Coastal Hideaways — Local services in Santa Barbara

We recently used the services of Coastal Hideaways for a one-week vacation rental in Santa Barbara, CA. Our whole experience was smooth and positive. I found the agency to be professional, responsive and helpful. They always returned my calls and communication with them was never a problem. I worked most often with Heather on the agency staff and she did an excellent job of answering my questions and handling the necessary details. One thing I appreciated is the fact that their property renting calendar is always up to date. I tried another service before I found Coastal Hideaways and was annoyed several times when properties which appeared to be available on certain dates were, in fact, already booked for those dates. Coastal Hideaways availability listings were accurate and up to date which avoided that issue and saved me time and annoyance.

We rented the Downtown Treasure property and the house was exactly as advertised. It was clean and comfortable and lived up to our expectations. The kitchen was modern and well-equipped and the bathrooms were outstanding. We enjoyed sitting on the covered front porch in the evening with a glass of wine and watching the world go by. The bedrooms were of good size, the beds were comfortable and the house was very charming and inviting.

The property location was perfect for us. We chose this property because it is very close to State Street in Santa Barbara (a 5 minute walk), and also close enough to walk to the beach. Because of its close proximity to State Street, the street on which the house sits is a bit busy and there is traffic noise. However, that was never a problem and was worth it in my mind to be so close to downtown Santa Barbara. The driveways (there are two) are very narrow but even so, we were able to fit up to 5 cars in the driveways for off street parking.

To sum up, the property was excellent and the agency was professional, thorough and very easy to work with. I will not hesitate to book my next Santa Barbara vacation property...

WARNING........ This is the second time I have posted this review. It is all true and documented. It had been removed. I am concerned others may fall victim to Coastal Hideaways ,and Melissa Pierson's many problems and legal issues. I was part owner of a rental property with my business associate. We used Coastal Hideaways and legally ended our contract almost immediately. We had questionable things happen with the owner Melissa Pierson, her suspicious bookkeeping, as well as damage to our home. She threatened us legally. She was found guilty by default by the courts for Property Damage, Fraud,and Breach of Contract, and was motioned by the court to pay thousands of dollars in legal fees by the judge and courts.. We were alarmed after reading of Melissa Pierson's many other legal issues as well, (all public record). We decided we did not want our property or our names associated with this company. Red flags were everywhere. She was slow and difficult to work with....never answering her phone, and not returning calls.. (This is a common complaint from guests trying to get their deposits returned.) The low quality rentals she did provide usually caused damage to our home. This was amateur, child-like management...anything but professional. Once again, more red flags. We saw many warnings as well from angry guests whose deposits were being held and not returned. As one of the homeowners, I began to wonder if these guests could have stayed in our home. Coastal Hideaways is unprofessional as a business. The owner is untruthful, disorganized, disorientated, and confused. In my 58 years, never have I come across such a sad excuse for human behavior or poor business practices. Look elsewhere for professional rentals...

Please Note…My review, all true, and substantiated by court records, and attorney, was removed from google. I find this concerning, as I would hate for our experience to happen to anyone else. I wrote this review to let others know to beware !! ACCORDING TO COURT RECORDS, COASTAL HIDEAWAYS, OWNED BY MELISSA M PIERSON, WAS FOUND GUILTY BY DEFAULT BY THE SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA FOR CAUSING $3992.71 IN DAMAGES TO PROPERTY,FRAUD, BREACH OF CONTRACT AND QUESTIONABLE BOOKKEEPING, WHICH RESULTED IN HER HAVING TO PAY THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN LEGAL FEES AFTER SHE WAS COMPELLED BY THE COURT. SHE FILED A BASELESS AND HARASSING LAWSUIT, FORCING THE HOMEOWNER TO DEFEND HIMSELF AND HIRE AN ATTORNEY.

We found her to be unprofessional, unresponsive, amateur like, and unethical.

Arriving back at the home after Ms. Pierson claimed to have checked the property after a two day rental, the owner found used condoms floating in the spa, broken booze bottles in the pool, cigarette butts and candles burnt into the decking, pool jets snapped off the entire pool and endless garbage from what appeared to be a huge party, the entire house smelling of cigarettes and cars had smashed the driveway walls, and garage as well.

After doing some research into Coastal Hideaways, and Melissa Pierson, we found her legal record and number of lawsuits staggering. She had threatened us legally as well, which has been a common complaint. This entire experience was unnecessary, and I hope others will do their homework before renting or using management with this woman. We would not recommend...