Beach Blue Properties Reviews (%countItem)
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Beach Blue Properties Rating
Address: 9300 Baytowne Wharf Blvd, Suite A, Miramar Beach, Florida, United States, 32550
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Beach blue properties is one of the only management companies in the area refusing to offer customers full refunds for properties booked during the coronavirus pandemic. Beaches are closed. Restaurants are closed. People have been asked to shelter at home. There are many families from our area that were planning to travel to the Watersound area for our spring break and as of today we are the only ones I know who have not been fully refunded. It's disheartening to know that money is more important for this company than doing the right thing for their customers. While they did offer a travel credit, it is not something we can use. I would advise others to be very careful when booking through VRBO to not choose this rental agency.
At Beach Blue we understand that these are trying times for everyone in every industry, and we have taken many steps to relax our policies as much as possible. We have been in contact with multiple management companies in the area, and the majority of these companies are using the same polices we are using. These are the same policies set forth by VRBO and Homeaway, the leaders in the industry.
Every guest that makes a reservation through with our company either through VRBO, Homeaway or on our website signs a rental agreement. That agreement has a cancellation policy included that every guest has to initial. This cancellation policy does not allow for any refund or credit within 30 days of arrival. This is a standard cancellation policy suggested by VRBO and Homeaway. Every guest also must either accept or decline travel insurance before the reservation is completed.
Before VRBO or Homeaway suggested any type of relaxed cancellation policy, Beach Blue had already began offering full credits for reservations through the end of April that could be used for the next 12 months. VRBO and Homeaway then came out with a relaxed cancellation policy recommended for all property managers to abide by. Beach Blue immediately began offering the suggested policy to our guests. This policy gave every guest two choices. They could either take a full credit that would be good for the next 12 months, or they could immediately get a 50% refund. Both of these options are far more lenient than what was included in the original contract signed by every guest.
Another side of this is the travel insurance option that was declined by this guest. Travel insurance is offered and written through a third party insurance company, Generali or CSA. Travel insurance is available and must be accepted or declined by every guest that makes a reservation. Travel insurance is available for "unforeseen" events such as hurricanes, illness, death, etc. The Covid-19 outbreak was an unforeseen event.
When travel insurance is accepted, there is an additional premium added to the reservation, and this premium is paid to the insurance company. The guest would then deal directly with the insurance company for any type of refund. This is a choice that everyone is familiar with from purchasing airline tickets, cruises, etc. Beach Blue Properties has followed the exact recommendations of VRBO and Homeaway regarding credits and refunds. Beach Blue should not have to bear the full financial burden of a guest's choice not to purchase travel insurance when it was suggested to them when making the reservation, but in a gesture of good faith, Beach Blue has offered the relaxed cancellation policy outlined above. 80-85% of guests have been very understanding and appreciative of the relaxed cancellation policy, and we are appreciative of their gratefulness.
We value all of our guests at Beach Blue, and we look forward to the day the beaches reopen.
I am writing this as a generic letter that I will be posting across many different entities, websites, social media sites, etc.
We made a reservation at a property in Sandestin, Fl for Spring Break in April of 2020. Due to the COVID-19 GLOBAL pandemic, we have been forced to cancel our reservations with a condo managed by Blue Beach Properties, Inc. We had planned on staying in Sandestin with 3 other families, all which are staying at various properties within Sandestin.
All 3 of these other families are being reimbursed 100% of their condo due to the fact that there is this global pandemic, unable to travel due to people being forced to quarantine themselves to avoid this deadly disease.
Blue Beach Properties, Inc., however, is unwilling to reimburse us ANY money that we have pre-paid (which exceeds $2,500). The best they could do is offer us a future date to stay, but we are unable to come up with any dates in the near future as we are unsure as to how our schedule will be with school, children's activities, work commitments, etc. I assured them that when we return to Sandestin, we most definitely would stay at their location again, as it is quite a beautiful property - in which we had stayed before in July of 2018.
Just because of the uncertainty of our schedule, the state of affairs with this pandemic, we were looking for a complete refund.
After my many phone calls and emails with various employees with Blue Beach, they have simply stated that their policy won't allow for any reimbursement.
I'm here to say - LOUD to anyone who will listen - that Blue Beach Properties is quite frankly the epitome of how you do NOT conduct business. We are in a national and global pandemic. Small businesses and people are banning together so that we can get through this crisis together. To think that they will not work with us in reimbursing us is unbelievable, unacceptable, and downright HORRIBLE. I can not even believe that they are able to conduct business such a way. I am not cancelling this trip because I don't feel like going, or something better has come up, I am cancelling this trip because WE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO GO.
We are so upset that we as a nation are going through such a trying time. The fact that Blue Beach Properties is being so unreasonable is nothing short of unbelievable. They are selfish, greedy, and quite frankly, the opposite of being an American. I will be contacting our credit card company, all travel departments within the state of Florida, as well as various social media and travel sites.
At Beach Blue we understand that these are trying times for everyone in every industry, and we have taken many steps to relax our policies as much as possible. We have been in contact with multiple management companies in the area, and the majority of these companies are using the same polices we are using. These are the same policies set forth by VRBO and Homeaway, the leaders in the industry.
The statement that we are only offering a future credit is not accurate. Beach Blue is offering either a full credit for a future reservation or a 50% refund of all monies paid.
