Classy Port St. Joe Escape - Walk to Shore!

Reviews

• Perfect for a quiet getaway

  5/5

  Beautiful house, well stocked kitchen, plenty of towels, comfy beds and all the beach gear you could wish for. Easiest check-in/check-out ever!Our 16 and 11 year old had a brilliant time biking all over this super safe and quiet neighborhood. It's less than a minute cycle to the pool, Cafe and general store. A little more than a minute cycle down well maintained boardwalks to the beach. The beach was pretty much empty everyday we were there and sooooo many shells! My hubby and daughter bought their paddle boards and got to hang out with a pod of dolphins a dusk one night. Port St. Joe is a 9 min drive down the road, where you'll find plenty of great restaurants, cool shops and treats. Apalachacola is about 35 minutes away and has more shops, restaurants and amazing airboat tours!

  *This review was originally posted on Vrbo

• Wonderful house

  5/5

  We loved our stay in this awesome property. The kitchen had everything we needed, the beds were comfy, there were tons of towels, everything we needed for the beach was already in the garage (we bought our own bikes), even the washer and dryer were top of the line. Highly recommend this house.

  There's a big but fairly shallow pool, cafe, small market and package store less than a minutes bike ride away. The beach and boardwalks are about the same distance. Our 11 and 16 year olds loved riding their bikes all over this super quiet and safe neighborhood on their own.

  Lots of cool shops and restaurants 9 mins down the road in Port St Joe. And even more 30 mins away in Apalachicola. Also highly recommended taking an airboat tour while you're over there.

• Meh for the money

  3/5

  The house was nice and our stay overall was enjoyable, but the service and home amenities left a lot to be desired.

  Upon arrival (at around 4pm), the dryer was still going with all towels in it. Not a huge deal, but seems like if checkout is 10am, the cleaning service had plenty of time to do this.

  Next I went to use the bathroom after our 6-hr drive, and upon completion of my duty realized there was maybe 2-sheets of tp on the roll. I asked my son to bring me some from another bathroom, only to find out none of the others had any either.

  Half a roll of paper towels were left on the kitchen table, no trash bags, and only 1 shriveled and dried out dishwasher tab was left by the sink. The sink soap dispenser was also broken and failed to dispense soap when pushed.

  We went to the store to grab all of the above mentioned items along with some dinner. Returned home and opened the grill to a disgusting mess left by the previous occupant. Cranked the burners up to burn off the nasty and bugs that were eating it and went inside.

  After eating we decided to lay down and upon laying on the master bed heard some squeaking noises. The matress had a noticeable “dip” in the center so I looked under the bed. There I found only 1 wooden center span support that was bowed down almost to the floor. The two vertical supports attached to it had given out long ago. I attempted to fix this but the wood was too old and too bent to be corrected, so we got to sleep in a V-shape for 5 nights.

  No extra blankets anywhere in the house. No extra anything.

  For the amount of money this place costs per night, you’d think throwing in a weeks worth of 2-ply and some dishwasher tabs would be a no-brainer (as it is in other rental units) but I guess not everyone wants to be a “super host”.

  The neighborhood was nice and the location was close to shopping, beach access, etc. These were the high-points of the stay, the house itself wasnt one of them.

  Had this been booked thru AirBNB I would have 100% called about each and every issue. But seeing as how the rental company already had my $ (and most likely wouldnt have cared) I simply made notes of all of the issues for this review.

  I wont book direct again with any evolve property, Ill def go through a middle man in the future to avoid these issues falling on deaf ears.

  I guess if Evolve contacts me regarding this review I will update with that info when/if it happens. Renters beware, you dont always get what you’ve already paid 4.

• Great location but uncomfortable house

  3/5

  We have stayed in Windmark before and already knew the area is awesome. As far as the house goes..The biggest issue was the house wasn’t cooling down good so my husband checked the ac filter and it was HORRIBLE. There is no way it has been changed in the last year. I contacted the guest contact and she had someone come and replace it with a new filter. I also mentioned to her that the palm tree is so overgrown that you couldn’t park two cars there if you wanted to like the listing says. When they replaced the filter they also cut back the palm tree a little bit. So I would say if you have any issues they will do their best to solve them. We were also given an old pool code. Thankfully someone let us in until we received the new code. Now as far as the rest of our issues go.. I didn’t feel like bothering the guest contact with it but still worth noting. The beds are extremely uncomfortable. The pillows are even worse. Flat as a pancake. It was rough. No throw pillows on the couch or throw blankets. The listing says towels provided. But it was only 2 per bedroom. No dish rags, 1 dish towel. Crappy broom, no dust pan. Overall it was a pretty uncomfortable place to stay. Couch and recliner are super uncomfortable as well, very cheap. Location great, comfortability awful. Honestly shocked we are the first review to mention these things… this is our 2nd year visiting the area. Amazing area, will choose a different house next time.

  *This review was originally posted on Vrbo

  Manager's Response:

  Chelsea, we’re sorry to hear your stay did not meet your expectations. We followed up with the homeowner after reading your feedback, and they wanted to share the following:
  
  - We appreciate your information regarding the AC unit filter and the shrub. We tried to respond quickly to your concerns and wish you would have brought the other items mentioned in your review to our attention as well so we had time to make things right.
  
  - While we try to accommodate all guests' comfort, mattress, and couch taste are subjective, and we had not received any complaints about these in the past. Due to your feedback, we added toppers to the mattresses and replaced the pillows. We also added new throw pillows and a throw to the sofa.
  
  - We normally provide 3 bath towels, 2 hand towels, 2 washcloths, and makeup cloths. In the kitchen, we provide 1 dish cloth, 2 kitchen towels, and a scrub pad. If our guests need more linens we are happy to bring over some additional linens and supplies. 
  
  We sincerely apologize for the issues you experienced during your stay as we strive to provide 5-star experiences! 

• Sure to stay again if in the area

  5/5

  We loved the location, so close to walk to beach. It was great to have boardwalks, paved pathways and also a very quiet beach to walk on. Lots of activities nearby if you want to gather with others. House was spacious, great set up, furnished with nice pots, pans, dinnerware, etc. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this place. Very modern, clean and cozy. I would model a new home after this one.

  *This review was originally posted on Vrbo