Charming Catalina Gem w/ Deck: Walk to the Beach!

Reviews

• Back again, still amazing.

  5/5

  Came back a year later to this charming historic home and much to our pleasure, nothing had changed. It is an exquisite historic gem, and if that’s your thing, this is your place. We will be back time and time again.

  *This review was originally posted on Vrbo

• Back again! Still charming

  5/5

  We stayed here a year ago, and we’re back again. Charming historic home with a perfect location. If you’re into living a piece of Avalon’s history, this is your place!

• Safety is NOT a priority

  2/5

  Remember the motel with the saying, "We'll leave the light on for you."? Well don't expect any lights on with this place. We always follow the rules and respect the property where we're staying. The directions we were sent said to use the side entrance when bringing your luggage into the home. The problem is that there are absolutely NO LIGHTS on the side entrance...but there are uneven random steps! My son's dad fell while carrying his luggage and trying to navigate the unseen stairs. It's dark by 5:30 and he came in on the late ferry. I reached out to the manager via email and left a message on her landline answering machine as a cell number was not provided. It took her the whole day to get back to us and her response was that we should only use the side door when bringing in the luggage and to use the front door when coming and going. I pointed out that the fall occurred because we did exactly that, used the side entrance because we had arrived with our luggage after dark. This point seemed to be completely lost on her as she felt that the problem was solved...or that there wasn't even a problem in the 1st place! She never once apologized or asked if he was ok after the fall. There was no concern whatsoever on her part. When I have guests coming to visit my home, you can be sure that I have my porch light on and they feel welcome. I'm beyond flabbergasted that the entrance you require your guests to use with uneven randomly placed steps and no lights is an acceptable way to have your PAYING guests enter the home. I'm disappointed that I'm not able to attach the pictures I took to this review. To say it's unsafe is an understatement. Beyond the lighting issue the house itself is small and cute but nothing worth a fall on stairs that ruined the rest of our weekend. There were also no directions for the thermostat or where to find it so we spent the 1st night very cold until we found it and turned it on the next day. There is no hairdryer provided so be sure to bring your own. Also no golf cart provided. We were there for a lacrosse tournament so many people from our group had gone the Airbnb route or rented through evolve or whatever and no one else had an experience like ours. That tells me that there are many places available on the island so I would recommend staying elsewhere.

  Manager's Response:

  Hi Heidi, we take guest feedback seriously and passed your comments on to the homeowner who would like to share the following:
  - We're truly sorry to hear that your son's dad took a fall and hope that he is doing well. We have since decided to install a motion-activated light on the side stairs to ensure future guests do not share the same experience.
  - We were surprised to hear the comment regarding the hairdryer, this can be found located in the bathroom drawer.
  - We take our listing accuracy seriously and do not advertise a golf cart as an available amenity.
  We do all we can to make the best possible stay, and we look forward to this property hosting many satisfied guests.

• Great location!

  4/5

  Cute, quirky flat very close to downtown. Very comfortable.

  *This review was originally posted on Vrbo

• Not as advertised

  3/5

  This unit is a duplex not a single family stand alone home. The property manager lives onsite and smokes weed 24/7. The smoke smell permeates the vents and through the floor boards and through the open windows. The house has a constant stink of weed and incense. If any of this was disclosed I never would have rented it especially with my kids with me…. The pictures are accurate to a point. But overall the experience is one step above “glamping” and with the smells and smoke it was very unpleasant

  *This review was originally posted on Vrbo

  Manager's Response:

  Hello Eric, thanks for letting us know about your stay! The owner wanted to share the following: We are deeply sorry for what you experienced during your stay the home. We have reached out to the property manager to ensure that this will not happen again. We do believe this could have been other guests but we will have our cleaner do a deep clean to remove any smoke smell in the home. We appreciate your feedback as we continue to improve for our guests!