Every guest that makes a reservation through with our company either through VRBO, Homeaway or on our website signs a rental agreement. That agreement has a cancellation policy included that every guest has to initial. This cancellation policy does not allow for any refund or credit within 30 days of arrival. This is a standard cancellation policy suggested by VRBO and Homeaway. Every guest also must either accept or decline travel insurance before the reservation is completed.
Before VRBO or Homeaway suggested any type of relaxed cancellation policy, Beach Blue had already began offering full credits for reservations through the end of April that could be used for the next 12 months. VRBO and Homeaway then came out with a relaxed cancellation policy recommended for all property managers to abide by. Beach Blue immediately began offering the suggested policy to our guests. This policy gave every guest two choices. They could either take a full credit that would be good for the next 12 months, or they could immediately get a 50% refund. Both of these options are far more lenient than what was included in the original contract signed by every guest.
Another side of this is the travel insurance option that was declined by this guest. Travel insurance is offered and written through a third party insurance company, Generali or CSA. Travel insurance is available and must be accepted or declined by every guest that makes a reservation. Travel insurance is available for "unforeseen" events such as hurricanes, illness, death, etc. The Covid-19 outbreak was an unforeseen event.
When travel insurance is accepted, there is an additional premium added to the reservation, and this premium is paid to the insurance company. The guest would then deal directly with the insurance company for any type of refund. This is a choice that everyone is familiar with from purchasing airline tickets, cruises, etc. Beach Blue Properties has followed the exact recommendations of VRBO and Homeaway regarding credits and refunds. Beach Blue should not have to bear the full financial burden of a guest's choice not to purchase travel insurance when it was suggested to them when making the reservation, but in a gesture of good faith, Beach Blue has offered the relaxed cancellation policy outlined above. 80-85% of guests have been very understanding and appreciative of the relaxed cancellation policy, and we are appreciative of their gratefulness.
We value all of our guests at Beach Blue, and we look forward to the day the beaches reopen.
Two points - we were never offered a 50% refund. We were told that since Sandestin beaches were private, and still open, that the 50% refund would not be applied.
Secondly, we've seen a commercial from VRBO stating that the CEO would work with any guest for a refund if the private owners would not provide a refund.
We know many, many families from our region who were all going to either Destin or Sandestin - ALL OF WHICH ARE GETTING COMPLETE REFUNDS.
And you are correct about one thing - we didn't buy travel insurance. Shame on us I guess. We booked this reservation just a few months ago - who could have known that something like this could have happened. This is worse than a hurricane or natural disaster. This is truly life or death.
I'm so completely disappointed in Beach Blue. Shame on you for not doing the right thing in such a horrible and scary time for all Americans.
Beach Blue made the first trip to the beach without our dad super special! I have been going to Orange Beach, AL with my family since I was 2-3 years old. My dad suddenly passed away Christmas of 2017 and my mom couldn't bare to go to the same condo we always rent in Orange Beach without my dad. A friend of the family recommending Beach Blue to us. So we about a few condos through there website and were immediately answered. Elise took care of us in dealing with the reservation and David took care of everything that we could have possibly needed while we were there. The condo was in immaculate condition during our stay and was even nicer than we could have ever imagined. During our stay, Hurricane Michael formed in the gulf and we eventually had to leave the condo a day early as we were under mandatory evacuation. The staff of Beach Blue were in constant contact with us during this hectic time! I HIGHLY recommend using this service for your next vacation rental!
We are snowbirds and found our first rental unit with Beach Blue in 2017 through VRBO and chose to deal with them directly. We are impressed with their pleasant and helpful customer service and never feel that we're an inconvenience even if we're "just dropping by". Specifically, *** and *** take customer satisfaction seriously and want the customer to be happy. They have dealt with our problems regarding comfort and mechanical issues that are within their control in a timely and efficient manner. They have taken the extra steps to attempt to address issues beyond their control as well. We have made arrangements to rent for a fourth winter season through Beach Blue. We have recommended Beach Blue to friends coming to visit the Miramar Beach area, and, they too have been happy with Beach Blue.
Thank you so much for choosing to spend your winters with Beach Blue in Destin! It really means a lot to all of us to have you and other snowbirds throughout the winter months between the end of one busy season and the beginning of the next. We are looking forward to seeing you next year!
This is our second year of renting with BeachBlue Properties here at Sandestin. BeachBlue has been excellent to deal with and have managed to find us a property that matched our needs perfectly on both occasions. *** called us in July to tell us that a cottage had just become available for our requested dates, and sent a photo gallery of the property. We had already booked another property with BeachBlue that didn't exactly tick all our boxes. *** managed to switch our booking to the cottage without any cancellation fees. The cottage was so perfect for us, that within minutes of walking we knew we would book for 2021. Both this year and last, we have had outstanding service from the the staff at BB, as any issues that came up with the property were made right immediately, and to our complete satisfaction.
I have recommended BeachBlue to our friends at home and expect to see some of them here next year.
Many thanks to *** and *** for making our Snowbird vacation a truly wonderful experience.
Thank you for staying with us again this year! *** is a huge asset for Beach Blue, and we are so happy to have him! We look forward to seeing you next time!
I've used Beach Blue Properties multiple times for beach vacations and have never been disappointed. Their representatives are courteous and respond promptly. Their properties are always immaculate and just as described. I will continue to book my Destin vacations through Beach Blue Properties. The service is second to none.
