Mike's Place at the Beach

The location of this rental is great! It's literally steps from the beach. But that was about all we loved. From the start we had issues. The directions were unclear. The address takes you to the front of the unit, however this is on a non drivable street. The garage is actually in the alley just before you get to the street. However this is on a one way road. So missing it caused us to have to circle back around. Not a big deal. Until we tried to park in the garage. There is a dumpster on the other side of the alley that makes it difficult to enter the garage. We found the only way was to back in. Once we were shoehorned into the garage we had to pull back out to unload the car because there wasn't enough room to do so from inside the garage! There weren't clear directions on getting onto the unit from the garage so the first day we toted all our luggage up the alley and around to the front of the house. In reality there is a gate to the right of the garage but it's not labeled with the unit number on it so it was unclear if was a walkway to the unit. We found it the next morning. Once we finally made it to the front door I was immediately put off by the broken screen. Upon entry the unit looked and smelled clean. However as soon as we removed our shoes at the front door our feet told a different story. The floors were very sandy. In the living area and bedrooms. The color of the tile made it easy to miss it visually. But the darker tile in the closet made it very clear. I reached out to Vacasa and while the texting answers were prompt they couldn't do anything. And it was too late regardless. Leaving me to have to clean the floors least we have sandy beds. (Which still happened in the end) Speaking of beds, one was super uncomfortable! But the other two were fine there also were only 3 pillows on one bed instead of 4. Also there was no dresser in the double room leaving us to live out of suitcases. And I expected to have at least a headboard rather than just a mattress. The night stands were also very rickity. It was like being back in college without real furniture. Although I'm sure I could have paid better attention in the listing and noticed the lack of both. We knew there was no AC (most SD rentals don't have it) but I did expect to be able to open windows for comfort. The screens in the double bedroom were not well fitting and allowed in bugs. Plus the drunk singing from the neighbors was not condusive to sleep for my kids. My husband fixed the bedroom screen so it fit better, and even once we could open the windows there was no chance at a breeze because how close all the units are together. Overall we were very warm for our whole stay. It looks like the bathroom was recently updated, however the design is poor. There is not a door on the shower. So every shower ended up with a wet floor. There is signs of water damage at the baseboard near the shower as a result. The kitchen was also updated it appears, but the fridge needs the f

I'm giving 4 stars because overall it was fine. The beds and pillows were comfortable, sheets were clean, and plenty of clean towels (bath and beach) as well. There were beach toys and boogie boards for the kids and it's pretty much on the beach and a block from Belmont Park. I was happy to see that there was shampoo, conditioner, and body wash provided! Then I was quickly sad to see that all 3 bottles were filled with the same soap. Luckily I brought my own. The furniture was fine, nothing to write home about but we didn't get the place to hang out inside anyway. It looked and smelled like they did some recent updates to the kitchen, bathroom, and ceiling fans. Nice! But the lights in the fans would randomly turn on at all times of the day and night. Not ideal. Bring a sleep mask! All in all it was good enough, we didn't rent it to have a fancy get-a-way, we just wanted a place to shower and sleep that was close to the beach for the kids. I'd stay there again (as long as my auntie rents a big fancy one down the beach again too) ghostly lights and all.

There are 2 great features of this home, one is the location just steps from the beach, and the other is the amount of room inside the home. However, there are multiple negatives. The main one has to do with the shared spaces with the upstairs unit. Upon arrival, there was another car parked in the garage space for the unit. Since the garage was shared I was instructed to park on the other side, where that car should have been. Consequently, the garage code I had only worked on the side the car already was, so we had to shimmy around that car to get on our side. Also in the shared space were the beach items I had confirmed would be available before our arrival. It became a who got their first, and so we did not get to use the items that had been guaranteed as part of the house. Additionally, during our stay the patio space was being used by the upstairs unit, despite them also having a balcony patio. I think the amenities listed for this unit really depend on who your upstairs neighbors are during your stay.

The good: close to the beach, the parks, and lots of little shops and restaurants. We loved going to the Tropics Cafe for breakfast. The beds and bedding were comfy and the kitchen is decently stocked. Garage parking was big enough for minivan if you need that much space! The rough: the apartment itself is pretty rough around the edges. Think - broken screens, some exposed electrical, dead lights in the ceilings, hodge podge of dorm style furniture, tons of scuffs/dingy edges on walls, cabinets, doors, etc. Those sensitive to must/mildew might consider bringing some allergy meds. We had some flies in the sink when we arrived and an overflowing ice maker in the freezer. There is an upstairs apartment and the sound travels very clearly (though I think this is probably the case in most places!). The great: Vacasa customer service was amazing when we had some questions about the state of the apartment. Super responsive and kind. Ultimately, this is an area with lots of little old beach cottages and they are most certainly going to show their wear. This one just shows it more than most other places we’ve stayed and I wish I would have had a more clear idea of what it was going to be like so I would make decisions on price/value/availability when searching around. The owner may have just decided that this is the level of investment they want to put into it for now and that it completely understandable. Truly can’t beat the location!

It really was footsteps away from the beach. Having garage parking was also good. Since the windows were open, it was noise from near by neighbors. The house had adequate amenities for our 5 day stay. Sleep was restful/quiet until early morning.

Location was amazing. A few steps to the beach and a block from all the boardwalk fun. I have two little ones, so we appreciate the beach toys, beach towels and boogie board provided. SeaWorld was a short 6 min drive. We would definitely stay here again.