reviews for: listing #25684 - Aptos, California House rental
- bedrooms 3
- pool no
- type House
- baths 2
- hot tub no
- community Rio Del Mar
- sleeps 8
- pets allowed no
-
rates (USD)
$1,050
-
$1,550
/wk
$2,150 - $3,100 /mth
Beware of this rental
JL
(California)
Review submitted: January 14, 2013
Date of arrival: December 1, 2012
I had booked stay at this rental with the owner Gerri. It turns out there was a change with management during my reservation from Gerri to her daughter Kathy. When i arrived there was there was no one there to sign paper work with me because the woman was busy at a party, so we planned to meet at her house nearby the next morning, then changed the plan once more to meet at this listing in the morning. No big deal, but i noticed on the rental contract that the dates were longer than I booked, but we just changed them. I thought the place was nice and had all the amenities I could ask for. There was a problem with the coffee pot but i did not think is was a big deal and picked another one up. Over the next 5 days I received texts and emails about Kathy wanting to change the length of my stay and my rate. We ended up getting to the bottom of it by realized there was a miscommunication on their part about my reservation dates after sending them a screenshot of my original message to Gerri and told her to check Gerri's phone to verify. So they had been bothering me for 5 days because they were upset at me for changing my dates upon arrival when it turned out I had not. I was relieved and hoped she would say sorry and we would be done with it, but no apology! I ended up accidentally leaving the coffee pot there. Boy I have explained the description of my coffee pot twice now per her request and Im still not sure If I'm going to get it back. They also still have my deposit that I will keep posted about. The maintenance man came by one day and was shocked to see me surprised by his visit. When i explained to him that no one had told me about him coming over he gave me the first apology of my stay and said that the new management is going to run the owners rentals to the ground the way she was been dealing with customers. He said he would talk to her and I hope he does. Talk about a headache on vacation, i really hope the owner picks a real management company instead of a family member.
Owners response:
We did have a communication problem with Desiree. She rented this house from my mother for a couple of months. Three weeks after leaving she called (after my mother had taken ill) and rented a different house. It was a last minute rental and she was not specific on the dates that she wanted to stay. She checked into the house on Jan. 5th, but we were not able to meet her at the time she was arriving due to a prior engagement. We gave her the key code and agreed that we would sign papers in the morning. I found out the morning after she checked in that we both had different expectations. We agreed to her stay at a pro-rated rate that she set. Later, when she wanted to extend her stay, we were unable to agree on an extended stay rate. That's when she became frustrated.
With regards to the coffee maker she left at the house three weeks prior to this stay, she gave us a description of a silver and black coffee maker. I asked her three times for the brand to make sure that I returned the correct coffee maker, since they were both silver and black. I offered to leave it at the back porch so I did not disturb her privacy. She sent me a text back informing me that I need to give her 24 hours notice it's the law. So I text her the next time I am in Santa Cruz I will give her 24 hours notice which I did and now she has her coffee maker.
It was unfortunate that the Aquarium passes were missing from the rental. We hope that she mistakenly took them with her and will return them because the only people that are affected are the next vacationers.
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Helpful votes: 1 / 3
Wonderful vacation at tis property
MaryAnne
(Roseville, CA)
Review submitted: September 5, 2012
Date of arrival: July 20, 2012
We had a wonderful vacation at this property. The home is very well furnished and comfortable, very clean. We had no problems with anything in the house and were very pleased with the outside deck and retractable awning. Having the tickets to the Monterey Bay Aquarium proved a nice advantage. We are hoping to return next summer.
Recommended for: age 55+, families with teenagers
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Helpful votes: 4 / 4
Do Not Rent this Listing
r.w. from ohio
(youngstown, OH)
Review submitted: August 24, 2012
Date of arrival: August 15, 2012
This rental was rented for a family vacation, however, it turned out to be more of a nightmare. The home is in a poor state of repair and unclean at best. Within 1 day of our vacation, we noted plumbing issues and issues with the heaters (namely the fire alarms were set off by the heat which rendered them inoperable and there was a faint natural gas odor). Th owner was notified right away. A repair person was sent to the home the next day and "fixed" the problems. The following day, the washer flooded and ruined an entire suitcase of clothes and the walls. Again, the owner was immediately notified and the issue remained unaddressed for another day. The same evening as the washer overflowing, there was a gas leak in the home in the chidren's bedroom! Again, the owner was notified immediately. Her response was to "just open the windows" becuase "gas isn't dangerous". In good faith, the owner was given 24 hours to fix the gas leak and plumbing problems. When the repairs were not made we vacated the property mid-vacation. Do not rent this home. Home is in need of major repairs, including gas lines, and is not safe.
Owners response:
No one wants to have problems on vacation and it is unfortunate that they had a perfect storm of maintenance problems with the house. The prior renters had not noticed any maintenance problems with the house. When a problem was mentioned to the owner, a maintenance man was sent to the house to repair it. For them to imply that the owner did not take any of the repair problems seriously is dishonest and spiteful. Our repair man turned off the gas until he could make the repair. It is clear that they were frustrated with the house and our repair man even commented on how rude they were to him. The owner worked with them regarding whether they wanted to find another place or to extend their stay once problems got fixed. They elected to stay and ended up staying 5 of the 7 nights of the contract. The owner recognized that they were inconvenienced and paid them fair compensation for their inconvenience. We happen to love this beach, this house and enjoy sharing it with people who want to stay in this type of accommodation.
Gerrie Ritchie
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Helpful votes: 2 / 2
graduation wekend
concieob
(escondido)
Review submitted: June 23, 2011
Date of arrival: June 9, 2011
We would definately stay here again,it's well decorated had everything we needed. Great deck with retactable awning when you've had enough sun and still want to be outside.Short walk to nice beach with fire pits and good walking path along beach. Pixie's restaurant 2 blks away had a good menu. Von's and rite aid a short distance away. A little noisy durning the day but nice and quite at night. 15 minute drive to Santa Cruz and 1/2 hr to Monterey.
Great place to stay
Recommended for: age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers, girls getaway, sight seeing
Do you find this review helpful? Yes No
Helpful votes: 4 / 4
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