Thank you for staying with us again! I am so happy you enjoyed your stay in Destin, and we look forward to seeing you again next time!
I've stayed with beach blue properties on numerous occasions and each time has been a wonderful experience from booking to check out. The rentals are exceptionally clean and the staff is available to meet any needs that should arise. I will never book with anyone else!
Thank you for staying with us again! We are so happy you enjoyed your trip and look forward to seeing you next time!
I have been vacationing with Beach Blue since 2012. I have always had a positive experience and have been treated in a professional way. Our family typically stays with Beach Blue at least twice a year and will continue to do so.
Thank you for being such a loyal Beach Blue vacationer! I am so happy you had a great time! We look forward to seeing you next time!
My family and I rented a condo in Pilot house in Sandestin from Beach Blue over New Year's Eve! This was the first time we have gone to Destin over the holidays and it was great! The condo was just like it was described on the internet, and the staff was great!
Thank you for staying in one of our pilot house condos in Sandestin, and we are so happy you enjoyed your stay!
We just staying in a property managed by beach blue over the long weekend for Martin Luther King Day. The condo was clean, and the company was very helpful when we couldn't find our door code. We will rent from beach blue again.
Thank you for choosing to stay in one of our Beach Blue vacation properties! We look forward to seeing you again in the future!
Our stay over the winter was great! We are from Mississippi, and try to stay in a different place every year. This was our second time in the Destin area, but it was our first time to rent through Beach Blue Properties. If we come back to Destin, we will definitely use this company again as they were very helpful throughout our stay.
We are currently staying at 2470 Bungalo lane in Baytowne. The house itself is nice but the service is subpar. The only defects in the home is a couple of tears in the couch and the screen door closure didn't work. Our issues are with the 6 passenger golf cart that is included in the rental rate. When on our way down they informed us that it would not be available and that they would have a 4 person cart. I know this sounds picky but they charge more for this service and we chose this place over others that were just as nice and cheaper because of the convenience of the larger cart with the size of our group.Now we have to make twice the trips to transport. I don't work for Uber! This biggest issue is that when asked about this their attitude was that "we are furtunate to get we we received ". Their advertising clearly states and uses this numerous times about the larger cart. There are numerous cart rental places that the could have used to remedy the issue but refused. I just feel like this is a little bait and switch here.
I am sorry you are having issues with the golf cart during your stay. Beach Blue makes every effort to make sure that the golf cart is available and in working order at every property. However, as with any vehicle, problems do arise that have to be repaired.
We were actually fortunate that a cart was available to bring as a loaner cart. Even though the rental agreement that all guests sign clearly states that there is no charge for the golf cart and the use of the cart is not guaranteed, we still make every effort to make sure a guest has a cart during their stay.
You see, rental carts are not allowed and are strictly prohibited at Sandestin. This means no outside golf cart rental companies are allowed on the resort. The only carts allowed on the property are carts that belong to the owners of the individual properties. That's why there is no charge for the use of a golf cart. We are not allowed to charge for the use of a cart, and there is no line item on an invoice for a cart. If is also for this reason that we cannot offer a refund for a disabled cart. If the Sandestin Owners Association had reason to believe that a value was given to the use of a cart as a charge or a refund, they would have grounds to revoke that owners golf cart registration
The fact that there are no rental carts allowed means that most of the time we simply do not have spare carts to offer guests when a cart breaks down. In this case however, we were fortunate, as was the guest, that a cart was available, even though it wasn't the same size cart.
Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience with the cart, but due to the rules set forth by the Sandestin Owners Association we are very limited in what we can do.
This place was horrible! We saved all year to take our yearly family vacation. This place is a DUMP! Huge chunks of wood missing out of the flooring. Water damage in the kitchen ceiling. Furniture is filthy. TV doesn't work in loft area. Smells like mold and mildew. Curtains are falling off the clips so sunshine hits you the face at like 6:45am! Trash can was so filthy I had to run the lid through the dishwasher myself because I couldn't stand looking at it. Wood is rotting around home. Grill was dirty with dried BBQ sauce on it. Outside furniture is rusted don't sit on it will stain your clothing. Shower curtains were molded. They did replace those after I called. The golf cart was full of spider webs and windshield so filthy you couldn't even see through it and it didn't run well at all. So disappointed! I'm putting this on the Revdex.com because after looking up this company I'm not the first person to have problems. All they offered was $100 for my inconvenience! Seriously?!
You can't leave a review on the Beach Blue Properties website because if you don't click 5 stars it tells you there are "internet issues". I'm so disgusted with this company and will NEVER use them again. The photos are somehow doctored because when you walk in looks nothing like the photos.
You are correct. We were able to find your reservation under your husband's name. I will do some research on your situation and issue an additional reply. Thank you.
It is unfortunate that false reviews like this are allowed to be posted online. This property belongs to someone that worked very hard to be able to afford to purchase it, and they chose to decorate it in a way that was appealing to them. They were very excited to offer it for rent. The inside of this property looks exactly like the photos on the ad. The photos that are online are current and were taken this past spring. The accusation that Beach Blue doctored the photos is absolutely crazy.
