Ocean Reef Resorts
Reviews and Complaints

Our stay at the Oceania property at 1893 Scenic Gulf Dr in Frangista Beach from 9/23 to 9/30, managed by Ocean Reef was disappointing and frustrating. The condition of the property is misrepresented in the online listing. While I appreciate that issues can arise, as a repeat guest of properties managed by Ocean Reef Vacation Rentals and Real Estate, I expect a clean and comfortable stay. Upon entering the property, I found the overall lack of cleanliness a major issue. This was unexpected since I received an alert earlier that day that the property was available to check into two hours before the 4:00pm check in time. Ocean Reef explained these issues may be attributed to it being the end of a busy rental season. A maintenance representative came out to inspect and photograph the issues, and a third party cleaning crew was sent out over two hours later to address cleanliness issues in the kitchen, dining room, second level bathroom, first level couch, and outdoor grill. The property is advertised as “completely refurbished,” but there is years of wear and tear throughout. It is a level of wear and tear that does not occur in just a few months or just one season. The property is also advertised as having new furniture in several rooms, and the pictures show different furniture than what is in some of the rooms now. The hardwood floors and baseboards throughout are badly worn, scratched, and in some places gouged. There are light fixtures hanging down from the ceiling in multiple rooms.

The living room was a major disappointment. Online, the hardwood flooring, furniture, and rug look to be in almost pristine condition. This is. no longer the case. The fabric furniture is badly stained, the rug has been removed, the couch advertised has been replaced, and there are fewer chairs. The sliding glass door to the patio is unclean, the door lock is broken, and what appears to be mold covers the top of the door. My guests and I were so uncomfortable with the condition of the living room furniture that we covered it in sheets during our stay to avoid sitting directly on it.

Also, in the dining room, the chairs are different from what is advertised online. The current chairs are a pleather material while online the chairs are a nicer linen fabric. The second floor patio furniture was also not as advertised. The settee has been replaced by two chairs that do not match the existing patio furniture. Those chair cushions have a cigarette burn and what appeared to be mold. The table is not level, so to level it two dirty paper towels were placed under the legs by previous guests or perhaps the cleaning crew. The primary bedroom on the third floor overlooking the beach now has poorly hung paper blinds that don’t even cover all the windows instead of the draperies featured in the pictures online. The draperies were found balled up in a closet. We initially requested them to be put back up; however, with all the stained fabric in the property we decided the paper blinds were probably more sanitary. Also, the bed frame fabric is stained despite being advertised as new.The condition of the property is misrepresented and left everyone feeling uncomfortable during our stay.

Very poor. Our vacation was disrupted by COVID like so many others. Had already paid. Three of the four of us are health care providers and first responders. To boot, states were shut down, or orders to shelter in place issued. Ocean reef would not even consider refund even though nobody could go even if we wanted to, we have no idea when or if we can go in the future given our jobs and current events, etc. In fact, one in our party has COVID and would be reckless for her to travel anyway. I Even now, cases are climbing in our origin and destination state(s). Very disheartening the response of Ocean Reef. All they care about is their $6200. They would rather see people travel to and from an endemic area, bring disease with us, attempt the impossible task of rescheduling (even though nobody knows when, or if people can travel). When you call yo speak with them, you can not get any decision maker to have a candid conversation with. Only the run around, and disconnected. Very poor.

this was our first time dealing with Ocean reef Resorts and I will never use them again. when we arrived at out condo the kitchen was dirty counter tops had food on them the refrigerator was filthy we had to clean it also none of the remotes for the tv's had batteries so we had to go out and but new ones so that we could watch tv. we had traveled all day and didn't think we could get a hold of anyone the front desk was closed. I called the next day and they told me we should have called them Saturday and they would have sent someone up to clean and they would have given us batteries well the place we stayed at was managed by a different company and not by the resort. how are we supposed to know that... when asked for somewhat of a refund on the condo since we had to clean it they were rude and said nothing could be done since we didn't call them right then ! again the front desk was closed. they are all about taking your money but they are not about cleanliness. I will not use them again.

Upon arriving at the resort we went to our room only to find a cinder block holding up the bed. This was very unacceptable I contacted maintenance and spoke to a Ivan Delgado has stated that he was the supervisor. A maintenance worker came and looked at the bed she said it was not fixable. I called Ivan back and requested to move to another room he stated that he had a guy who build houses that was going to come out to fix the problem. I informed him that we was on vacation and that we were already being inconvenienced and that was not acceptable. I asked to be moved he said that the guy would fix the bed and all would be good. I told him this should have been fixed before we arrived just move us. Long story short he did not move us nor did he offer a refund of any sort and he never had the bed fixed. We had to stay with friends because of this issue. I did not spend one night in Rm #2403 and that Monday morning I received an email stating that my reservation had been canceled. I will never book another stay with this company. The supervisor was very rude and unprofessional.

