Sterling Shores Beach Resort - Destin Vacation Rentals by Vacasa — Hotel in Destin

As much as I paid for this place, I really expected much better, I really wish I could get a partial refund but all I'll get, if im lucky, is a generic "were sorry about your experience, we'll try to do better for the next guests" response. To be clear this place has a great pool area and a ton of potential, but the ball was dropped big time by someone. We were here 8/8 to 8/17 of 2024 and here is a various list of things I experienced while there;

Someone let their dog poop on the floor in the hall outside the rooms. Instead of picking it up they just kicked it over into our doorway.

One elevator was down while there a few days. They all had expired operation permits, see attached photo for reference. And to make it worse while the elevators were down EVERY DAY some punks hit EVERY BUTTON in the elevator and you'd have to wait upwards of 10 minutes for the elevator. It wasn't funny the first time, and on the 4th or 5th time PER DAY it still wasn't funny.

My neighbors smoked on their balcony, even though it was a smoke free property and it kept blowing into our balcony and smelled awful. Someone else was smoking pot ..which later ended up stinking up one of the elevators.

The pool rules were clear about drinks, yet every other person had beer IN AND AROUND the pool and was leaving their garbage everywhere. There was also discarded noodles and pool floats everywhere where people didn't want to take them home. The pool itself was nice when there wasn't mulch and debris floating around it though.

The location isn't AWFUL but you are kind of secluded from a lot of the surrounding area, meaning unless you're going to the back porch or the candy store you have to drive any where worth while.

Our unit also had LED lights, which is fine they're efficient and bright, but the issue is they were installed on sockets that had faders. LEDs require constant electricity flow unless designed for faders which means all of our lights flickered like we were in a haunted house.

There is also a rule about no motorcycles or trailers. There were two trailers blocking spots when I left which not a big deal, but definitely annoying on a busy week and the no motorcycles thing was cited as being because the noise and what not...but they conveniently forget to mention that you're on the end of an active runway so every few minutes a private jet is flying maybe 60-100 feet above the top floor. NO WAY a motorcycle is any more distracting or bothersome than the whine of a jet, plus their money spends just as well. Especially if the flight pattern has them taking off towards the Gulf, which means they're at full acceleration. If you're lucky you'll be there when the flight path has them landing over the building, in which case they'll be coasting and not as loud.

Our mattresses sucked. They sank down in the middle and felt like I was sleeping in my own private canyon, it was wild waking up in the same position because it was so sunk in I couldn't even roll in my sleep.

Lastly I don't know what great view everyone is mentioning. You're looking at a restaurant and the back of another building, you can see the Gulf but just barely and no beach at all. Y'all paid a lot, adjust your standards, there are far better views all up and down the strip.

Like mentioned, there's a lot of potential here, it just isn't being met. Until they get it together, take your...

This was my family’s first vacation together and sterling shores (online pictures) seemed at the time to fit our expectations. We paid over 2k for 5 days. Upon entering the hotel to go up to the level we were staying on, the elevator looked and smelt horrible (mildew smell)- understandably my family and I brushed that off due to it being close to the beach and people entering and exiting after being on the beach. ||||When we got into our condo, the small bedroom and what appears to be the master bedroom has the most awfully stained carpet that looked as if someone would catch a disease by stepping onto it. ||In the small bedroom, their was so much dust and filth on the walls, windows and blinds that you could tell it has not been maintained in quite a few months (maybe even half a year). The bed sunk into the middle (think of a V shape and how the sides of the mattress would come up) while sleeping in it. The bunk beds (all in the small room still) was so overly used that the springs sounded like they were coming through the mattress- the bunkbed looked worn down and had scrapes and wood scratches over it as well as missing a ladder to get to the top bunk. ||||The covers in this room had BLOOD on them and we didn’t even notice that part until 2 days after after. The walls in the bathroom had candy/whatever else types of stains/residue on them. The closest won’t open up from the inside(not a big deal, but giving accurate detail). I’m sure there was more, but let’s move to the other bedroom.||||This room appeared nice and had tile flooring- much more appealing and cleaner looking. However, the bed was so uncomfortable and the room had NO cool air. We didn’t stay in this room, but family described their response to it. ||||The other bedroom-aside from the nasty carpet, had no hot water in the restroom, BLOOD once again on covers, pillows and on the walls, door knobs etc. We had to purchase our own cleaning supplies just to clean some and feel more safe sleeping there (I was going to contact the front desk, but they were closed until the next morning.||||The living room and kitchen appeared fine so not really any complaints there- only that the sliding doors leading to the balcony did not lock- with is also a safety issue (kids were there, people could break in easier, etc) other than that and a lot of dust, it appeared fairly decent in those rooms.||||I contacted customer service line and reported half of my findings (called 2 days in-the test was afterwards) and let them know and they said they would put in an order, but that they wasn’t sure if anyone would come out at the time I called to “fix” those things mentioned above as there may have been more “important” things to deal with. I informed the woman I spoke to that I would like to speak with a manager and have the manager contact me and myself and my family was extremely disappointed in the price we paid and the condo we got.||||Manager ended up contacted us and said she appreciated us (after some conversation) being nice about it as she said her self “I don’t know if I would have been nice about it” and reported crediting a certain amount of money back (barely any compared to what we paid) but we’re more concerned with other staying there now and wanted everyone...

PLEASE READ BEFORE CONSIDERING STERLING SHORES RENTAL OR OWNERSHIP.....One Word for anyone that is considering staying at Sterling Shores in Destin. NO......The buildings maintenance and management is very concerning for potential clients. I was trapped in one of the two of three functioning elevators. More concerning was that the safety features of this elevator were non functioning. The alarm button not working, the fireman button not working, the intercom was broken, the fan and ventilation system non functioning, cell phone reception in a concrete shaft not available. Three ladies and myself stuck, anxiety was high, temperature was unbearable, and there was no air. Finally someone on another floor pushed the button for the elevator and we moved and the door opened on their floor. We were soaked with sweat and minutes from having no air to breathe. I later learned that at least three other families had been trapped that same day and one the night before as well. One lady had been trapped for 25 minutes at high noon and with two of her children, one a special needs child. I reported this to management and the attitude was totally unacceptable and their was no compassion and no reason given for all the safety features being out of working order, apparently for some time. Allowing several guests to be traumatized, and their lives and well being put in jeopardy is beyond belief. The on site manager was a new employee (one month) on the job and simply dismissed these incidents as minor, and said that she was assured by upper management and their attorneys that her staff and herself had acted properly and said that she was through with the situation. Unbelievable.....Needless to say we warned all the other guests we ran into to stay off the elevators. If this would have occurred at night, there would have been no one to push for an elevator and save the life of a trapped person. While myself and the other families that were trapped understand that an elevator can break. There is no excuse for all the safety features and backup technology to be broken prior to this incident. Bad management causes someone to pause and wonder what else is not being addressed at Sterling Shores, Destin Florida. One Word NO........There are allot of nice properties near and around this property that you would be better off staying at. The reason I gave one star is because I have to give a star in order for this to post, this property and staff deserve 0 stars. By the way I am a former owner of a unit at Sterling Shores (2003). Sad to see what was a great property to wind up in such a dismal condition and such poor management. To this date no explanation or remorse at the seriousness of our experience from Sterling Shores management. I will post this note as often as I can in an effort to voice my concern for future guests well being. And I am sure the other victims will...