Villa Sombrero - Exclusive Affordable Waterfront Home in Marathon

Great Vacation Getaway!

ItsUs (Panama City FL)
Review submitted: November 4, 2009   Date of arrival: September 5, 2009

Our family has been staying at this home every September for the past several years and we love it! The seawall is a magnificant place to watch the colorful sunsets; not to mention the great igauna and manatee watching that goes on there! We do a lot of fishing off the seawall too. The fish cleaning table is handy when we unload from our boat that is docked off the seawall. The pool is a fun place to keep cool and watch all the boat traffic - the lobster and fishing boats returning for the day. The house has a perfect layout and is very comfortable. It is conviently located near grocery and souvenir shopping. I would recommend it for families of all ages! We can't wait for next year!!

Recommended for: adventure seekers, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers, girls getaway, pet-friendly, sight seeing, tourists without a car, romantic getaway

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Helpful votes: 10 / 10

Great stay!

Sarah A. ()
Review submitted: March 9, 2013   Date of arrival: February 23, 2013

Great vacation home. We stayed for a week, two families of four. In organizing the rental, Gary was always available and pleasant to work with. When we got to the house it was clean and wildlife welcomed us. Iguanas, crabs, birds, eels, dolphins, lots to see. The location is great. It is very private and quiet. The golf course has a mile and half loop nice for walking in the mornings. We rented a boat and had a great time fishing, snorkeling, soaking up the sun, and docked it at the house. The kids spent hours in the pool. The only complaint was the no-see-ums in the evening, so your either in the pool or in the house at that time. But being so close to the wildlife and private location made it worth it. No problems with the return of the security deposit.

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Helpful votes: 1 / 1

Unfortunate interruptions and unfair fee

Doug S. ()
Review submitted: February 24, 2013   Date of arrival: January 12, 2013

Stayed with family and two small kids, had a pleasant time overall. Bugs were typically bad. Iguana was swimming in the pool upon arrival. Really fun to fish off the cement seawall. We launched a kayak and paddleboard pretty easily. Mangrove island across the channel has lots of trails to wander through and see an occasional snake or tree crab. Tennis court needs some TLC but played fine. Not enough tennis balls so we bought some. Grill works fine. Kitchens are stocked with fairly inexpensive cookwear; not the perfect place to cook gourmet meals. Outside pool furniture is getting old. One of the lounge chairs was broken -- almost everyone fell victim at least once to its busted plastic backrest (older folks could have been hurt). Some of those outside lounge chairs stuck waffle like burns on our skin (the imprint of the plastic stayed visible for days). Inside downstairs, the dining table was wobbly and not easy to get along with. Coffee table had a broken leg and sharp, jagged glass, protected by a piece of pool foam. Sliding glass doors were hard to use and did not roll easily. Upstairs shower was faulty and although there were several toilets, we counted just one plunger. Otherwise the upstairs was nice, the patio upstairs was probably our favorite place to have dinner or coffee. The owner unfortunately had 2 service visits scheduled during our week; our breakfast on Tuesday was interrupted to come home and let the first person in. Then the owner had another inspector come, but he said previously that the 2nd inspector could have come the following week (when no was there); so we discussed, and I thought we agreed that this 2nd inspector would instead come the following week. But that 2nd person then ended up coming the next day anyway. Again, our privacy was interrupted but this time it because we had to deal with an inspector who could have come when none one was there? Owner said dogs welcome, and before we arrived he had commented on his own dogs and how a prior guest had been cut a break on the “dog deposit” fee. This was nice to hear. So our dog was there and stayed downstairs. He did not go upstairs more than briefly. When we left, we noticed insufficient cleaning supplies. Good thing we had kept it pretty tidy. Before we departed by by the 9 am checkout, we cleaned both floors, including sweeping up with the broom. The owner later hit us with an extra $75 fee for dog hair cleaning, which we felt to be unfair, all things considered.

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Helpful votes: 1 / 1