It is clear that some updates have been done such as the kitchen, some of the flooring and the bathroom counters. It is also clear in the photos that the tubs and tub surrounds have not been updated. The whole condo is that way. There are things that have been updated and things that have not, but all of it is evident and clearly visible in the photos. This is typical for a property that was built in 1982.
This guest complained about the price of the condo from the time she arrived, but Beach Blue has this property priced accordingly. A single hotel room at the Courtyard Marriot Sandestin for the same dates was $265.00/night. This is a 3 bedroom/2bathroom condo, that sleeps 8 people, with a golf cart, inside the gates of Sandestin, and this guest only paid $255.00 night. Condominiums that have been completely remodeled cost a great deal more money to rent than this condo. This guest paid a low rental rate due to the fact that this condo has not been fully remodeled as is clearly depicted in the photographs.
The inspection app that Beach Blue uses time stamps the inspection activity and photos that are taken during an inspection of the property. Beach Blue has a person that does nothing but clean golf carts and grills every day. There are time stamped photographs of both that were taken 3 hours before this guest arrived. These photos were taken after they were cleaned the same day this guest arrived.
There are a couple of marks in the wooding flooring and a water stain on the ceiling from a recent leak from an upstairs bathroom where a guest didn't put the shower curtain inside the tub while kids were in the shower, and water got all over the bathroom floors. The condo does not smell like mildew or mold. The water issue was only a couple of weeks ago.
The statement that someone cannot leave a review on our website unless it is a 5 star review doesn't even make sense. We have the option to either allow reviews or not to allow reviews. We cannot control how the reviews are rated.
The bottom line is that this guest was unable to be appeased from the moment she arrived, Beach Blue made multiple attempts to please her. We sent maintenance and housekeeping to take care of everything she asked for, but nothing made her happy as evident by her review. She never asked to be moved to another property, which we had available. She was only interested in a refund from the time she arrived. I do not believe that moving her to another property would have accomplished anything.
#1 NEVER ASKED FOR A REFUND! NOT ONCE! She offered a $100 refund for inconvenience. That was a joke! This is a very deceitful company. Obviously we will never rent from them again. I have MANY PHOTOS TO PROVE MY REVIEW! Their own site will NOT allow reviews UNLESS you give them 5 stars! That's very deceptive as well! How can I attach photos to prove she's lying?!
This will by my last response regarding this guest:
Again, it is unfortunate that someone can just say anything they want to say in an effort to damage an owner and/or company. Both of the messages left by this guest are clearly aggressive in nature, which is exactly what we dealt with the entire time she was staying in this property. Nothing is perfect all of the time, but Beach Blue always does everything in our power to rectify any situation that might arise, and most of the time guests are appreciative of the effort. Unfortunately, this guest clearly was not.
What's really interesting is that this same guest left a review on VRBO about her stay, and it was similar, but the majority of the review was about her distaste for the decor, which is exactly what is pictured in the photos online. Her bashing of the interior design went on for quite a while and even accused Beach Blue of using photoshop to doctor the photos. I actually went back to the photos to make sure there were no mistakes such as having the wrong photo on the wrong property. Everything was accurate down to the pillow shams. Again, these owners are proud of their vacation property, and have it decorated the way they want it decorated. Different people have different tastes regarding decor, but when a property identically matches photos online, a guest really shouldn't make the claims this lady made on VRBO.
I would encourage everyone to go to our website, click on different properties and read the reviews. You will see two things, the majority of the reviews are very good, but you will also see reviews that are less than five stars, which means that this guest's claim that we don't allow reviews less than five stars simply isn't true. The very first property I checked had 5 star reviews along with a 2 star review. The idea that Beach Blue screens reviews or doesn't allow certain reviews is just not true.
Lastly, this guest made it clear that she would never stay with Beach Blue again in the future. Actually, after the experience we had with her during her stay, staying with Beach Blue again was not a option for her. It is extremely rare for us to "blacklist" a guest. Beach Blue does about 3,500 reservations a year, and between our two management companies, we do about 6,000 reservations a year. We only "blacklist" 2 or 3 guests a year, but after the experience we had with this guest during her stay, she was blacklisted before her departure, and the untrue and inaccurate statements left in her reviews just confirms the decision to do so.
House was very dirty, un-kept, poor maintenance. Doors on ground floor and second floor didn't even latch or lock. All cooking surfaces very dirty.
Rented 20 Ballamore Dr, Miramar Beach FL 9/15 to 9/22, 2018. Overall the house was very un-kept and dirty, carpets, windows, walls, all dirty. The cooking surfaces for the oven, cook top and microwave were all very dirty and unsanitary. Lights throughout the house and outside were burnt out. Paint was chipped and peeling on many exterior surfaces. Shower fixtures leaked and sprayed all over when you used them. The pool filter leaked so you needed to fill the pool any time you wanted to use it. The AC didn't work upon arrival and we needed to call to get management that working. They did respond to that first call. There were three bicycles in the garage for renters to use however none of the three were in working condition. There were spill stains on some of the walls. There was a door in the back on the ground floor and one on the second floor balcony the didn't latch or lock. We closed the hurricane shutters on those doors when we were out. Many of the drawers in the cabinets and furniture had clutter and junk in them. There was a count for dishes and glassware but many items were missing upon arrival. On the first call to management they said they were aware of the short count. Toward the end of the visit the cable service was cut off. Management didn't respond so we called the cable service, they said it was for non-payment of the bill. After our first call to management they became very unresponsive. We did decide to stay since we were 1,000 miles from home and the rental was already paid in full. Overall the house was just very shabby, dirty, un-kept and in disrepair. If maintained it would be a beautiful luxury beach front home, as is it is an insult to those who are charged to stay there. It cost $5,843.10 for the week.
