Our family of 6 six rented this property for a three-day stay in early November. While the beachfront location was as promised, the property was a huge disappointment otherwise.
Beyond the shoddy cleaning job (dog hairs, potato chips, sand strewn across the floor), left-over laundry, busted front gate, threadbare furniture, it was the unexplained puddle of water in the downstairs bathroom that proved to be the property's undoing for us. By early Saturday night that puddle became a flood, with raw sewage backing up into the shower and bathtub, and eventually the adjacent bedroom, rendering it uninhabitable.
We contacted the property manager by text and then phone, explaining the situation as it unfolded. Videos were provided as well. After checking with his maintenance crew, the property manager explained that no repairs could be made until the next day. We asked the property manager what bathrooms, if any, could safely be used. He recommended the upper master bath which was purportedly on a different sewer line than the four other bathrooms in the house. Delaying our dinner plans, we did what we could to protect the owner's floors by laying towels etc. and shutting off water valves, steering clear of the area for the remainder of our stay.
In a follow-up text, the property manager apologized for “all the inconvenience” and suggested we message him/his property mgt. company over VRBO and “let us know what else we can do to make it up.”
Once back at home, we did as instructed, seeking a partial refund for Saturday night (our third and last night), and were informed by VRBO customer service that we needed to deal directly with the property manager--who by this time was already ghosting us.
That was two weeks ago--not a word from the property management company or the owner. We have, however, heard form VRBO customer service which encouraged us to share details of our experience in a review--if only to protect future VRBO guests--and so we have.