The Catalina — Hotel in Alys Beach

Run fast and far! This place is truly horrendous. I booked online using booking.com. I booked several hours before our arrival. I attempted to contact the company multiple times via phone with no response. Instructions after booking were that the information for accessing the unit and unit number would be sent via email, this didn't come until about 2 hours before we arrived, and after I left several unreturned voicemails, and sent several emails. This should have been the sign I should have canceled. When we arrived it was late at night and it was extremely dark. There are minimal to no lights on the property and the property is currently under construction, which we were told in the email. I would say there was adequate parking for the units, but I believe over half of the units are currently closed. We were assigned Villa 773. It was disgusting! We went in and the floor had sand and dirt all over. The staff member working there made a comment about the unit being rented out "that unit is not ready and should not have been rented out". He was working on trying to get the unit in order while we were there. Both TVs were not working and he was trying to get them to work by putting in new cable boxes. The walls were gross, they used flat paint so there were hand prints, dirt, pen, food, just all sorts of gunk on the walls. The tile in the bathroom was unfinished and there were sharp edges. The unit is listed with a full bath, but it's a 3/4 bath, there is no bathtub, its not handicap accessible, so it's not a situation where it was an accessible unit either. I swept the floor trying to make due, and found multiple dead bugs. The fridge had no handle and was covered in rust, which I can get past rust, this isn't uncommon for coastal areas, the handle being gone, there is no excuse for. The counters were not clean and covered in sticky gunk, but there were paper towels so I could wipe them down myself. I asked the staff member working about getting bedding for the bunkbed that was unmade and didn't appear very clean, it had a soiled mattress protector on it. I was told there should be linens in the closet, there weren't. He ended up finding sheets and brought those back and a few pillows. We didn't stay but for a few minutes as the staff member was trying to get the unit habitable, so we moved out of his way and walked across the street to the beach for about an hour and then left to get food at a local fast food place. We came back and were planning to go to sleep. I noticed the bedding on the king size bed was not very clean and had dirt and what looked like shoe prints on it, I pulled that back and noticed hair and more dirt on the sheets. At this point the staff member was gone so I called the property number, again no answer, so I then sent a text (found out this is the only way they communicate) and was told to go get bedding in the laundry room. I went looking in the laundry room and there was no clean bedding, there were sheets and towels only. I figured maybe I could bump the heat up enough I would be ok so sleep without a blanket (there were none). I go back with sheets, after sending the property pictures of the laundry room with piles and piles of dirty laundry. I also figured at this point the bedding they had brought for the bunk bed was likely dirty. My husband went to strip the bed and found mold on the mattress. According to the property the room was just cleaned which means they knew about the mold and were having guests sleep on it anyways. The staff member said the room hadn't been cleaned in weeks-months, who knows who is lying at this point, my money says the property not the staff member. I sent pictures of the mold and get told there are no other units but I could take the bedding off another unoccupied unit. Yeah, not planning on sleeping on mold. Let me add I also have allergies to mold, mildew, dust mites, and ANA to cockroaches. My husband packed our stuff up and we left. While we were looking for another hotel I noticed I had started to itch all over. I included pictures so you can see the allergic reaction that developed from being in the property. The company had no concerns. I still have not received a refund even though the company says it was supposed to be issued by booking.com 3 days ago. I did also file a complaint with booking.com who stated they have received similar complaints from other members regarding this property. Just to add for check in instructions, the original email states that you have to walk around back to get into the property via the backdoor as they leave those doors unlocked for guests instead of using things like a keypad entry which is what most vacation rentals have moved to. The back is completely inaccessible with wires and plants everywhere. I did include a photo. There were also loose wires hanging down from the ceiling at the entrance to the unit, and there was no lighting. This place is disgusting and unsafe for...

