Great Ocean Views! 7 Bedrooms, 5 Masters, Right on the Beach Access with Pool!

Hi Tracie, we're sorry that you had trouble with the air - there is actually separate systems for different levels. So I'm assuming you were using only the top level one. We would've been happy to help you if you had reached out! As for the updating needs, we have been doing quite a bit to the house, but it is still a work in progress. Since 2021, we have fully renovated the top level kitchen/dining, master bedroom and bathroom, redone the floors throughout, and renovated 4 more master bedrooms.

Michael, we are sorry that you were disappointed with the house. The previous reviews we had received thus far in 2022 (including the one from the week before you) were all 5 stars. We were not aware of any issue with the deadbolt/doors until you brought it up. And the handyman has fixed it since. Regarding the pool, the pool cleaners clean on the day of check-in and leave a flyer on the door with contact info for you to call them with any issues. I didn't hear of any issues from you, nor did the pool company. But had we known, they would've come out to clean again. Regarding the bathrooms, we have updated one each year since we've had it (in addition to renovating the entire top level kitchen/living/dining area) as well as floors throughout the house, painting the exterior, and installing a new metal roof. We have reinvested every dollar we've made back into the house to continue improving it for guests each year, and on top of that have put over $100K of our own money into renovations. Yes, some are still the original bathrooms (not from the 80's as house was built in the late 90s) but we can only afford to do so much each year. For future guests looking at this home - we have already signed a contract to renovate/add two more bathrooms in January 2023. So 2023 bookings will have 5 masters (with 4 of the bathrooms being updated in the last 2 years) and the remaining two full baths not yet renovated, but the half bathroom and four masters will be brand new!

To clarify for future renters, the "plumbing issues" which she is referring to was her family clogging two of the toilets. We understand this happens (although we have never had somebody call to ask us to unclog a toilet for them in the 5+ yrs of owning) and therefore leave plungers in the house. Cheri did not want to unclog her own stool and wanted us to call plumbers to handle it. We directed her to the plungers and said that if she wanted a plumber, she would be responsible for the cost as this was (admittedly by her) not an issue with the house, but an issue caused by her family's stool. After being notified that she would be responsible for the bill, she decided she could unclog them herself. I believe to call these the house's "plumbing issues" is deceptive. Unfortunately, we have no control over VRBO sending the code on time, but Cheri were the first guest to ever not receive a code. Nobody had mentioned the pool until you, so we did have a handyman spray the couple weeds that had grown through the cracks. The outdoor shower has hot and cold water. As with any shower, if you don't want want the water to be very hot, you have to mix in some cold.. As for the floors, I can assure you they were cleaned as our cleaners send us before, during, and after photos and they have their information on the fridge to call for any issues. My understanding is that you didn't call with any issues or they would've come back. Fridge is also working and was never mentioned to us..

When the cable company came out on Day 3 (one day after we were informed of the issue) they explained that there was an electric current running through their cable line due to an issue with the outside utilities serving multiple homes in the area, specifically, the electric wires not having a functional neutral. This was explained by the utility company whose issue this was to contend with. The utility issue impacted the cable wire and led to the smoldering of the cable wire. We immediately contacted the utility company, on Sunday which happened to be Father’s Day. We also, in an abundance of caution contacted the fire department to ensure everyone’s safety and expedite the utility company’s response because getting immediate service, especially on a Sunday can be challenging. It is inappropriate to mischaracterize the facts as having dealt with a “fire” – that is simply factually inaccurate and damaging to the reputation of this wonderful house which has been overwhelmingly positively reviewed in the years it has been rented. To be clear, there was no fire and, as the manager of the property, we made the executive decision to contact the fire department following your representation that everything was fine. We called the fire department to ensure everything was safe until the utility company arrived to identify and resolve the issue. As they are required to do, the utility company arrived and fixed THEIR issue within a few hours, same day, again on a Sunday. As we discussed, this was an issue with the electric utility provider which was completely and entirely beyond the owner’s/house/property manager’s control and could have happened to any house on the grid. As for the minor AC unit leak, that too was immediately remedied and resulted in no loss of air conditioning to the home or impact to your stay. Purely as a courtesy to address this inconvenience, we sent a bottle of wine and charcuterie board. None of this resulted in any damage to the house or your belongings. The same cannot be said for your lack of consideration of the items in the house as we understand a lamp was broken along with some other issues following your stay reported by our cleaning crew. By the third day of your stay, you demanded a full refund for the week, yet insisted on staying in the house for the remainder of the rental period. Again, as a courtesy because there is nothing obligating us to do so, we offered you a replacement house down the block, which you promptly declined and confirmed that the house was good after the utility company fixed its problem. You completed your stay without incident or complaint. It is not uncommon for minor, and unfortunately sometimes more substantial issues to occur (which was not the case here). This is why there are contracts you sign upon agreeing to the terms of your stay. Simply put, there are protections in place for renters such as yourself and owners/management companies, to equitably address resolution based upon the nature and extent of the issues and how they were addressed. Resultingly, we understand that VRBO agreed that your request is unreasonable and similarly does not think a refund is warranted given the actual facts which underly your complaints. Following VRBO’s refusal to meet your unsubstantiated demands, you contacted us to threaten a bad review if we did not refund you the full week despite the fact that you enjoyed the rest of your stay and checked out. We declined due to the fact that the issues were beyond our control, caused by the utility and fixed same-day. You also declined to pursue the alternatives provided despite the fact we were under no obligation to do so. As set forth above, we have had hundreds of trips to this house, and of the people who have chosen to review their trips, we have a 9.2 out of 10 rating. We pride ourselves on the amenities of the house, including newly renovated bathrooms, open space, ocean views, crow’s nest, outdoor showers, the list goes on and history speaks for itself. Owners rely on honest good faith reviews because their income typically depends on it. We take our responsibilities very seriously and are extremely disappointed that you chose to write a nasty review seemingly in retaliation for nor receiving a full refund despite your weeklong stay. We responded immediately, successfully, and provided options. When you turned those options down we sent you wine and a charcuterie board, to go above and beyond. Clearly your experience is an unfortunate outlier, but we cannot control what happens with an electric utility over which we exercise zero control.

The property sleeps 18 including the two trundles under the twin beds. You did not mention any issues during your stay, or I would've remedied them/told you to pull out the twin trundle beds and had the handyman snake any drains that didn't work. The bathrooms that you mentioned after check out were actually just fully remodeled after your stay in December 2022 and seem to be draining fine now.