I think a refund is in order. The home isn't in rental condition. The cooking surfaces were un-sanitary, grease and food debris on all cooking surfaces. A ground level door didn't even latch or lock. The house is an eyesore in an otherwise very beautiful area.
Beach Blue originally contacted the Revdex.com to explain the situation surrounding this complaint, and it expired before we submitted a response to this issue.
Beach Blue has a full time staff with someone on call at all times to handle any issues that might arise. This guest had multiple avenues available to him to contact our staff for the duration of their stay to take care any issues. However, Beach Blue was not contacted until right before the departure date to issue us a list of things they were unhappy with. Along with the list of issues, Beach Blue was told that if we did not issue a refund for their stay then negative reviews would be posted online and complaints would be filed with the Revdex.com. I realize this might be hard for many people to believe, but we have had guests tell us that they have watched a "20/20" special on what to say to get a refund for their vacation whether there is an actual issue or not.
I am not denying that some issues may have been present, and I will go through the list of complaints, but Beach Blue has a policy that all guests are made aware of prior to arrival. This policy is that if you have any issues, report them as soon as you find them, not at the end of your stay. We will come and correct whatever the problem is. Beach Blue understands that issues will arise, and not everything is perfect every time, but we will take care of it, but we also will not be blackmailed when our staff was available the entire time this guest was in house.
Regarding the housekeeping complaint, I did not see the house, so I cannot verify the condition one way or the other, but I can say that our housekeepers were available every day to take care of whatever issues the guest found. However, the issues this guest is describing should have been noticed right away, and we should have been notified longe before the departure date.
All of the doors have always and continue to function properly. They are Anderson hurricane doors with latches that operate differently than most doors for extra security and secureness. There are directions posted to show a guest how to operate the doors. If they are not latched correctly, they will open freely as this guest described. These types of doors are very common in many beach properties.
Regarding the burned out light bulbs, each property is inspected prior to an arrival, and one of the items on the list is light bulbs. It is possible that bulbs could have been missed. However, Beach Blue was available to rectify that issue immediately with one phone call, text message, contact request, ect. Contacting our staff is easier than deciding what to eat for dinner.
The pool pump has never been an issue at that house. We did have to replace the pool heater at one point, but the pump that was there when this guest was there is still working fine to this day, and we have not had any further complaints on the pool or the house at all for that matter.
Anyone that comes to the beach knows that a gulf front home is always in a constant state of maintenance on the exterior. Peeling paint is very common, and is handled in the offseason or winter time. This guest was in house during October fall break.
Regarding the short count on dishes and kitchen items, I can assure you that if a call was made to our staff about the lack of kitchen items, we offered to bring whatever was needed to make the kitchen supply whole. Not a week goes by when a Beach Blue staff member isn't taking kitchen supplies to a property either before, during or after a stay. Hopefully, the shortage is caught prior to the arrival of a guest, but it is not reasonable to think that a full inventory of the kitchen can be taken between every guest. This would not be cost effective, and the additional cost would have to be passed *** the guests.
Both AC units were replaced in the spring with brand new units, so if the AC was not working upon this guests arrival, it was not due to a lack of maintenance.
Bicycles are not advertised with this property. The bikes that were in the garage were left by a prior guest and should have been thrown away before anyone arrived. It is likely the inspector did not have room in his or her car to carry the bicycles, and a service order needed to be entered for a special trip to remove the bikes. I do know that the bikes are no longer there.
The owner of this house owns multiple rental properties all over the country. He has a bookkeeper in charge of paying the utility bills for all of those properties. The cable bill for this house was overlooked, and it was cut off, however, it was restored immediately after we received the call that it had been cut off.
Again, Beach Blue staff and housekeeping was available for the duration of this guests stay to handle all the issues he is claiming, but we were not notified until right before the departure day when he demanded a refund or there would be negative reviews online. We simply cannot operate like that. If he had called in a timely manner, as explained in his rental literature, and his complaints had been valid and verified, then it is very likely that a refund would have been issued.
Our company has been in business since 2008, and it has been named Beach Blue Properties since 2014. Beach Blue has done 11,796 reservations with the same amount of separate arrivals since January 1, 2014, and we have a total of 6 negative reviews on the Revdex.com. This is the only negative review for this property.
It is truly unfortunate that someone can hold a business hostage and demand money for something that may or may not be true. Beach Blue is only asking to report issues in a timely manner in order for us to verify and rectify the issues, and if a refund is in order then so be it. However, in this case, we were not made aware of any issues other than the cable until the end of their stay.
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
After our stay we went into the web to find reviews specifically on Beach Blue. Based on their response from others this is exactly what I expected. I did expect it several months earlier. The time it takes them to respond to Revdex.com should be an indicator as to how they will respond to their customers. Rather than address any issue they simply attack the former customer. Beach Blue is saying only on the very last day did someone call with a list of complaints and suggest if all the money wasn't refunded in full we would post negative reviews to hurt their business. Simply not true.
