ROACHES! German roach infestation... seriously, keep reading before you book this place.
Sunbird is the property and no wonder they have so many listed 'businesses' on here. They are trying to save face.
RealJoy managed unit 412E among others.
Ok so let's start with the good because there is good. The Sunbird location is great, right on the beach. This particular unit, 412e, is on the front of the property towards the parking lot but the balcony angles to the back so you get an obstructed but still decent view of the beach from the balcony and living room windows. It's on the less busy side of PCB but still extremely close to so much. Security actually does their job and you feel safe. It was spacious for just me and I think it can hold 2-3 people comfortably. Check in and check out were easy. Price point is great. I didn't swim but the pools looked clean. On paper, this should've been a five-star stay.
Now the cons... when I first walked on the Sunbird property I noticed the building itself was a bit run down. Cracks in the wall, dirty siding, elevator dim and grungy. I figured it was just an older beach property and upkeep must be hard so I didn't make a big deal out of it. I opened the door to the unit, easy check in, and it seemed clean from the hallway. Didn't notice any odd smells. Kept walking and the floors were still pretty sandy but whatever, we're at the beach. After setting my things down I went to plug my phone up in the living room and there were big dust balls along the walls, like it hadn't been swept in a while. Then when I went to plug in by the bed, what do I see behind the nightstand... old candy wrappers. Ok so they need a better housekeeper I thought. I checked the sheets and towels pretty thoroughly and there were some markings already on the fitted sheet so I just used the extra one. Everything else, towels and linens, was clean. Honestly my whole goal was to beach it sun up to sun down so I let those things slide. I really wanted to like it, it's cute, I felt safe, and the location can't be beat. I was still ready to give it a 4-5 star review.
Then day three happened.
I had to run back to the unit around 1pm for something with parking. Turned the light on, went to grab my wallet off the kitchen counter and there it is... a small German roach just making itself at home walking around my wallet. I freaked out a little and scanned the room and see ANOTHER one crawling on the stovetop. They were having a whole party I grabbed my phone to snap a pic but by the time I got the camera open they had already scurried off between the stove and counter with the quickness. I was disgusted. They were on my wallet, on the counter, and on the stove. I don't live with roaches, I definitely did not come here to vacation with them.
I messaged RealJoy right away, on Airbnb and by text. One thing about German roaches... if you see two of them hanging out together there's bound to be an infestation. I asked to be moved to another property. I didn't want them spraying roach chemicals around my stuff, I knew this needed actual pest control not a spray bottle from Walmart. They said they couldn't move me without trying to treat it first. I agreed but asked them to let me know when someone was coming so I could meet them at the unit, I wanted to see it myself. That was 2:30pm. No one ever came. Around 4:50p, right before the property front office was about to close, I followed up again and was told it couldn't get handled that day. Still no offer to move me anywhere else.
At that point I knew I had to leave a 1 star review. I went back and reread the reviews on Air BnB for the unit and the RealJoy management, just to make sure I hadn't missed something and the only bad review just mentioned space, nothing roach related. It wasn't until I checked the Sunbird's 3rd party reviews that all the roach reviews showed up. Lesson learned, always check reviews outside of Airbnb.
That night I slept with all the lights on and just tried to big girl it out since it was my last night and I really needed my beach time. It was an extremely non productive night of attempted rest. I got up early, packed my things, put most of it in the car, and went to the beach to nap instead. Unfortunately, I didn't leave without another surprise. I went into the kitchen to make sure I didn't leave anything in the fridge, and I look up and another little brown critter was on the kitchen ceiling and crawled straight into the dusty vent. That was just plain disrespectful at this point. Confirmed they have a bigger issue and they know about it. Yikes.
I communicated with RealJoy, they did nothing. Offered them an opportunity to make it right, nothing. read more