crumbs in many drawers, mildew in the shower (had to replace the shower curtain) and unfinished floors. We also had difficulty pulling in the side street due to the thickness of sand. We messaged Vacasa the day we booked the property to ensure we wouldnât have any issues driving a sedan. They stated we wouldnât. The driveway was completely inaccessible and we constantly had difficulty pulling in and out of the side street where Vacasa stated we could use as backup parking. When we called on two separate days once arriving to inform them we needed a solution for parking, they never contacted us back with a solution.On a positive note they offered to come out and fix the cleaning issues but we declined since we had already brought our items in and traveled 10 hours.The greater issues were parking and the lack of maintenance upkeep. We also had palmetto bugs(flying cockroaches) inside and outside the house. However, I am not sure if they are avoidable. Overall great location to the beach but we wonât be renting again or renting from Vacasa again.
Not warm like tropical, but warm like comforting and friendly. Although previous reviews werenât very flattering, we found the property to be almost perfect. The furnishings were tastefully family orientated, and the only complaint we could make was seeing roaches. And the property manager was very helpful, and addressed the problem immediately. We had a wonderful stay.
This is a great home, literally right on gulf. Plenty of room, comfy beds. Great for our family - but there are issues a guest may need to know when deciding on a rental. VRBO lists cable, it was internet TV only. Parking is non existent-only a 4x4 could park in that area. Other homes appeared to have cleared out the beach sand for parking- this home has not and we had to park on side road which I assume likely requires a permit during peak season. The railings on the decks need repair - gaps large enough for child to fall through. The clearly needs to be addressed as it is a major safety issue.
The location of this home is perfect however the home itself needs a lot of attention. Make sure to bring storage containers for food due to the roach issue. Also they should fire there cleaning crew this place looks as if itâs never been really cleaned check under the beds because we had old socks and towels under the master and god knows what else. Anything with fabric from bedding to furniture is stained including the lampshades in the living room that looks like blood or something was slung on them. The property from the exterior is beautiful and amazing and if I could have stayed outside the whole trip I would have! So much potential but definitely needs some major TLC!
The condition of the unit was extremely disappointing. For the amount of money we paid, we were expecting a level of quality that we have always had when renting property on the gulf coast. This is our first experience with VACASA and it will be our last. The list of issues is very long but the highlights include: Many broken and un-operatable blinds and windows, black mold on the shower curtain liners, stained linens and comforters, floors and walls in really bad shape, inadequate kitchen inventory (no beaters, few glasses), etc. And the refrigerator door is missing the rails to allow storage in the door. Dishwasher was working sometimes, sometimes not. There were towels in the dryer that we were not sure were clean. To sum it up, I would encourage someone from your organization to take your family there and stay a day or two. I did contact the local office with the concerns. I did not ask specifically for them to do anything. The condition being so overwhelmingly in poor shape, the only real solution would have been to relocate to another unit. I will say that I did not feel very much empathy from the local office. They came and changed one light bulb.
After staying here we are done with condos! Being right there at the water and a âprivateâ beach was so wonderful! This was our 1st visit to Dauhpin Island and we will be booking this house again next year. There was one negative - the couches were so uncomfortable! Thankfully not a lot of time was spent inside!
Overall, the property was fine and we enjoyed ourselves. A whole week of rain was unfortunate though. Parking needs improving, unless you have a four wheel drive.
Location could not be better. We enjoyed our stay throughly. Only criticism is some things didn't look super clean like the bath mats and the rug. However all the important things like the tubs and linens were clean. House smelled fresh and clean. However, please whoever owns this house, please get the railings replaced on the deck. Our 2 yr old son leaned up on one and it popped off and fell to the sand! My husband actually found several more that were really loose. It looks like the wood has just split on many from the weather and the nails can fall right out. We discovered this on the last two days there and didn't let our son on the deck without someone by him. That is a 15ft fall and could be devastating if a small child popped them by accident! I wouldn't let a small child stay here until that is fixed. Please fix this! It's a great house otherwise!
This house is in a great location on Dauphin Island overlooking the Gulf. The description is accurate except for the number of designated parking spots. Unlike most of the other homes on the island, there is no parking under the house or even cleared spaces next to it. We had to be very careful not to get stuck in the sand even with our pickup truck.
Check-in was tricky. The communication from Vacasa was what seemed to be straightforward. We received the name of the house, the address and the âdoor codeâ. While the address was accurate, the name on the house was completely different than what we were sent. This was a little confusing. Our biggest problem, however, was with the âdoor codeâ. The main door has a keypad lock, so of course we thought this was the place to enter the âdoor codeâ. We ended up having to call Vacasa to learn that there was actually a lock box with a key. The box wasnât near the door, so we had no idea it even existed. We were able to retrieve the key with the code. We ended up having to call Vacasa again when the key didnât work in the door. We tried it all different ways and tried the other doors on the house. No luck. After a long hold, somehow the main door magically unlocked. We still have no idea how this happened, as we were never able to get the key to engage the lock. We ended up using another door and keeping it unlocked when we left the property. Vacasa was pleasant to work with and the local rep called and texted to make sure we were in the house. The whole process of getting in the house took 30 minutes. It seems that a new lock and more accurate instructions would remedy the problem.
The house was comfortable, though nothing special, and, again, in a great location.
We had a great week in this house. I love the floor plan allowing balcony access from all bedrooms.
The listing doesnât mention the nice gas grill or the abundance of beach chairs/supplies available. A necessary improvement would be under house deck/stair lighting. No other complaints.