Be careful with these people, they don't care about their clients and aren't terribly worried about the shape of this property (3770 Estero Blvd). I was a guest at a small family wedding that was to be held on the beach behind this house. The bride (who is 5 months pregnant), the groom, their 8 year old daughter, and the mother of the bride stayed for the week and the ceremony was to be held that Friday at sunset. The location? Gorgeous. The bride and I lived in Key West for years so she has a penchant for funky old beach houses, she didn't mind much that house was in poor shape. The contract stated only 16 occupants; we had 9 total spending the night during the evening of the wedding and only the 4 immediate family being there for the week. No problem, right? My 70 year old parents drove 6 hours and secured a hotel room. Family flew in from California and Connecticut to attend, securing their own hotels to avoid going over the occupancy limit. It was expensive but no one minded, we all just wanted to be a part of this wonderful day.
As my beautiful friend is having her hair done on the wedding day, the "gentleman" of this property management outfit calls and unloads on the mother-of-the-bride. Too many cars on the property and he wants us out, immediately. My dear friend sees her beautiful family wedding dissolving right in front of her eyes and, especially being pregnant, this kind of stress is the last thing she needs or deserves. We rush across the street and speak to the Lutheran church, who kindly agrees to let us park in their lot for a couple of hours. Thank God for them, truly. We all move, including the caterer's truck, and clear the property hoping that now we can put that nastiness behind us and we can carry on with our evening. Think again! Here comes the "gentleman" again, this time in person, to directly confront the bride and groom about the number of bodies in the house. Seems that the occupancy means no more than 16 people in the house at any time, not just who was staying there. We had 22 people total in attendance, including the caterers. So as we are all hugging and chatting, the kids are playing by the beach, this "man" is berating the married couple-to-be and using terms such as "forced eviction" and threatening to call the sheriff. What a guy! He then claims his wife, who booked this rental with the bride and mother-of-th-bride, says she had no idea that there was going to be a wedding and essentially claims the bride is lying. So, her story is that after looking for weeks for the perfect rental, and cancelling a standing reservation on another rental for this one, these women find this house and in ALL the excitement they never once mentioned that this was for a wedding? Seems legit.
Long story short, the caterer (who overheard all of this mess and the property manager's disgusting attitude) stepped up and performed an act of professionalism nothing short of a MIRACLE. He finishes his beautiful food over two hours ahead of schedule, making it look effortless and beautiful. We all quickly ate, walked out back for a beautiful wedding ceremony, and then pitched in together to pack up the house and get the hell out of there. The "gentleman" had made sure to threaten to return at 6:15 so he could count how many people were in the house. Rather than pick and choose who could stay for a reception and who had to leave, we ALL chose to leave together.
Be very, very careful when choosing to deal with these people. I have worked in hospitality/tourism for almost 15 years and this was a low I have never witnessed before. I understand occupancy limits, they are necessary (especially during spring break) to ensure your property isn't trashed. Although, this house was in such bad shape I'm not sure what else we could have done. However, it was a misunderstanding that simply required a little finesse and not threats of police presence. Their conduct is definitely "Distinctive", and not in a good way. In summation? There is a special place in Hell for people like this and I will be leaving this review on any venue I can find to warn others. Hopefully, they can avoid dealing with Distinctive Beach Rentals lack of professionalism, courtesy, or just plain kindness. read more