Booking with Ocean Reef Realty was great!
It’s worth noting, though, that they do filter their reviews on specific units and only post the glowing reviews. I should have noticed the most recent review in the property we rented was 2+ years ago. Our review of Sea Haunts 3C is as follows:
If location is key, this is your spot! Beach front, literally just steps to the beach. Beautiful views from second and third floors! But what you won’t get is a well kept condo. Unfinished, dirty baseboards on the first floor with entire pieces missing, rusty finishings in the bathroom on that same floor (the bathroom sink handle literally came apart in my hand. Thankfully we were able to just screw it back on), all exterior rugs are in terrible shape - worn and really dirty. Lamp shades throughout the condo don’t fit the lamps well and sit uneven. Ceiling fans are old and dusty. We felt like we were staying in a grandmother’s basement with the oddly placed, dated wall decor. Random collection of old furniture here as well. There is very limited drawer space on this level. Washer and dryer work well, and there’s a second fridge on the first floor if needed. A huge plus is the AC was awesome!!! Thankfully the second floor where the kitchen and sitting area are clean and in good shape. Kitchen appliances all work well! Rusty hooks that hang from the balcony ceiling, a rusty light fixture, and inactive (thankfully!) wasp nests are on this level’s balcony and remind you of the need to upkeep and clean. The third floor’s two bedrooms are in decent shape, as is that bathroom. Both bathroom showers have been updated, which is nice. Beds were all comfortable, and we all slept well. Paint is peeling on the banister at the second floor, and again we were reminded that a good paint job throughout would serve this condo well. As for Ocean Reef, they were great! We didn’t have a pool key fob upon arrival, and while I had to ask a few times, we received one within 24 hours of my ask. It didn’t work, so a second one was delivered asap to us at the pool so we could be sure it worked. A good, deep clean would also serve this condo well. Thankful for an incredible location, though, and our family had a...
Read moreWe stayed in a 3 bedroom, 2 bath Beachside condo at Beachside II. This was our second stay at Beachside & our first with Ocean Reef. Entry & parking was a breeze. Beach was easily accessible. There were many amenities on the beach for purchase, such as chairs, umbrellas, snacks, drinks, and activities.
Upon entry to the condo, the views were mostly wonderful. There was plenty of seating. The appliances and cookware were in excellent shape. Decor was in good shape. However, there was a fair amount of construction going on, which was loud at times, especially when our kids were trying to nap.
I gave the property 3 stars based on the cleanliness and upkeep of the property. On arrival, there were what appeared to be blue toothpaste smears on the bathroom walls. The 3rd bedroom closet door was off track (which we reported so they could fix after our visit. Response was fast so I do commend them on that). There were also many small holes in the walls that could use a patch. Baseboards and walls were filthy in areas. I understand this is a rental, but when you're paying over $700/night plus a cleaning fee, you expect a little more.
The A/C struggled to keep up, even though we turned off all lights & shut the curtains when possible during the day. At night, the bedrooms were hot, so we purchased fans at the store to help circulate air. When I checked the unit to make sure it hadn't frozen up, the filter wasn't even in it. It was laying in the floor.
Our last stay, there was extra toilet paper, a small container of dishwasher tabs, & even a sample pack of laundry supplies, but this visit there were no extras. We found ourselves running to the store for things more than we liked. It's not a big deal to buy the supplies we needed, but it would've been nice to have a little to get us by for the first day.
Overall, I think we will try another property next time we stay in Destin. Our last visit to Beachside, the AC struggled in that unit as well, so I'm wondering if it's a problem with the building itself. We would probably give Ocean Reef another chance because they did make the rental process easy & were easy to get...
Read moreUPDATE* Mia at Ocean Reef reached out to apologize for our experience and inconvenience. She was very kind and offered compensation for us arriving to a place thar was not up to their standards and for having to move locations. Thank you Mia for valuing your customers!
Santa Rosa Beach unit Gulf Place Town Center 202 If I could leave no stars I would. After arriving at our first rental we called immediately to inform Ocean Reef that the property was filthy. We called and kept getting transferred to the wrong person. We spoke to 6 different people with either guest services, housekeeping, and maintenance; they were all very apologetic. They did offer to come and re-clean; however, we informed them we would not stay due to the condition of the property and either wanted to be moved to another property or find something with a different company. It was so dirty, we were afraid to even use the dishes or sleep on the bed. We finally spoke to someone who found a comparable unit in price, but would cost us an extra $138. We then spoke with Phillip and he was basically just awful. He refused to cover the additional cost even though the unit that was originally provided was filthy. He did offer to send housekeeping; however, we traveled all day and unloaded our car only to arrive at a place that should have already been cleaned and ready. There was sand in the bathtub, chunks of missing grout, what appeared to be blood on the back of the bathroom door (after wiping a small part of the filth on the door, it was red on the towel), filthy and dusty baseboards, food stuck on the handle of the refrigerator, and a floor that was not mopped (we used paper towels to wipe spots off the floor and the white towels were gray and black.) We travel a lot and have never experienced a rental this dirty. On top of that, we lost access to the pools and the private beach entrance. $138 isn’t a lot of money, it was the principal of the matter and Phillip’s rudeness that was the most appalling. While the new property was satisfactory, the floors were...
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