Gulf Coast Vacation Rentals Bradenton — Attraction in Bradenton

Accommodation Review: Waterway Haven Port Charlotte - Months Rental - April 2025

The accommodation was really quaint and lovely. We stayed in a 3-bedroom villa with a small but well-equipped kitchen, including a large fridge, dishwasher, and plenty of kitchen utensils. The villa also had a spacious lounge, one en-suite bedroom, and a main bathroom. Outside, there was a small pool with a comfortable, covered seating area—perfect for relaxing. The utility area was located outside next to the owner’s car in the carport. A bonus for us, coming from the UK, was the ability to receive USPS mail.

I would highly recommend this villa to anyone.

GC Vacation Rentals - Agency Experience:

Unfortunately, the booking agency was extremely disappointing, and I would not book with them again. Their emails often came from suspicious-looking addresses filled with random letters and numbers, which gave the impression of a scam. Communication was poor — they rarely responded to my messages, and I had to try multiple times through different channels to finally get a reply.

To add to our worries, the listing for the villa (Waterway Haven) was removed from the Gulf Coast Vacations website before our trip, without any proactive communication from the agency. We were eventually told this was due to a website revamp — but even a month later, the listing had not reappeared.

I was told I would receive a text or email at 3 PM on the day of arrival for a 4 PM check-in door code. As we were traveling from the UK and would not have internet access in the US until we found Wi-Fi, I repeatedly requested that the check-in code information be sent the day before — but this was ignored. I eventually had to borrow a U.S. phone in a local shop at 3:30 PM on day of arrival to call the agent and request the door code. I was told it had been sent to my UK mobile — despite the agency knowing I wouldn’t be able to access it while in the US. Their email apparently arrived at 3:15pm which I had no access too.

We were also only informed after the fact that a contractor would be coming to spray insecticide around the property.

During the stay, the washing machine broke down. I informed the agency that the drum and bearings had collapsed and that it was beyond repair. Shockingly, they didn’t seem to know what a drum was.

The maintenance team — provided by the homeowner rather than the agency — handled the issue and replaced the washing machine. They were absolutely fantastic and very helpful, which was a first for us, as this type of support usually comes from the agency.

Summary:

While the villa itself was wonderful and I would happily recommend it, I would strongly advise against booking through this agency due to the consistently poor service...

Creepy - UNDISCLOSED surveillance cameras INSIDE and outside VRBO property 438542. AFTER reserving this property and paying the deposit I had the opportunity to tour the house and discovered that the owners have security video cameras INSIDE and out. I can't say that I blame them but it's creepy to think that someone has the ability to spy on your family especially INSIDE. I WOULD NOT have reserved this property HAD THIS BEEN DISCLOSED. I notified Gulf Villa Rentals the reason for cancelling and requested a refund of the deposit since the cameras were not disclosed up front. However, I was told there are no exceptions to their policy, no refunds on deposits ($786.29). Granted, I knew and agreed to the nonrefundable deposit but I did NOT agree to a possible (and unlawful) invasion of our privacy. They offered to ensure that the cameras would be off during our stay, and when that was not acceptable to even go as far as to remove them just during our stay (which would have surely been as costly as refunding our deposit). Kudos to them for trying to make the customer happy but they were not forthright about the cameras to begin what, what makes me think they would remove them all? Special thanks to Nat who tried to accommodate us. But considering the nondisclosure I feel they should have refunded...

I'm not sure who I'm supposed to be mad at.... The home owner or the Gulf Coast folks. The 1980s Golden Girls themed decor did not bother us. We laughed...we took some great pictures.

You are literally so close to the beach. Why would you NOT have beach chairs, beach towels, umbrella, toys etc. Every other house we always rented (and we do this alot) always had some stuff. I will say that the costal folks did order us some towels and chairs. That was a good move.

The microwave was broken. They sent out a repair guy. Who could NOT fix. He needed a part. So we had no microwave for the week.

The location is awesome!!!! So close to the island. Great restaurant across the street and a liquor store.

Patio furniture outside was a joke. 5 out of the 10 seats were broken.

Pool tiles falling off.

No skimmer to help keep pool clean.

No floor mats anywhere. I bought one for the house.

The broom and dustpan for the house to try and stay clean(6 kids here) were a joke.

Communication was NOT great. They didn't seem to interested in making most issues right.

Absolute GREAT location. House has some real "potential ". Needs some attention and they could have a...