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| Vacation Rental Complaints |
| 13. |
Rundown villa in Runaway Bay
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Our expectations were not met; the villa did not come up to the high standard as described and shown in photographs and videos on its main and numerous websites.
Although the villa was in a beautiful location with stunning views, we were extremely disappointed to find it rather shabby and rundown. We were not expecting 5-star by UK standards but a well-maintained and clean villa. The staff did their best to look after our needs but they were hampered by a) not having the right equipment and b) it appears they did not have resources to make even small purchases such as the battery for the golf cart.
There was no guest fridge for our use, the pool was pretty grubby as were the inflatables around it, the parasol was broken and rusty. The pool furniture has seen better days, it is all very grubby.
We do not consider our complaints unreasonable. Given that our holiday mood was marred from the beginning by the villa being shabby and unkempt, particularly the kitchen. There was no ambient lighting, only an overhead light.
The fixtures and fittings are all very grubby, in need of replacement and/or fixing. The air-conditioning is limited to the central room only, the bedrooms only have ceiling fans and broke air condition units that are very old and falling to pieces.
The tennis court is in need of serious attention, it is falling to pieces, the surface is filthy, cracked and dangerous. It is beyond belief it is being advertised on tennis websites!
The gardens could be delightful if it were not for the dog mess all over the place.
We realised the service we received was limited by petty and irritable excuses from the Caretaker/Supervisor.
Caretaker/Supervisor M and Housekeeper J. In our view they are too young and inexperienced to look after a house the size of Villa Maroon. They were always pleasant and friendly but unfortunately we found them both unprofessional and incompetent. They clearly have little idea how to clean or look after a big house, garden and pool, let alone a few guests.
One good thing was our rooms were always tidied and our beds made up each day but still the house was a grubby mess.
Neither the Housekeeper nor the Caretaker were around some mornings during the first few days of our stay, which was a pain because there was no one to open the gates to the pool, make coffee, open the house up and make it presentable for us.
One other good thing: The Chef. Given he did not have ideal conditions to work in, his presentation skills were faultless and his food was pretty good. We would recommend him to anyone.
It is not a pleasure to complain like this but in the circumstances we believe the owner should be aware of our disappointment. Her run down villa that looks so beautiful on the net really needs to be totally refurbished.
The clever use of photography and false descriptions to sell a non-existent environment which by any stretch of the imagination could not be achieved in the current conditions that exist in the villa.
It was above the means of the staff to rectify any of the problems we mention. We paid the owner a large sum of money for a poor standard villa without proper service. It is beyond us to recommend the villa to anyone within our professional circles or amongst our friends.
Date Added: Apr 13, 2011
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| 16. |
Dream Vacation Becomes Vacation from Hell
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This was to be the “dream vacation,” before I underwent major lumbar back surgery, from Which I had no way to know if I would recover, or ever walk again. It turned into the vacation from hell from the moment we hit St. John.
Suite St. John property management promised we would be met at the dock in St. John for the start of our vacation June 25-July 2, 2011, but nobody was there, stranding an elderly disabled man and two women who had traveled all day with three articles of heavy luggage plus carry-on bags. We had no idea where to go, or how we might get into our rental, Seaview at Gallows Point, when we got there. When contacted, local property management (Tommy Ferrell) told us we should have taken a taxi (to where? with what access key?), gave us many lame excuses and suggested it was all our fault because we did not answer our cell phone (which was impossible to hear on the noisy ferry). These positions later were echoed by Suite St. John President Richard Matheny. Clearly, in their view, if anything goes wrong, it is the fault of the customer. Suite St. John personnel display no understanding whatsoever of the concept of customer service.
A couple days later, we returned from snorkeling to find six or seven people lounging about our rooms, inside our bedrooms where personal items of laundry were hanging about drying, accompanied by the local property manager, Tommy Ferrell. My wife and her friend never flet so violated as to have these people rummaging through our rooms. We were then informed the unit was for sale and was being shown by real estate agents from Holiday Homes St. John, without any prior notification to us or permission being granted by us. At no time prior to this event were we informed the property was for sale. We would not have rented it if we had been informed it was for sale. The realtor, Christie O’Neill, apparently thought it was ok if the property manager was there, but we believe it was unethical, and possibly illegal to show the property without actual notification to us. It was certainly highly disrespectful and a breach of trust by Suite St. John. We paid Suite St. John $3,125 for the exclusive use and enjoyment for seven nights of Seaview, which was billed on their website as Luxury accommodations.
The following is what “luxury accommodations” apparently means to Suite St. John. See if you agree:
Leak in ceiling over kitchen sink when it rains.
Serious leak in ceiling crack of master bedroom near door.
Serious leak in ceiling of second bedroom by left side of head of bed, flooding floor.
Serious leak at base of toilet tank in second bedroom.
Many wall switches don’t turn anything on, indicating wiring is defective.
Far wall outlet, second bedroom (right side of bed) evidence of burning; shock from lamp cord.
About half of the lights in the entire unit do not work.
Several lamps do not work, because switches are ineffective. Are they merely decor?
Different lights come on each time kitchen wall switch is used.
No audio on second bedroom TV.
Pullcord on living room ceiling fan to control speed is missing.
Missing floor tile under stool in master bedroom.
Toilet tank in master bedroom cracked and repaired with unsightly yellow epoxy: cheap fix.
Shower in master bedroom has no door or curtain, spewing water on floor of bathroom.
Tiny water ants down wall from ceiling in master bedroom.
Linen closet in bath of master bedroom won’t stay on tracks.
Dryer hose does not connect to outside vent—too short—so vents inside closet.
Lawn not mowed.
Seaview at Gallows Point is barely habitable, so rent from Suite St. John at your own risk. We will never do business with Suite St. John or Holiday Homes St. John again, and are unlikely to ever visit St. John again, if this is common business practice there. This was our second visit to St. John (the last stay was at Gallows Point). We have visited the Caribbean TEN times in the past ten years, and have never been treated so poorly anywhere we went. This is a record low for Caribbean hospitality. Truly the vacation from hell.
Date Added: Jul 28, 2011
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