30A Monterey Place 3 Bd Holiday Home by Five Star Properties

The beach is quiet and feels very private. Getting down there means tackling a lot of steps, but it’s worth it, especially for the beautiful balcony sunset.

We spent most mornings and evenings on the balcony at Monterey Place, watching the sunrise and sunset. We even saw two dolphins go by. Our group of six adults and one 5 yr old had plenty of space, and having three bathrooms helped a lot. The two king beds and one queen worked well, and my daughter was happy in the bunk bed room. Every bedroom had a TV, a big closet, and a dresser. The ocean and beach view from unit B202 is the best. The unit was clean, welcoming, nicely decorated, spacious, and felt safe, with a gate code to enter the parking lot. It’s also close to shops and restaurants. We stayed August 17-24, 2019, and Garrett Realty was easy to work with. Their app was user friendly and kept all the information together. We checked in right at 4 using the door code, which doesn’t work before 4, so keep that in mind. We could make meals in the kitchen, but the dishwasher broke a few days into the stay. Maintenance came the same day I submitted a work ticket, but it wasn’t fixed before we left. They gave us paper plates and plastic utensils, and we hand washed dishes. The water main also broke during our stay, leaving us without water for 24hrs. A special part had to be ordered and picked up from Panama City. We got jugs of water, then an in person update the second morning. The pool was closed for two days because the water had been turned off. We were happy spending time in the ocean, but it’s a bummer when amenities you’ve paid for aren’t available. Those issues didn’t take much away from our vacation, and most were fixed as soon as they could be. We rented road bikes from Big Daddies and rode the paved trails almost every morning. We also rented beach chairs from Jake, who was the sweetest and most helpful, ate good food at bud and alleys and the great southern, checked out the shops, and swam in the warm ocean. We’d love to come back.

Our family rented B101 through 360Blue, and it was a disgusting, low quality place for the price. Roaches kept showing up in our room every day. When we first walked in, there was a very strong chemical smell. I assume they had sprayed for bugs before we arrived, but it seemed to stun the roaches instead of getting rid of them, and they crawled out everywhere. The furniture was nice, but everything else felt old and poorly maintained. The toilet seats had peeling paint, rugs and couches were stained, and the floors were sticky. There was also a leak in the ceiling from the unit above. We stayed a week and things kept going wrong. Someone came to clean the carpet and mop, but that didn’t solve the bug problem. They offered a small refund to make amends, less than the cost of one night. Look elsewhere. There are much nicer properties in the area for that price.

We had such a good family stay. The location is quiet and family friendly, with easy access to Destin or panama city. It was simple to carry all our beach things down, and we loved spending time by the water. From our balcony, we could enjoy the surf views over a morning vup of coffee.