Bella Vida by CND Holiday Homes

The staff were excellent, and I know the problems weren't their fault. When we called about the dirty beds, they couldn't send anyone to clean the house until the next day. We washed the linens ourselves, which we could do because there was a washer and dryer. Even so, this was hands-down the worst experience I've ever had, and I would never recommend renting here. At first glance the place looked good, but upstairs we found what looked like puke or feces on one bed. We checked the rest and found two more beds that hadn't been changed. Several lights were out, the ice machine didn't work, and the whole place felt dirty. Personal belongings filled the closet so there was no room for ours. The rooms were already small, leaving us with nowhere to put our things except on the floor. With my hospitality background, I'd be ashamed to manage a property like this.

The worst part was dealing with manager Adriana Betancourt, who lied to me more than once. She promised a $250 refund for the broken jacuzzi, but it never came, and she stopped replying to my emails. I thought booking through a reputable company would protect us from this kind of problem, but I was wrong. I wouldn't recommend using this company. We were seven people in a six-bedroom villa with a pool and jacuzzi, booked earlier this year through Bella Vida Vacation Homes, whose office is in the Bella Vida gated Community. We paid extra to heat the pool and jacuzzi. We arrived late on Saturday after a long trip and found that the wifi and all the TVs weren't working. I contacted Adriana, who said she was waiting to hear whether a technician could come. The wifi came back, but the jacuzzi switch had no knob and the pool wasn't heated. She said nothing could be done until Monday because it was the weekend. We also had only 12 towels, and she said she'd arrange more. On Monday afternoon we went to the office to get the towels that never arrived and ask for an iron, which wasn't in the villa. They replaced the jacuzzi knob without checking it, and we later found that the jacuzzi was broken. We had no jacuzzi for the first 11 days of our holiday. There were cockroaches by the seats at the back, so we couldn't sit outside in the evenings, and we found one or two inside. Lots of things needed repair: a broken pool lounger and outdoor seats, broken toilet seats, lights that didn't work, and stained carpets. We also expected a gated community for safety, but the rear gate was broken and left open the whole time. During our stay there was a huge party, armed police all around our villa and the surrounding area, and police helicopters with searchlights. The gate still wasn't fixed.

The kids loved spending the whole day in the pool, and I really liked the kitchen. The home was clean and spacious, with a room for everyone. We enjoyed it a lot and will come back next spring break.

Pretty nice place and a good experience. The pools were great, and the walk was nice. Cleaning could be a little better, though, there were a few ants wandering around the counters and furniture.