Beach House of Stress Relief by RealJoy

The layout description and photos of Beach House of Stress Relief are misleading. The house was filthy, and Realjoy knew about its condition but rented it without making repairs or doing a deep clean before our visit. Devon and Sam at Realjoy were quick to respond and tried hard to address the problems, but our long-awaited vacation was ruined, and there was nothing they could do to undo that. We didn't post a review last summer because we'd had lengthy conversations with Real Joy and trusted the issues would be dealt with. Now, while looking for a rental this year, I see the house still listed with little, if any, improvement. I suspect some positive reviews are really about RealJoy because the company asks guests to review it, rather than the house itself. There were basic cleanliness problems throughout. The floors were so dirty our socks turned black. Showers had mold and mildew, curtains had unexplained stains, black hair was stuck to the bathroom decor, and walls were marked with stains, scuffs, and what looked like dried toothpaste. The third-floor tub was cracked, and condensation dripped from the vent onto people using the bathroom. In the kitchen, silverware had caked-on food, there were only a few forks for the whole house, a bowl of moldy blueberries was left in a cupboard, and grease spots covered the stove. It seemed the cleaners hadn't checked what the previous renters had used. The third floor also had a strong sour, musty smell that woke us at night. It was much stronger then, so we wondered if rain was stirring up mold or if there was a plumbing problem when showers were used at night. By the second night, some of us had moved to the couches downstairs. The sleeping arrangements were misrepresented. Of the two supposed third-floor bedrooms, one is a living area and kitchen, with the sink and stove less than two feet from the bed. It has a door, but the owners have essentially put a bed in a kitchen. The other is just an open landing at the top of the stairs. There's no privacy between them: you have to pass the couple sleeping on the landing to reach the kitchen-bedroom, and they have to walk through that room to use the third-floor bathroom. Part of the first floor had no air conditioning and was dirty, with something sticky and brown on the floor. A full bathroom is in that section, but it was unpleasant trying to get clean in a room without AC in Florida in mid-July. It was also too far from the upstairs bedrooms to be practical. Like the bunk-room shower, its shower was too small for an adult. The bunk room isn't connected to the main house. One bed is a platform hanging from the ceiling by a chain, with no guard rails, so a child could fall out. The room isn't big enough for an adult to stay in. Its shower is too small for an adult as well, and using it leaves the bathroom carpet soaking wet.