Seaside Vacations & Sales — Local services in Chincoteague

Unfortunately, we had much the same experience as the many other guests who have written negative reviews.

One of the reasons we booked the property we did was because from the photographs it appeared updated and clean. It also had the required 3 BR, 2 BA with a BR and BA on the main floor, which would work for my elderly mother. Upon arrival, however, we found the house was only partially updated, and there was an obvious water problem. Despite the dehumidifier, the property reeked of mold, mildew, and must. There was mold on the upstairs bathroom ceiling and in the seam of the shower insert; rust and mold spores growing in various vents; and mold and/or mildew on the first-floor bath’s shower liner, wall, and corner. Additionally, many of the light fixtures were missing light bulbs, and there was a steady stream of ants in the kitchen and coming in the front door. I have allergies, and my symptoms were triggered almost instantly.

I immediately contacted Seaside and over the next 2 days repeatedly tried to work with Elaine regarding a solution. She would not take phone calls and would not call me - only text. She continuously told me there was nothing wrong with the property, but would not come over to see it. Instead, she relied on 1) her maintenance crew's opinion (the same crew who saw nothing wrong with leaving a moldy shower curtain and lightbulb-less fixtures for guests); and 2) the owner, who, of course, said there were no problems. When I pointed out that there was a dehumidifier, so it was obvious there was a water problem, Elaine stated this was common. (Notably, the dehumidifier was wedged behind a table in a corner and required climbing over a couch to reach and two people to empty. It also was not disclosed in the description that this would be a necessary daily guest duty during our stay.)

Elaine also repeatedly told me there was nothing that could be done. As I continued to press her, she eventually did offer another rental to us (for an upcharge); however, it was old, outdated, and dark because of vines growing all over the exterior. I spent a day and a half trying to find a comparable rental with other companies. On Day 2, I located a 3 BR, 2 BA rental; however, it was a townhouse with no first floor BR or BA, and my mother couldn't negotiate the stairs. With no other viable options, we were forced to stay.

Eventually Elaine offered us an approximate 11% discount. When I explained I believed 20% was more appropriate, Elaine told me she would check with the owner and let me know. When I had not heard back several days after arriving home, I followed up. Elaine told me 11% was all the owner was willing to do; she would credit us that amount; and assumed we would refrain from writing a negative review. When I informed her I was not satisfied with this amount and would write a review as to our experience, she refused the 11% discount and stopped communicating.

Because of my allergy symptoms, I spent limited time in the house. When we arrived home, we had to wash our clothes three times to get rid of the smell. We have been coming to Chincoteague for 8 years and have never had this experience. Our extended family has been coming to Chincoteague for over 20 years and have never had this experience.

Despite its claims, it is obvious from my dealings with Seaside Vacations & Sales as well as the other negative reviewers' experiences and the company's unprofessional responses to those reviews, the company is not interested in meeting guests' needs, or giving guests a "stress free" "fantastically easy beach vacation." The company is very interested, however, in positive reviews and its management fees. The company would be well-served to start investing a large portion of those fees in basic customer service and...

The only reason this is not a one star review is because the rental company, seaside vacations, were an absolute pleasure to work with. This review should not reflect the rental company at all. That being said, the house was not what we expected. It was dirty. The floors were so dirty that not only can you see that they have not been cleaned in some time (picture), but our feet were filthy within moments of walking around barefoot. There were ants everywhere. It's not even possible that the cleaners didn't know (unless they simply didn't clean anything, possible) because the ants were on all parts of the floor, the bathrooms, and the kitchen counters, etc. Walking in, there were multiple flies in the kitchen too. One of the queen beds is not a queen, it was a queen frame with a full mattress. The frame was clearly much bigger than the mattress. The bed was BROKEN from the moment we sat on it and noticed right away (see picture). I will say that the management company had someone come fix it immediately. He could only basically put a bandaid on it (his words) and it was still very wobbly. We did not feel comfortable or safe on the bed. A couple days later it broke, again. Needless to say, it's not very relaxing when you're trying to rest on vacation. This time the maintenance person came and did a better fix. The management company also gave us ant traps to place out. We expected the internet to be spotty as we've lived on the shore before, but beware, it is bad on a clear day and you will not have wifi if it's cloudy or raining. We didn't require wifi but the fact that it didn't work 80% of the time when we did attempt to use it was awful. The management company were wonderful, they were responsive and polite which made the experience better and we were reimbursed for one night for the inconveniences. Also, the ad stated that the kayaks were available for use but the agreement stated they were not allowed to be used. We had to get an email in writing stating that we were in fact able to utilize the kayaks. This is something we should not have had to worry about as it was a clerical error on someone's end and could've become a legal issue. My advice, always read everything and get changes on writing to protect yourself! I would not stay in this home again due to how dirty it was and the excessive ants which made for a very uncomfortable stay. It was a miserable stay in the house to be honest, vacation outside of the home was wonderful though. Our stay was in Captains Cove in the house called Off The Record.