We called quite a few times in the first three days beginning with the first evening. I believe we reached a live person once, all other calls went to voice mail. The A/C was repaired the first evening when we were out to dinner. We were also told not to worry about the short count on dishes and glass wear as that was common. After the first few days we gave up on calling as messages were mostly not returned. I asked my group the first night if they wanted to try a hotel and cancel Beach Blue. They opted to stay, I really now wish they didn't. We were on vacation and didn't want to waste the trip complaining about accommodations. Because every cooking service was extremely dirty we opted to eat all meals out and not use the kitchen.
We left a day early and did call when leaving, we left a message, again no answer. The message was simply we're checking out. No list of complaints at that time, they already had those and chose not to address most. And no threat to refund everything or we'll trash their reputation. I'm 60 and this is my first complaint ever to Revdex.com on any business. We've used VRBO several times in the past few years and have been very impressed. This experience was so bad it was laughable.
To go down their list somewhat in order:
We did call right away, maybe five or six times in the first few days. Most calls went to voice mail and most not returned. The A/C was fixed quickly, we were told not to worry about the short count on dishwear. When talking about the cleanliness we did say it was well beyond a dusting and vacuuming job. The carpets were dirty, surfaces dirty, all cooking surfaces, oven, cooktop, microwave and grill needed a full scrubbing. It needed a full crew for a full day to be ready for guests.
All the beds did have fresh linen, fresh towels in every bathroom as well as soap and shampoo.
No one threatened to hold the business ransom or we'd complain on line. Upon payment the paperwork said all payments are unrefundable. That should have been a heads up not to sign. We only decided to formally complain on the trip home when we talked about the place.
Two doors on the ground floor and a door on the second floor did not latch or lock. When we left the property we used the hurricane shutters to secure the place. I have over forty years of experience in construction. I install doors, windows and shutters. I can even operate them too. Odd how some latch and lock while others didn't. Part of the Beach Blue attack model, the customer is too simple to operate a door lock.
Their were light bulbs burnt out through the house inside and out. Not a major complaint but mentioned to further show how poorly maintained the house was.
The pool pump leaked badly and the water level would go down if you didn't fill the pool while the pump was running.
We did mention the dish and glasswear count on the first day. We were told not to worry about them. No one offered to bring more, nor did we ask as there was enough for our needs. We just didn't want to be billed for items missing upon arrival.
The first floor A/C didn't work upon arrival. I don't know how new it was nor care. It didn't work. When we told you, it was fixed right away. That was one of the few things you did right.
Bicycles were not advertised with the property but three were there, in the way and not operational. So we're now supposed to believe a prior guest brought bikes to leave or bought bikes simply to take apart and abandon.
Beach Blue claims they have people available 24/7 for the duration. We called from the beginning and usually got voice mail. Messages weren't often returned. After a few days we decided to enjoy our trip and not attempt to become property managers to get the house ready to lease. It was no near ready to lease on our visit.
Even the cable went out on our last evening. We called the cable service from the number that popped up on the screen. They told us it was for nonpayment of the bill. We explained we are renting a vacation house for a week. The service was restored within a few minutes. I honestly don't recall if we called Beach Blue about the cable service. I really don't think so because we joked how at least the cable guy took pity on us.
The final paragraph from Beach Blue is a summary gratuitous attack on the customer. A customer who usually chooses to simply not return or repeat business rather than raise an issue. This experience was bad enough and sub standard enough that a complaint was earned. Upon receiving the complaint Beach Blue simply goes down the list and says they never heard from us, those items are new so have to had worked perfectly, they're too stupid to operate a Florida door, paint peels in Florida, they're holding the business hostage and never said a word during their stay. All not true.
Beware of Beach Blue.
It is unfortunate that all complaints cannot be resolved with a satisfactory resolution to both sides. Beach Blue had addressed all of the complaints that were listed in this guest's post in our prior response.
There are multiple ways to reach out to the Beach Blue staff when issues arise that need to be addressed. The telephone is one way, and all calls are recorded including messages. There are no records of multiple calls from this guest during the early days of his stay. Beach Blue also has an online contact request form that can be submitted from the "glad to have you" app that all of the travel information is conveyed through. There was no submittal of a contact request from this guest.
What is really interesting is that this guest denies threatening a negative review if we did not agree to a refund. When the complaint came through online, I actually called the Revdex.com and had a discussion with one of the staff members regarding the fact that this guest threatened Beach Blue with this complaint if we did not issue a refund. I found it interesting that the Revdex.com would allow this to happen when many online advertising sites such as VRBO or Homeaway have a policy of retracting such complaints or reviews if proof can be submitted that such a threat was made.
The reason it took so long for Beach Blue to respond to this complaint is because I really didn't want to get into the fact that this guest tried to force us to pay him not avoid writing the review online. To me, that is not a professional way to handle the situation. It was better to just not respond. However, I did not know that "not responding" to a complaint would reflect negatively on our Revdex.com score.
When I called the Revdex.com to ask them what caused the drop in our rating, the Revdex.com advised me to respond to each of the items in the complaint, and to tell exactly what happened including the fact that the guest tried to get Beach Blue to pay him not to write a negative review online. I have now submitted a detailed response to every item in the complaint and given the reason it took so long to respond.
There is no resolution to this issue that will make both sides happy. This guest approached Beach Blue with a list of complaints right before the departure date and demanded a refund, or a negative review would be filed online. There was no way to verify the list of complaints were present upon this guests arrival at the completion of their stay.
