A Stay Above The Rest- Galveston — Attraction in Galveston

This company could care less about it's customers. I rented a cabin from this company back in October 2020 when COVID was calming down with no possible way of knowing Omicron would come along. 3 days before our reservation, the people I was going to be traveling with contracted COVID. I call the business, not asking for money back, but simply wanting to move the trip, so everybody wins. I was told twice that the "only" thing they could was to try to re-book it and whatever days it gets rented, we'll get refunded. SO, despite COVID being something we could not control, this business refused to give accommodate us in any way aside from giving us the cleaning fee back after I had to ask for it (they did not automatically offer it back). While the woman I spoke to was nice, that does not excuse cheating your customer out over $1000 because of an unforeseen medical emergency. Furthermore, I was told if I had bought insurance, I could've got my money back. I looked at other reviews and people who tried a year ago, at the beginning of COVID, have yet to see their refund. So no, my not buying insurance did not have anything to do with the situation. It's just an out they used to blame their customer for their poor policies. I will never book through this company EVER again nor will I use Vrbo again. They both were unhelpful during this pandemic. Thank you, A Stay Above the Rest, for making my birthday so spectacularly awful.

• Response to the Owner's response *

Thank you for your kind, compassionate response and proving my point. "Hello Jess...thank you for your feedback...we provide top-notch customer service", then allude to me being a liar. Pardon me if I really don't believe you are in anyway saddened my experience wasn't what I had hoped. That is my subjective opinion, as much as your response contains subjective opinion as well. Here is my rebuttal:

COVID, the delta variant, was on the down slope in October 2021 with a decline of 60% of new cases. While a new variant was possibly identified in the UK, there was no inclination to promote concern here in the US. Four healthy, young, vaccinated women would not assume the need for insurance or anticipate the approach of Omicron. Omicron was not identified in the US until December 2021 and even then the symptoms were far less visible/problematic when it was discovered.

This constant diversion to insurance, which is both costly (10%-40% of total) and, if it pays at all for medical issues, requires invasive personal medical documentation and is not provided by your company, but upsold by your company. A convenient way to divert from the fact that you are charging full price for an property/amenity not provided. There are hundreds of complaints on the BBB regarding failure to pay and lengthy fights to obtain even a partial payment. When did it become in vogue to require folks to obtain insurance to cover policies by a company that works so hard to provide top notch homes, amenities, and customer service? You have managed to prove one thing; I can choose not to agree to such unforgiving policies in the future and I will.

I did NOT ask for a refund. I requested consideration for a voucher to use at a later time after the group members were recovered. I must apologize profusely for the inconvenient reality that COVID struck my group just days before the reservation, as if I have any control over that. I wonder if sending the majority of the group that were ill to spend their quarantine in your establishment would perhaps have been a better solution to you.

I will give credit where it is due. You did, after more than a month, refund $345 (aside from the cleaning fee I mentioned in my previous review) of the total $1,126.49. There was no explanation as to the change of heart, but I am adult enough to admit you credited me a portion of the money. It seems only the most basic fairness that if you rented the cabin on those days we were unable to come, you not charge both parties.

I hope that if you are ever in the same situation, you are treated...

It was an okay experience. The front office of Casa Del Mar were extremely rude and did not help us get settled in. I guess since our condo was not officially part of their suites, they treat us like trash. All they were concerned with was charging us $30 for parking. Okay, whatever. The lady also kept saying I should have gotten an access code but I checked up and down through my emails and could not find anything. We could not enter our rooms without this code so I ended up calling the contact person under the condo and she got my information and said to give her a minute. Then I got the email with the code but this was over an hour after check-in time (roughly 5 pm), which is considered late. She apologized. But for us newcomers this was HIGHLY confusing and frustrating to deal with the Del Mar rude staff. The rooms themselves were quite nice. There were burn marks on the wall next to the stove because it is so close to the wall. The couch pulled out into a bed. The balcony was nice where we could faintly see the beach from afar. The pool was nice from 3 to 5 feet deep. My family had a blast swimming there the next afternoon before it got too busy. You can hear them partying and playing music right up until 10 pm and they shut down the pool thank goodness. Otherwise i'm not sure anyone would get to sleep. Overall, a decent stay but I don't think i'll be back due to the complications and stress it put...

Stay Above the Rest on R Avenue:

This place really knows how to impress—beautiful brass hardware, lovely walkways, decent parking right outside, and it’s super close to the beach. The extra beds are a nice bonus, and the patio is just perfect. Honestly, if that was all there was to it, I’d give this place 5 stars without a second thought.

But here’s where things get a little tricky. Privacy seems to be a bit of an afterthought. There’s a huge picture window in the bathroom that gives the neighbors a front-row seat to your morning routine. If you forget to grab a towel before you jump in the shower, well, things could get awkward fast. Plus, it’s not just the bathroom—the kitchen and living room don’t have any window coverings either, so it feels a bit like you’re on display.

And about that covered parking they mention? It’s there, but it’s not actually available for guests, which is a bit frustrating. Lastly, we did spot a couple of roaches scurrying across the kitchen. A little boric acid would do the trick and keep...