The Pearl Cabana Club — Hotel in Saint Pete Beach

My husband, myself, and our 18-year-old daughter rented three nights at The Villas and had an exceptional stay. ||I’ll admit I started to get concerned on our way there, as the reviews here on trip advisor are less than complimentary. ||I retook a look today at the reviews after having been there myself and having such a lovely time, and I thought it might be helpful to address some of the negativity from a happy customer's perspective. ||If there was a cleanliness issue, ownership thoroughly addressed it, as our villa was nothing short of meticulous. That’s one thing I wouldn’t defend, but there was no sign of anything unkempt.||We ended up staying two days longer than planned, and Dave was very accommodating to this and other changes (even ones he wouldn’t profit from) made during our stay.||So, those that are downvoting because he canceled your stay as it didn’t match the criteria of his changes - let me ask you this:||If you buy tickets to your favorite band, and they break up and cancel the show while ensuring you still receive your full refund, do you expect them to compensate for your inconvenience, get back together, and play you a private show? ||You are negatively impacting a business because it doesn’t match the expectation of a different company. He is under no obligation to make allowances for what was agreed upon by the previous owner when this is an entirely different business model. The cost ownership would have to eat on separate cleaning services than budgeted for the startup. Potential new business complications would amount to much more than the loss of refunding you. Take your money and rent another place. That’s just simple business acumen.||I looked at the website before coming because it’s obvious this isn’t a standard hotel, it’s more similar to the VRBO or AirB&B model, and they tend to have their particulars. Here’s what I learned: ||1. The owner does not have an on-site office; instead, he provides email and text instructions for entry. If a situation requires attention, calls and texts are warranted. Again, this isn’t a hotel, so there isn’t the expectation of 24/7 on-site hospitality.||2. There are no refunds. Now, I believe that a hurricane would perhaps warrant a justified exception, but other than that - there are no refunds. I think that if done within 72 hours, the deposit could be held, and not the entire cost, but that’s just my business experience and based on the fact that as a destination villa, surge season more than balances the scale. But again - the website says no refunds. It’s black and white. You can’t argue with a policy you chose to accept. ||From a marketing perspective, I can see how some messaging styles can be slightly abrasive, which could use updating. Still, it only seems to be an issue for those who have other circumstances cloud their experience. I’m left to deduce that after a less than satisfactory ending, the experience plus the instructions vernacular combine and make something seem more aggressive than possibly intended. ||I firmly acknowledge that some people have had bad experiences. But if you are considering reserving a getaway here, remember that angry people speak louder than happy people. Unfortunately, in this forum, walking away happy and not thinking twice doesn’t reflect in reviews not made.||Additionally - look at the reviews on every other site. The Villas has glowing recommendations, starting at the very first search result, all from 2022/2023, or in other words, under Dave’s management as well.||We can all be more friendly in how we address everyone around us, and yes, there are negative experiences, but I would hate to think someone misses out on a lovely little getaway because of the reviews on this site alone.||We will be back for...