One fact I would like to reiterate, is that Beach Blue has had 11,796 reservations between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2018 with a total of 6 complaints filed with the Revdex.com. That is 5 hundredths of 1 percent of all reservations.
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
The latest response from Beach Blue is simply a repeat of their first response. First they didn't respond in hope the Revdex.com would go away, then they simply attacked me saying every claim was untrue and that I before I even left the property tried to extort their fee or I'd post bad reviews. I did not and no matter how many times Beach Blue says so it won't become true. Now they are suggesting a complaint to VRBO has been taken down. I never posted a complaint there, so more fabrication. Perhaps I should post there and on Yelp as well.
There simply isn't anything to add, stay away from Beach Blue LLC.
The unit we rented was *** Tivoli and it was lacking three towels and hand towels and wash cloths for three of the bathrooms. We did not receive them until Wed and we checked in on Sunday and reported on Monday. A shower curtain was reported with mold and asked to change it and no one responded at all to that request. We had four children ranging in age from 6 years to 9 months. The floor tile was very dirty and the area rugs were filthy. It was a terrible experience. One other thing is that the largest golf cart had a tire go flat. We called and they said they would open a Work Order with no time frame for helping us out. We used fix a flat to repair the tire. We own a golf cart and a tire can be replaced for $60. I will never use this property rental group every again.
Our stay with Beach Blue Properties was a disappointment from the very beginning. My first interaction with their customer service was rude. I asked if there were any bikes or chairs included with the condo. It is common practice to have these included in many rentals, like the one in the same neighborhood that we had over spring break. I was to to bring my own stuff, ok message received. So it was very surprising that when we arrived there were two bikes and two beach chairs in the garage. Thanks! We had already bought a bike rack and hauled our bikes down. Then we actually get inside the condo. It is after 4 o'clock. And I was made very aware that they absolutely do not allow early check ins. So It was a shock that our condo was not cleaned after the last group. I called the manager. He acted very surprised and said he would call someone and call me back. Thirty minutes later I called him back and he seemed to have forgotten our conversation. I reminded him. He said that two cleaners were on their way at that exact moment. After many calls to the management and cleaning company we finally negotiated fair compensation for ruining our first night, which happened to be my husbands birthday. The cleaning people who were "on the way" showed up over three hours later. They cleaned the place well and were finally done at 9pm. We finally got to go have dinner for my husbands birthday. I would not roccomend anything this company rents out. They are cheap, the rental is sub par. The kitchen is barely stocked and not great to cook in. And bringing paper goods, laundry detergent etc for the week is a real pain. I stayed in *** over spring break and the hosts were amazing and made our stay comfortable and easy, so keep looking. I would have liked to write a review on *** but mysteriously I have not received a link to leave a review. Avoid this company!
My family and I have stayed at condos/beach houses managed by Beach Blue Properties for the last 5 years. Each year has been a different and unique rental and every stay has been great. The properties are beautifully decorated and comfortable exactly as described on Beach Blue's website. Their staff is courteous and prompt to answer any questions and make the entire process from booking to arrival through departure a easy and pleasurable process. My family intends to visit the Destin/Sandestin area for our summer vacation for the forseeable future and will only use Beach Blue for our rental properties.
My family and two other families booked a Sandestin Resort vacation at *** Tivoli Way from March 10th - 16th, 2018. We made the booking in November 2017 and paid half the deposit then and the remainder 45 days prior to the start of our stay. Check-in was at 4:00 p.m. and it was made clear that they DID NOT accommodate early arrivals so that they could prepare and CLEAN the condo. The policies also recommended bringing extra bath towels, among other items. After a 13+ hour drive, we arrived at 5:00 p.m. and were greeted with a FILTHY condo. The beds were stripped and the dirty linens were left on the floor. The bathrooms had what we can only presume to be dirty towels in disarray on the racks and the floors. The floors throughout were sticky and dusty, and the kitchen stove, counters, and floors were also covered with crumbs and dried food spills. We immediately notified BeachBlue and they sent a cleaning crew who made the beds, but did not clean the rest of the condo. The cleaning crew was very apologetic and mentioned that there had been "snowbirds" who vacated the property just a day or two prior to our visit. They offered to provide "towel service" for the remainder of the week, but this was a moot point since we had brought our own towels per the recommendations in their policies. We realize people are human and oversights can happen, and we felt pretty badly for the cleaners who were obviously distraught about their error so we resigned ourselves to cleaning the condo. We went to *** Grocery Store, purchased cleaning supplies, and went about our first evening cleaning because we could not have our combined seven children being exposed to the filth and grime. We did not get done until 11:00 p.m. that night, SIX HOURS after our arrival. After we were told they would do whatever it took to make us happy, we discussed it among our families and believed a refund equivalent to one nights' stay would be appropriate, given that we had spent our entire first evening cleaning. Their offer was to refund the cleaning deposit only. This seemed paltry compared to the frustration we had experienced, so we communicated our thoughts on this back to Sarah. She responded on March 15th. I must have missed the email, so I called the BeachBlue Properties office on April 17th and expressed my concerns. I was told that they did not refund anything other than cleaning fees, which was refuted by another customer who left a Revdex.com review stating that they, in fact, had been refunded for part of their stay. Sarah responded by forwarding the March 15th email. I immediately replied. When when I did not hear back in a timely manner, I reached out again on April 26th with no response until May 15th. This was ONE MONTH after that most recent email and TWO MONTHS after our stay.
