Decided to take a couple days away by the beach with GF and kids…read more
First, let me start with the bad. Stay with me here, because the bad are so minute compared to the good, it didn't affect my rating. I'm just being really picky (but if you've read my reviews before, you know that's the way I am )
We got there at night and drove from Brandon. When you get off the highway and head towards this place, you start wondering if you made a HUGE mistake, as the neighborhood you have to drive through looks sketchy. With that said, I know that St. Pete area can literally go from bad to million dollar houses from one street to the next, and sure enough, a few miles before we got there, we crossed a major road, got into Gulfport, and it was gorgeous.
It was hard to see the neighborhood driving to the house, but found out the next day it was beautiful and very safe, which made me feel a lot better since I was there with my 7 and 9 year old kids.
The house was not lit and neither was the numbers, so we drove by a couple times as we were not sure it was it.
From the outside, it didn't look like anything special.
Going inside the house, we didn't know how to get the wifi info so we had to contact the rental company. It was 11pm so didn't expect a response until the next day, but he responded right away.
There is a binder with all of the info you need about the place, WIFI, neighborhood, restaurants, menus, etc..., but it wasn't marked, so we didn't know to look at it.
When we did, the wifi network it told us to connect to didn't match the ones available. We figured quickly it was a typo, and connected fine.
Now for the positive. As I mentioned, it didn't look like much from the outside, but when you walk in, all I can say is WOW!!! It has obviously been completely gutted out and renovated recently, and it is GORGEOUS! Decorations are tasteful, appliances are brand new, lighting, bed, bathroom, TV...Absolutely beautiful. Felt very cozy. Temp was very comfortable and even throughout the place and was adjustable.
As mentioned above, owner responded almost immediately to questions, and that binder was full of great info about the area.
There is a covered outside porch with a swinging bench, and large table and chairs, as well as lights you can change colors by downloading an app on your phone and play music through. We ate dinner there the second night and it was very nice and peaceful.
The area couldn't be better. Beach is straight down the street about 1/4 mile walk (you can see it from the outside of the house). If you walk a couple streets over, there are a bunch of shops and great restaurants as well as a small casino by the beach. All the shops were in houses, and all houses in that area are old, but obviously all renovated beautifully. It was like walking around a town in the early 1900's to 1950's (some were big 2 story houses with balcony's surrounding the house on both floors like old plantation houses). Everyone was very friendly, and prices of restaurants are very affordable (most around $10 to $20 per person).
In conclusion, we LOVED the place. Very quiet, very comfortable, super clean, responsive owner, and great area. We will DEFINITELY be back.
