Gulf Coast Getaways — Local services in Pensacola

Vaca rental was canceled 23 hours prior to check-in on 6/30/23. We already left OH at 5:30 the morning of 6/30 and stayed in TN for a night when Debi from Gulf Coast Getaways called. Debi said the owner canceled due to "hot water issues/water tank replacement". Moved us from Beach Colony 17A to Belle Mer 1304 (managed by a sister company apparently), claiming it "was an upgrade". It was not an upgrade. We did not need extra bed/bath, nor would we have ever booked it based on not being updated/decorated to our liking. Was too far from the pier, we had planned on daily sunrise/sunset walks from Beach Colony, that wasn't feasible from Belle Mer. A 1.25 mile roundtrip walk to the end of the Navarre Beach pier was now 3 miles. We also brought 3 kids 7, 15, & 16 and the Beach Colony resort had 2 lifeguard towers nearby. Belle Mer beach area had none. Smaller pool (Beach Colony has the largest resort pool in Navarre, another pro when booked), broken furniture, nasty stained rug in the bedroom "upgrade", too far from pier, broken pile of ceramic balcony tiles just sitting outside, broken electrical outlets, broken entry door security hasp (that they knew about but didn't fix prior to our arrival).

I txted Debi later on 6/30 prior to settling down for the night, explaining the new unit did not look like an upgrade, and to call me back. I waited until the morning of 7/1 at 12pm CDT (after they opened at 10am) and finally called her again. Explained that this wasn't an upgrade and would need some compensation for last minute switch. Refused, stating "it was an upgrade".

I believe that the owners just wanted to be there during 4th of July week. On Friday 7/7 at 1:30pm CDT, I spoke with Alexis at the Santa Rosa County Development Services. They handle permits for Navarre, she stated it was public record, and hot water tank replacement requires a permit. She stated the only permit related to hot water tank work recently was for unit 4D (back in April 2023), not 17A, and there were no permits for anything at that address (8501 Gulf Blvd.) that week.

We were not offered our money back, but even if we were, that would've meant cancelling our family vaca that was planned since April 2022, as there would have been no quality beachfront condo rental availability less than 24 hours prior during the busiest beach time of the year.

As of 7/25, I still have not received a follow up call from the reservations manager. On a follow up call with Debi on 7/10, I asked about the hot water tank replacement, she stated she didn't have an update from the owner yet. When I mentioned that I contacted the Santa Rosa County permit office and that there was no permit pulled for the work, there was a period of awkward silence, she said she would give my contact info to the reservations manager, but he was "at the hospital with his wife and I don't know when he will get back to you". Over two weeks now, still waiting for a phone call.

As of 8/29 there's been no attempt to contact me after leaving several messages.

Greg Cook, the owner of Gulf Coast Getaways finally gave me a call on 9/27 after receiving my complaint from the Florida Dept of Agriculture and Consumer Services. He basically told me what Debi had, that the unit was an upgrade and there was some sort of water issue. What came out then was that the owners had blocked off that week long ago, it was "overlooked" in their office, and coincidentally there was a hot water issue that needed taken care of. When I asked about needing a permit, he said it's not required, they replace tanks all of the time without a permit. After explaining the conditions at Belle Mer, he asked if I had requested a refund from Beach Rentals at Navarre, and I said that I didn't rent from them, I rented from him. He offered no money back, but did offer a small discount for a future stay, something that I declined based on the above. Zero documentation offered to substantiate this water tank replacement and need to cancel our...

We stayed at the shore house in Navarre , I honestly can't believe they are renting that home to people . That house has so much mold in it , it was unreal! When we first arrived we were taken back because the pictures show it's the only house on that lot but it's not and there's a very small driveway especially for the size of that house. The pictures were very deceiving. When arriving we put in the code that was given to us but it did not work we tried it on another door it worked it only worked on one out if 3 doors so we told then they replied quickly and said maintenance will be out in the morning. We also discovered that the A/C wasn't working it was 85° in there through the night. We had all 3 units on but some time in the middle of the night it started working we woke up freezing and to find the ceiling in the kitchen was leaking there was huge puddle of water on the floor which was from the ac condensation. So I reached out told them and they said maintenance would check it out . He came that day in pretty much said just don't turn the a/c up to cold. They've had this issue previously which the ceiling showed that it was buckled and moldy. The whole time we stayed there it worked when it wanted to which wasn't ideal when it was so hot out. We discovered the ceiling where the leak was had mold along with several other places in the home . There was also a musty mildew smell we started to smell . My son has very bad asthma and is usually triggered by mold he was so sick while staying there also another family member staying with us went to get a hotel because she said every time she was in there she kept coughing in her chest was heavy. We all were coughing and sick by the end of our stay . I am very disappointed. Also the house wasn't cleaned very well . Two bedrooms we found dirty underwear by the bed! And the counter tops were filthy ! I would not recommend staying there especially for the price we feel robbed after paying what we paid and getting...

The good first! Great location and we loved the corner unit with lots of glass to see outside. Beautiful views! Very roomy and nice layout of the condo. Debi was great to work with before our stay! Condo had lots of beach toys to use while there which was nice!

Our complaints on the condo was the cleanliness of the property. Very disappointed. Stains on mattress covers, air return had hair and lots of yuck stuck in it. Baseboards have never been cleaned because it was very noticeable. The wall in kitchen at the bar had food splattered on it and the dishes in the cabinets were dirty. Lots of dust bunnies running around where the unit had not been swept well. We also had to fix the ceiling fan from the glass cover because it was loose and about to come off. The shower with the sprayer blew off while we were there. Tried to fix it but couldn’t. Unit needs a MAJOR cleaning. Not sure why people marked it a 10 on cleanliness. I would rate cleanliness at an 4 out of 10.

The property grounds…..the lady who cleaned the main level at the pool daily did a great job! The pool area was always clean. Wished they had the water fountain on the porch area on the ground floor working because it is neat but it was out of order.

Overall they really need to assess who they have cleaning for them on the unit(s). Checks from management for the cleaning crew should be weekly on the condos. The condo was pricy and for what we paid and I would have expected a much cleaner place. Our condo was 1103 at the Caribbean Resort...