We wish this situation could have been resolved amicably, as we understand oversights can sometimes happen. However, the culture at BeachBlue does not seem to promote providing an outstanding experience for their guests or making things right when they have obviously erred. After we brought up our concerns, we felt we were treated as trouble-makers. We are frequent travelers (2 to 3 times per year), and this is the first time we have experienced such poor customer service in our many years as a family visiting Sandestin, as well as other locales. This was our first time booking Sandestin through BeachBlue. WE DO NOT RECOMMEND!
Unfortunately, this guest did arrive to a unit that had not been cleaned before arrival. It was an oversight on the part of the housekeeping division of Beach Blue Properties. Housekeeping was immediately dispatched and cleaned the entire condo, not just the beds, other than the kitchen countertops, which were covered in groceries. Housekeeping returned the next morning to complete the cleaning of the counters after the groceries were put away.
The housekeeping staff offered to bring a complete fresh set of towels every other day. This is a service that normally costs $35 per trip, and the guest accepted this offer, so fresh towels were delivered several times during the week. This guest mentioned that Beach Blue instructs guests to bring extra towels for their vacation. Beach Blue asks that guests bring their own beach towels, not bath towels. All bath towels and and linens are provided with every unit.
We did not hear from this guest again until she was ready to depart and asked for compensation. We offered her a full refund of her housekeeping fee($211.01 including tax), which was in addition to the multiple trips with fresh towels. The combined compensation added up to about $350.00 for the unit not being ready when they arrived.
You will see in the complaint that this guest accused Beach Blue of not being responsive, but all correspondence from Beach Blue to this guest in via email and is documented and on time. This guest admitted that she overlooked a response from Beach Blue. Beach Blue agreed to compensate this guest with the full cleaning fee. She continued to accuse us of not responding when we would not agree to her terms.
She finally informed us that it wasn't about the money. She just wanted Beach Blue to do what she felt was the right thing to do. We again respond and told her that we were willing to offer her the full cleaning fee plus tax in addition to the towel service that had already been given. She then began threatening us with negative reviews on the Revdex.com, *** etc. Once she began the threatening emails, Beach Blue retracted the offer of refunding the cleaning fee.
Beach Blue Properties facilitates and manages over 3000 reservations a year. Human error is inevitable, and we will take responsibility for our mistakes. 99% of the time, reservations go off without any issues. In this case, we made a mistake and offered what was a more than fair compensation for the mistake. We offered a full refund of the cleaning plus an additional $140 value in extra services to make their vacation more enjoyable.
Beach Blue's response is a prime example of the poor customer service referred to in my review. In the response:
1. Sarah mentioned we accepted an offer of towel service. As it turns out, we did not. We said we had brought our own towels and did not need towel service. Although we repeatedly declined, housekeeping insisted. Sarah also misleads the reader into believing the towel service is a $35 value. In our communication, there was no mention of any value associated with towel service and there is nothing in the written rental agreement that refers to towel service as an option, much less at a cost of $35. It appears to be a random figure thrown in to make it sound like their offer of compensation was generous. Bottom line is, towel service did not add value to our stay since we had brought our own towels and they only brought towels one time, which was the day before we left.
2. Sarah mentions that the kitchen counter tops were covered with groceries when housekeeping arrived to make the beds, and that they returned the next day to finish. Again, this is the poor customer service I referred to in my review. The reader is misled into believing it is somehow the guest's fault for the kitchen being dirty. Actually, housekeeping never did return to clean the kitchen, and no one communicated with us that they would be, which is why we cleaned the condo ourselves that first night. The condo obviously hadn't been cleaned in months. As it was explained to us, there were "snowbirds" who had been living there all winter and had vacated just prior to our arrival.
3. Sarah mentions that the combined compensation added up to about $350. This is more misleading information. Their offer was for $191 for the cleaning fee only. We requested the equivalent of one night's stay, or $150 per family, for all of the trouble we experienced. We thought this was fair. We were not able to reach an agreement. I did not send "threatening emails." The content of my email was verbatim, "Sarah, Thank you for finally responding. It has been almost a month since my last communication to you. It appears that we are not able to come to an agreeable solution, so we will be escalating this matter to the Revdex.com. The amount of time it has taken to receive any response or resolution is something we believe should be brought to their attention to alert other consumers of the way in which BeachBlue Properties conducts business and treats their guests." I followed through with my statement. This does not constitute a threat. Again, this is an example of Beach Blue trying to fault the guest.
4. I did miss an email from Beach Blue on March 15th. I followed up on April 17th. Then again on April 27th. There was no word from Beach Blue until May 15th. Sarah misleads the reader into thinking there was constant communication and effort on the part of Beach Blue to resolve this matter in the meantime. Unfortunately, there was not.
5. We agree on one thing. This not about the money. This is about Beach Blue doing the right thing by their guests. We made a 13+ hour drive and had been looking forward to relaxing in a beautiful beachside condo as pictured on VRBO/HomeAway. Instead, we spent our entire first night of vacation cleaning someone else's filth.
6. Mistakes happen, and those are understandable. Beach Blue pointing the finger at the guest is not.