We stayed at this place about 2.5 years ago, and it was awesome. So, I was pretty excited to go back, thinking I'd have the same great time. But this time around, things were a bit different, and it left me feeling kind of mixed. Back in the day, this place was managed by the hotel next door, and there was a friendly hotel manager you could chat with. But that's all changed now. They told me the property got sold, and it's now all automated. You do your check-in online, and they send you a lock combo to get into your place. Quick tip: You gotta enter that 10-digit code fast, or the lock times out. There's no manager on-site anymore. If you've got questions or issues, you have to call Vacasa, the folks who handle bookings and everything else. But even though I still had a pretty good time in St. Pete, it didn't quite match my previous experience. Here's the lowdown on what was good and not-so-good about my stay at Villas of St. Pete:||The Good Stuff:||- The location is still a winner, super close to the beach, and you even get your own parking spot. Plus, I loved that I could see the beach right from my porch.|- The rooms and the whole place were spick and span. No complaints on the cleanliness front, both in the room and around the property. Most things worked fine, though there were a couple of exceptions.|- The room was pretty modern, with a nice big-screen TV. Although the internet connection was a bit iffy.|- The kitchen had what you needed – a fridge, a little electric stove, and all the pots and pans for your culinary adventures.|- They've got a cool pool area with comfy pool chairs, big umbrellas, cabanas, and chill-out spots all over the place.|- They even throw in free bikes to cruise around town.|- And if you're into DIY laundry, there's a washer and dryer on hand.||The Not-So-Good Stuff:||- The shower was a bit of a letdown. The water pressure was weak, making showers take forever, and the bathroom floor turned into a mini pool after every shower because the glass wall only covered half the area.|- The Wi-Fi was super limited. So if you're thinking of getting some work done while you're here, you might be in for a rough time.|- They don't give you extra trash bags, so by the end of my four-day stay, my tiny bin was overflowing.|- Security was a bit sketchy since there was no one on the property. Anyone can stroll in and help themselves. One night, some random guy wandered in and even got into a neighbor's room. They caught him going through their stuff and called the 800 number for Vicasa, but nothing much happened. I saw that guy hanging around a few more times, probably looking for stuff to grab.|- Let me tell you about those bath towels. They were like the worst towels ever. Thin microfiber things that stick to your skin and don't do a good job of drying. I seriously hated them and wished they had regular cotton towels. After a day at the beach, a good shower with nice towels is a big deal.|- The whole automated setup with no humans around made the place feel cold and not as welcoming. I'm all for tech, but some things just work better with a real person there.||So, to sum it up, I've got fond memories of this place, and it's in a killer location. But the lack of staff and some other issues left me a bit disappointed compared to my last visit. Unless they step up the Wi-Fi, security, and get some better towels, I might explore other spots in the area next time. The good stuff still outweighs the bad, but not as much...

We stayed at this place about 2.5 years ago, and it was awesome. So, I was pretty excited to go back, thinking I'd have the same great time. But this time around, things were a bit different, and it left me feeling kind of mixed. Back in the day, this place was managed by the hotel next door, and there was a friendly hotel manager you could chat with. But that's all changed now. They told me the property got sold, and it's now all automated. You do your check-in online, and they send you a lock combo to get into your place. Quick tip: You gotta enter that 10-digit code fast, or the lock times out. There's no manager on-site anymore. If you've got questions or issues, you have to call Vacasa, the folks who handle bookings and everything else. But even though I still had a pretty good time in St. Pete, it didn't quite match my previous experience. Here's the lowdown on what was good and not-so-good about my stay at Villas of St. Pete:

The Good Stuff:

The location is still a winner, super close to the beach, and you even get your own parking spot. Plus, I loved that I could see the beach right from my porch. The rooms and the whole place were spick and span. No complaints on the cleanliness front, both in the room and around the property. Most things worked fine, though there were a couple of exceptions. The room was pretty modern, with a nice big-screen TV. Although the internet connection was a bit iffy. The kitchen had what you needed – a fridge, a little electric stove, and all the pots and pans for your culinary adventures. They've got a cool pool area with comfy pool chairs, big umbrellas, cabanas, and chill-out spots all over the place. They even throw in free bikes to cruise around town. And if you're into DIY laundry, there's a washer and dryer on hand.

The Not-So-Good Stuff:

The shower was a bit of a letdown. The water pressure was weak, making showers take forever, and the bathroom floor turned into a mini pool after every shower because the glass wall only covered half the area. The Wi-Fi was super limited. So if you're thinking of getting some work done while you're here, you might be in for a rough time. They don't give you extra trash bags, so by the end of my four-day stay, my tiny bin was overflowing. Security was a bit sketchy since there was no one on the property. Anyone can stroll in and help themselves. One night, some random guy wandered in and even got into a neighbor's room. They caught him going through their stuff and called the 800 number for Vacasa, but nothing much happened. I saw that guy hanging around a few more times, probably looking for stuff to grab. Let me tell you about those bath towels. They were like the worst towels ever. Thin microfiber things that stick to your skin and don't do a good job of drying. I seriously hated them and wished they had regular cotton towels. After a day at the beach, a good shower with nice towels is a big deal. The whole automated setup with no humans around made the place feel cold and not as welcoming. I'm all for tech, but some things just work better with a real person there.

So, to sum it up, I've got fond memories of this place, and it's in a killer location. But the lack of staff and some other issues left me a bit disappointed compared to my last visit. Unless they step up the Wi-Fi, security, and get some better towels, I might explore other spots in the area next time. The good stuff still outweighs the bad, but not as much...