Edit: The owner did reach out to me and became unprofessional when she found out that I would not take my review down. I explained that as the rental company they assume the responsibility of a poor stay due to issues that were absolutely avoidable. The bed being broken upon arrival is certainly not something that they may have known. The rest of my review was truthful and appropriate. The kayaks are listed in the sales agreement that they are NOT to be used. I have emails to prove that her staff had to remedy that in an email. My review was honest and I stated that the rental company was great and that my issues were with the home. At this point after her messages about my review and her responses I do feel that my honest response is important. I stand by what I said about my review and that the rental company was very responsive and the house was not worth the cost. Just because they were responsive and refunded one night doesn't make a me change my mind about my review or excuse the experience we had. At the end of the day, the stay was not enjoyable in that house. At this point I would not rent from this company again or recommend them after the...

NOT AS ADVERTISED. CHECK YELP!!!

Please look at the Yelp reviews for this company, which average 1.6 stars. I can only assume that these slumlords spend their spare time writing fake reviews for the company, because they are CERTAINLY not spending that time cleaning or maintaining their rental properties.

We contracted a beach rental for 14 August through 16 August while repair work was being done on our home. Upon arriving at the property, we discovered that it was not as advertised: the home was half of a duplex, next to a crowded trailer park (perhaps ten feet away from the main door) and clustered with four other properties at the end of the road. Far from “secluded” or “peaceful”. Entering the property, we found it in a general state of disrepair and uncleanliness: there were beer bottle caps and food wrappers under the dining table, the carpet felt damp from the humidity, there were bugs found throughout the house on beds and elsewhere. The worst part was discovering that the downstairs bathroom/laundry room had extensive water damage to the ceiling, with peeling paint, mildew, and mold over approximately ⅓ of the surface area. We immediately closed the room and called the customer service number; with no answer, I left a message asking to be moved in the morning as my wife and son both have respiratory issues and I was concerned for their safety. Ironically, the reason that we had to be out of our house was for floor replacement due to a faulty refrigerator valve causing toxic mold to grow, so we are now terribly well-versed in the dangers of mold and how to spot it. My eight year old son was crying that he was scared to stay there due to the mold and my ten year old daughter was afraid to touch anything. The next morning, several of my family of five awoke with difficulty breathing, myself included. We immediately left the house and called again, afraid to remain in the house. They said that they had to send their repairman to assess the damage; he later reported that the damage would require a specialist to treat, and we were offered a single other property. With nowhere else to go, we accepted that site, quickly packed our things, and relocated. The second property, while livable, was a downgrade in location, view, amenities, and daily rate: we were essentially paying the premium for a rental with a water view while being stuck in a property on a residential street with no view but a bus stop. That property had it’s own issues (an entire panel of the screened in porch was ripped out, the upstairs tub was cracked down the middle, and there were the same stained and dirty towels and linens), but was at least a roof over our heads. Upon further research, we have found dozens of reviews all saying many of the same things. This is clearly a bait and switch scam operated by slum lords. The interactions with "Elaine" have simply been her claiming that our experience was not accurate, and ignoring our safety concerns. You could not PAY ME enough to ever deal with this...