Almarito Gulf View Hot Tub, Huge Heated Screened Pool. in Seagrove Beach

wonderful time at the "almarito"

Old Auburn Friends (Nashville, TN)
Review submitted: June 15, 2012   Date of arrival: June 9, 2012

We are having a wonderful time at the “Almarito”!. We have a group of 4 adults and 9 children (ages 6 – 17) who have vacationed together here on the coast for many years albeit in separate small units. This year we chose to all stay in one large home. “Almarito” was a great choice as we prefer casual / rustic environments where we don’t have to either pay a lot or worry about the kids wrecking something.
Contrary to previous negative comments, Almarito is accurately portrayed in the photos and descriptions. We would describe it as a “quirky, rambling old place”. It is rustic, but the important things that should be new and clean, certainly are. The bathroom fixtures and fridge are spotless. The linens are plentiful and clean. There are indeed LOTS of stairs –but those stairs serve a great purpose ----- to get you to the super high “sky deck” (awesome!!!) - No better place to sit and ocean/sunset watch in all of Old Seagrove. The views are even great from the main living area (2nd floor) as the homes on the Gulf side are one-story. What a location!
We have used the heck out of the large pool, as being situated under mature trees, has made for a comfortable place to swim in the heat of the day. Please note that even though the pool is good for “grandparents” as the owner’s description states – this place in general is not geared toward that demographic due to the stairs. Laid back families with lots of kids, though, should find this place well suited to their needs. There are lots of gates and attention paid to making this place small child-friendly.
Our week here has had quite a few stormy days, but there has been plenty to do and places to be on the property, thus avoiding cabin-fever.
The manager, Arlene, has been incredibly attentive. Please note that this is an OLDER home so….. sure, there are little things that either didn’t work right or we didn’t have, but she was immediately responsive, even providing convenience items like a plunger and some extra silverware. Of course it is nice to have a home where everything works perfectly, but you will pay double for it. We are a casual, laid back group that appreciates “vintage”, so this has been a perfect place for our vacation.
PS – the A/C works fine.

Recommended for: adventure seekers, families with young children, families with teenagers

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Helpful votes: 1 / 7

Consumer Beware (Mississippi and Tennessee)

Tracy (Petal, Mississippi)
Review submitted: June 3, 2012   Date of arrival: May 26, 2012

Viewing this house on the internet, it looked rustic, but met our needs. I called prior to rental and asked about the poor reviews dealing with the air conditioning units and was told the units had been replaced. When we arrived the owner informed us the A/C just went out and assured us the unit would be fixed immediately. We said that we could not stay in a house without A/C and he said "Of course not". We unloaded and left to visit family and eat while the A/C was being worked on. Upon returning 3 hours later, we were told it had been fixed and give it a few hours to cool off. After 2 hours of no significant change in the temperature, we immediately began looking for other accomodations, but were there during Memorial Day weekend, so everything within an hour drive was booked. We spent our first several hours at the house having face-to-face and phone conversations with Arlene, the manager, and Scott, the owner. Arlene was very helpful and trying to accomodate us as much as she could. Scott was a completely different story. We were offered the old window units and told we would have to install them. He showed me where they were and told me how to do it. They were in a storage unit, with a lot of stuff piled on them, looked very heavy, and we would have to bring them up at least one flight of stairs to get them into the house. After still no luck finding a hotel room, we resigned ourselves to the fact that we would have to stay the night and leave the following day. We called the family members driving from Tennessee and told them to get a hotel since they have 3 small children. As we prepared for bed, we discovered there was no hot water in the home. Once people decided to get into bed, we found the sheets and pillows were dirty, (stains and gritty at the foot of the sheets). My aunt had been in her bed reading and moved one of the pillows and found men's pajamas under the pillow. About 4 a.m. the temperature finally reached 72 degrees. About 7:45 a.m.,Arlene was able to find the problem with the hot water heater, and we did get hot water. We thought everything would be okay until mid-morning when the inside temp began climbing. Scott was not accepting of the fact that the home was uninhabitable, refusing to give us a refund. There is not enough space here to tell the rest of the story dealing with that. Unsanitary, uncomfortable, disappointing! Furnishing in the house is not what was in pics. DO NOT RENT THIS HOUSE-updates needed!

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Helpful votes: 5 / 5

Good times

Mo (Huntsville, AL)
Review submitted: May 2, 2012   Date of arrival: March 24, 2012

If you are looking for a week at the Ritz, nope this is not it. But If you are looking to spend a week in a quaint/private place with plenty of amenities you have nailed it on the head. 12 spring breakers and I were there and we had all we needed and had a great time.

Recommended for: adventure seekers, families with young children, families with teenagers, sight seeing

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Helpful votes: 0 / 4