Run fast and far! This place is truly horrendous. I booked online using booking.com. I booked several hours before our arrival. I attempted to contact the company multiple times via phone with no response. Instructions after booking were that the information for accessing the unit and unit number would be sent via email, this didn't come until about 2 hours before we arrived, and after I left several unreturned voicemails, and sent several emails. This should have been the sign I should have canceled. When we arrived it was late at night and it was extremely dark. There are minimal to no lights on the property and the property is currently under construction, which we were told in the email. I would say there was adequate parking for the units, but I believe over half of the units are currently closed. We were assigned Villa 773. It was disgusting! We went in and the floor had sand and dirt all over. The staff member working there made a comment about the unit being rented out "that unit is not ready and should not have been rented out". He was working on trying to get the unit in order while we were there. Both TVs were not working and he was trying to get them to work by putting in new cable boxes. The walls were gross, they used flat paint so there were hand prints, dirt, pen, food, just all sorts of gunk on the walls. The tile in the bathroom was unfinished and there were sharp edges. The unit is listed with a full bath, but it's a 3/4 bath, there is no bathtub, its not handicap accessible, so it's not a situation where it was an accessible unit either. I swept the floor trying to make due, and found multiple dead bugs. The fridge had no handle and was covered in rust, which I can get past rust, this isn't uncommon for coastal areas, the handle being gone, there is no excuse for. The counters were not clean and covered in sticky gunk, but there were paper towels so I could wipe them down myself. I asked the staff member working about getting bedding for the bunkbed that was unmade and didn't appear very clean, it had a soiled mattress protector on it. I was told there should be linens in the closet, there weren't. He ended up finding sheets and brought those back and a few pillows. We didn't stay but for a few minutes as the staff member was trying to get the unit habitable, so we moved out of his way and walked across the street to the beach for about an hour and then left to get food at a local fast food place. We came back and were planning to go to sleep. I noticed the bedding on the king size bed was not very clean and had dirt and what looked like shoe prints on it, I pulled that back and noticed hair and more dirt on the sheets. At this point the staff member was gone so I called the property number, again no answer, so I then sent a text (found out this is the only way they communicate) and was told to go get bedding in the laundry room. I went looking in the laundry room and there was no clean bedding, there were sheets and towels only. I figured maybe I could bump the heat up enough I would be ok so sleep without a blanket (there were none). I go back with sheets, after sending the property pictures of the laundry room with piles and piles of dirty laundry. I also figured at this point the bedding they had brought for the bunk bed was likely dirty. My husband went to strip the bed and found mold on the mattress. According to the property the room was just cleaned which means they knew about the mold and were having guests sleep on it anyways. The staff member said the room hadn't been cleaned in weeks-months, who knows who is lying at this point, my money says the property not the staff member. I sent pictures of the mold and get told there are no other units but I could take the bedding off another unoccupied unit. Yeah, not planning on sleeping on mold. Let me add I also have allergies to mold, mildew, dust mites, and ANA to cockroaches. My husband packed our stuff up and we left. While we were looking for another hotel I noticed I had started to itch all over. I included pictures so you can see the allergic reaction that developed from being in the property. The company had no concerns. I still have not received a refund even though the company says it was supposed to be issued by booking.com 3 days ago. I did also file a complaint with booking.com who stated they have received similar complaints from other members regarding this property. Just to add for check in instructions, the original email states that you have to walk around back to get into the property via the backdoor as they leave those doors unlocked for guests instead of using things like a keypad entry which is what most vacation rentals have moved to. The back is completely inaccessible with wires and plants everywhere. I did include a photo. There were also loose wires hanging down from the ceiling at the entrance to the unit, and there was no lighting. This place is disgusting and unsafe for...

Going to give this hotel a 5/5 based off of location and cleanliness, but I will point out honest things that confirm or deny other reviews.

Location: to the beach is perfect. There's a public beach entrance diagonal to the hotel. Takes 3 minutes to get there and your butt is in the sand.

Room: room was exceptionally clean. None of our dishes were dirty. Beds were clean. A few things about our room: Toilet was wobbly. Didn't bother us, but it might someone else. Fan wires are exposed. I work in the painting industry and learned a few things. Doesn't seem to have the right mount to make it flush with the ceiling. May seem a bit scary for someone who knows nothing about fans, but I assure you, it is secured in there. Beds are uncomfortable. Extremely firm and squeaky. Don't come expecting a semi soft bed. Walls are paper thin. First night in, our neighbor was on FaceTime screaming for 2 hours and belching. Next morning he was balling his eyes out. Same night new neighbors moved in with a dog. Could hear it barking all night. BRING EAR PLUGS if you want ti sleep. One thing I noticed about most of the rooms are the blinds are torn up. Seems to be from kids and animals. Didn't bother us, but could bother someone with OCD.

Outside of the hotel room: they are currently in construction so insulation is falling down, grounds keeping is not done, and they're fixing all of the pool chairs. If you can look past all of that, your room is actually really nice on the inside.

Housekeeping: don't come if you're expecting someone to tidy up your room. They do mention in the email extra fees for cleaning, but let me say this:

Stayed here one full week and the room was never cleaned(which is fine), but the hotel should at least provide each room with a broom. It was a bit annoying getting sand out of bed every night. Hard to avoid getting sand in your room when you're on the beach.

Housekeeper was nice. Doesn't speak a word of English so I learned the word towels in Spanish and she gave me fresh ones in exchange for my dirty.

On another note, you also have to take out your own trash.

We loved our stay. If you're looking for resort type amenities this is NOT the place for you. If you're looking for a getaway from life, then you've picked the...