We just returned from 2 weeks at “Southern Comfort”, #908 in Avon.
We saved for quite a long time for this vacation and chose “Southern Comfort”, partially, because of the pictures and description on the website.
The pictures AND descriptions were VERY, VERY deceiving and can be labeled as false advertising.
When we rented previously, 10 years before, we had no issues with communication with Outer Beaches Reality. This trip got off on the wrong foot because communication with VACASA was frustrating.
The first messages were sent to e-mail, but some were sent by text. I called Vacasa around 3pm when we first arrived in Avon, after driving 8 hours non-stop. We had gotten info saying we were eligible for early check-in and had an entry code. We went to the front door and tried the entry code, several times. It didn’t work. I called Vacasa again and a man said “oh no, your code won’t work until 6pm.
We waited 3 more hours, went back to the house and the code still didn’t work. So once again I called Vacasa and after another fiasco of trying several other codes they gave us to try, we were told a maintenance man would be sent over. A man showed up and kept trying with several codes, he FINALLY got another maintenance man to show up and then they figured out that the lock and the door jam weren’t meeting. So, in order for our lock to work we had to pull on the handle after entering the code so the lock wouldn’t get stuck.
So, back to the deceiving pictures vs. reality
When we walked up to the house, we noticed the peeling paint all over and rusty bolts all over the decks and railings. Again, deceptive from the pictures.
As we walked around, there were loose spindles, some of which were cracked.
We then walked to the pool area. The entire area around the pool had broken fencing and cracked and peeling paint on the fence. The area that is listed as a play area/safe pet area, was all weeds and broken, sharp shells. Just awful.
The “safety” fence was disintegrating as we watched. The wind would blow and spindles would sway and some even came off with nails sticking up out of them. We then had to pick up some other nails that we saw laying on the ground.
The horseshoe pits were almost non-existent with horseshoes that were rusted beyond use.
There is an area under the house, where the hot tub was, and in the pictures, it was a fully screened in room with doors. Now the screens are ALL gone and there are NO doors. I wouldn’t touch the gas grills down there with a ten-foot pole they looked so disgusting. One of the reasons we chose this house is because it was pet friendly. We were supposed to bring our 10-year-old Labrador. Unfortunately, and sadly, he passed away shortly before our trip. I cannot imagine what we would have done if he had to walk in that fenced area – again with broken, sharp, shells and awful weeds, broken fencing and loose nails. Not to mention the likelihood of him getting out and getting lost with the lack of properly closed off areas.
We then started walking through the house and found out the Master Bedroom, on the top level had a shower handle that was loose from the wall, a seat bolt from one of the other toilets were missing. A sliding door lock off of the dining room was broken and wouldn’t lock.
When the maintenance man came back to check on the front door lock, he fixed those items while he was there.
The bathtubs and showers weren’t rinsed well, and were very slippery, so we had to wipe those down, after one of us almost fell.
There was a pillow in one of the closets that had stains all over it and should have been thrown out, why would anyone store that back in the closet??
There were 3 trash cans at the end of the driveway when we arrive...