VRBO #296551-- Rendezvous Villa Review

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SRT
Posts: 74
Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 12:10 pm

VRBO #296551-- Rendezvous Villa Review

Post by SRT »

Huge disappointment-
Rendezvous Villa needs maintenance, upkeep and attention from the owner or others will suffer the same experience that we did. We had issues from the moment we arrived. The greeter had to call the maintenance man at 8pm the first night to try to get the air conditioners working. He arrived and was frustrated, rude and dismissive from the minute he entered. When asked about this attitude he said he was overworked. Yes, the bedrooms had air conditioners as advertised, but what wasn’t advertised is that they were badly in need of maintenance and three of the four did not function properly. The Island room air conditioner would not cool to a satisfactory level, and had a timer that would periodically shut it off during the night. The owner claimed it did not have a timer, but the remote had a button ‘timer’ on it, which we tried, unsuccessfully to adjust. We could not figure out how to shut it off. One night the noise from the unit was so loud that in addition to the warm temperature, the noise helped keep us up (despite gel earplugs). The air conditioner in the bedroom above the island room made such a loud mechanical grating noise that only one person could tolerate it. We had to scrounge through our belongings to find tape to configure the air conditioner in the third bedroom because most of the louvers were either missing or broken so could not be adjusted and the air blew straight on the bed.
The villa has a ‘state of the art’ icemaker that doesn’t make ice, nor did the refrigerator ice maker. One of the basement bedroom’s shower heads trickled water. A different maintenance man appeared and thought that if he cleaned it, the showerhead would work. He ended up replacing the showerhead because it was defective.
An additional, and very frustrating aspect of this villa was that the mattress in the ‘Island’ room had lost any form of support it ever had- there was a deep dip in the middle that came from the top, bottom and sides. The two people sleeping in it had to sleep on the edges and pile pillows in the middle so they did not constantly roll to the middle. Even after doing this they still could never lie flat, and were always tilting to the middle. People usually go on vacation to rest and relax. The combination of this unacceptable mattress and the defective air conditioner in the Island room resulted in this couple never getting a good night’s sleep.
The spiral stair steps are extremely noisy and steep. Early morning risers from the downstairs bedrooms wake anyone still sleeping in the upstairs bedrooms. I would not allow any small children or the elderly to have to use them.
The picture of the back yard on VRBO is deceptive. There is an ugly fence across the entire back yard.
The pool area is very nice and spacious with numerous chairs and table.
We contacted the owner by email the first morning after arrival and he expressed amazement that these issues existed.The owner later stated that we should have kept contacting the management company to fix the rest of the problems. Our contention is that he now was aware of all the issues- it was his job as the owner to make sure everything was fixed, not the job of the vacationers who had paid money expecting that the villa is in acceptable operating condition.
It soon became clear to us that these were not ‘new’ conditions- they had clearly existed for some time, despite the owner claiming he knew nothing about them. The owner faulted the villa management for not resolving all problems. I spoke to the villa management company after arriving home. They told me the owner knows about all the issues and refuses to fix them.
The owner sent me a check for one nights stay to compensate for our stressful vacation. For us it wasn't about the money. Therefore, the money has been give to a local family in need.
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philbetm
Posts: 437
Joined: Sat Jun 14, 2008 11:35 pm
Location: SOUTH CAROLINA

Re: VRBO #296551-- Rendezvous Villa Review

Post by philbetm »

Sure glad I saw this....that "was" on my short list for next year. :shock:
" I believe there's Magic here...."
SRT
Posts: 74
Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 12:10 pm

Re: VRBO #296551-- Rendezvous Villa Review

Post by SRT »

I tried to post this review in the "villa review" section. After 5 tries, I gave up. "Incorrect log in" appeared every time.
This was not an easy review to write. I have only written two villa reviews. This one and an extremely positive one for a Virgin Gorda Villa. It takes time and effort to put together a review. I sure wish someone had done an honest review on this villa before we rented it. My husband and I go snorkeling to various Caribbean islands 3-4 times a year (this one included our daughters and husbands). I have been using VRBO for many years in the Caribbean, and the US. Other than a dirty condo on Grand Cayman, I have had good luck.
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liamsaunt
Posts: 5968
Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2006 4:08 pm

Re: VRBO #296551-- Rendezvous Villa Review

Post by liamsaunt »

If I remember correctly, you need to create a separate profile to post on the villa review page. You can use your same login and password as over here, but you have to specifically register over there (and maybe have your registration approved by a moderator? It's been a while since I did it) to post reviews. I think it's to prevent spam posts.

Anyway, I am so sorry you had such a lousy experience! From the photos on VRBO the house looks great and it is probably a place I would have considered. I really hope the owner gets it together and fixes the place up, because it does look like it could be a great location.
It's like looking in your soup and finding a whole different alphabet.
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Pickle
Posts: 794
Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 12:00 am

Re: VRBO #296551-- Rendezvous Villa Review

Post by Pickle »

I'm sorry to hear about your stay at Villa Rendezvous.

It is where we stayed on our very first trip to St. John almost 15 years ago. Back then it was more casual and affordable - and we have fond memories of staying there. I don't know if the house was sold at one point but it went through quite a bit of renovation some time after our stay and the cost of rental has more than doubled. I remember looking at the photos of the renovated house and thinking how fancier it had gotten and the price was now out of our reach.

The house could've offered you a great stay if there weren't neglected maintenance issues. I realize it's too late for you but hope it will get the care it needs for future guests.
MadCityMom
Posts: 124
Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2013 5:45 pm

Re: VRBO #296551-- Rendezvous Villa Review

Post by MadCityMom »

SRT, I am so sorry to hear this. When I looked it up I thought I had to have the wrong villa because the pictures make it look really nice! Make sure you leave a review of VRBO if you haven't already.. That really stinks and I hope the rest of the your trip was enjoyable!
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PA Girl
Posts: 4485
Joined: Tue Aug 29, 2006 11:55 am

Re: VRBO #296551-- Rendezvous Villa Review

Post by PA Girl »

SRT wrote: It soon became clear to us that these were not ‘new’ conditions- they had clearly existed for some time, despite the owner claiming he knew nothing about them. The owner faulted the villa management for not resolving all problems. I spoke to the villa management company after arriving home. They told me the owner knows about all the issues and refuses to fix them.
The owner sent me a check for one nights stay to compensate for our stressful vacation. For us it wasn't about the money. Therefore, the money has been give to a local family in need.
How very frustrating. We had a similar problem with a villa in Peter Bay, tons of deferred maintenance and management company said there was nothing they could do because the owners had the place up for sale and refused to spend any money on maintenance and repairs. It made for a stressful trip and I will never use that company again.

You are doing a service to future renters by giving them a heads up.
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