During this time of the Coronavius the rep told me if I couldn't travel due the pandemic they would refund me. When I called back he said they just got out of a meeting and management decided they would let people reschedule and no refunds unless beaches closed. I just received an email that beaches are closed and they will only let customers reschedule. We are in the middle of a pandemic and the White House Guidelines, CDC, and WHO are urging people to stay home. Justin the manager told me he was just at the grocery store and there were plenty of groceries and they would move me to a different house where the beach is open. I recorded the phone call as well as several other phone calls to grocery stores and nearby beaches and restaurants to get the real story and the lack of supplies on the shelf. It is unethical at a time like this to lie to customers and try to get them to come to closed beaches. This is shameful and I am requesting a full refund. I do not want another house and I am not able to come next year and even if I could I am not going to let a shady company hold on to my money for a year.

Renters BEWARE. We booked a rental home for 5/10 with Ocean Reef Resorts. About a week before our trip, they called us saying unfortunately THEY had to cancel due to the Governor's Covid orders on short term rentals. They said, "we will not be able to return your deposit but we are happy to be able to provide you with a voucher good for one year". Oh how nice of Ocean Reef! No, we want our money back, you canceled, not us! Nope... So we filed a dispute with Chase credit card. It took from March 4th until today, July 3rd to finally get the credit. Chase said Ocean Reef disputed it, Chase went on to say in their dispute, the simple question was asked: "Was money paid and were services rendered?" Yes we paid and no we didn't get the service. Covid has hurt everyone. Ocean Reef told us this is the time for us to be compassionate. We have heard about several other rental companies that gave the money back no questions asked even if the renter canceled due to the virus. Shame on you Ocean Reef Resorts, we will never rent from you again and I will be sure to tell as many people as possible about this poor experience.

I so wish I could give this company a zero. A group of us were supposed to go to Grayton Beach, for a wedding, over spring break. Believe me, we wanted to be there with no intensions of backing out. The President along with governor stated travel should not happen. President stated that VRBO and other travel hospitality companies should refund money. I travel to this area often. My best friend has a home in Gulf Trace and she said VRBO sent out information to owners that money should be refunded. She refunded all money to her renters. After speaking with her and the essential shut down of the whole area, I figured we would receive a refund. We did not, and they offered no credit. After reading all these reviews about them, I feel there is discrimination. Some people getting credits, etc. I was never offered any of that, they just rudely said no refunds. In fact, everyone who was supposed to attend the wedding over the weekend, received credits or their money back. Unfortunately, I found the most uncredited company to rent from. My attorney is looking into the Force of Majeure as reason for cancelation. Not going to let this go lightly. I can't stand it when people take advantage of others. Especially right now.

I have been visiting the Gulf for 25+ years. I have rented budget friendly properties and million dollar properties. My recent experience with an Ocean Reef Resorts property was like no other. I should have known things were not right on Saturday when I opened the refrigerator and there was a smooshed roach on the top shelf. There were ants in the cabinet above the range hood. I handled these myself as I know these things happen. On Monday, I reported the bugs and requested the duvet in the master be swapped because of an unknown red stain and blood stains. The kitchen was treated for bugs promptly. The duvet cover was changed on Wednesday which does little of nothing for the stained duvet. We folded it at the foot of the bed and did not use it. What continues to be disturbing is these properties are not clean! My bare feet should not be black from walking in the unit. On Thursday morning around 1am, I felt something on my elbow. My husband turned on the light to find a roach! Needless to say, anytime thereafter we felt a wrinkle in the sheets, we thought it was another bug. The entire unit was treated for bugs on Friday. A re-clean was offered but shouldn't a property be cleaned between renters? Renters pay a cleaning fee. Renters beware!

We go to Destin every year and stay in the same area. This was our first time staying at Emerald Palazzo in St Tropez and booking with Ocean Reef and sadly our last. I didn't read the reviews for them before I booked and that is on me. Upon arrival we immediately contacted management that our house had no lights in two of the three bedrooms. They sent two guys from their office who told us they were't electricians...one offered to hang a flashlight on the ceiling fan! Really not what you expect with a luxury rental! On day three they sent an electrician who told us the entire ceiling fan in both rooms were bad and needed to be replaced for safety reasons and they still did nothing! Needless to say we never got the issue resolved and had to use the light on our cell phones in order to see! We asked that they bring lamps so that we would have light as the bedrooms lacked tables or lamps by the beds...that also didn't happen. This could have easily been resolved but they opted to ignore the problem. The house keeping crew obviously knew this was a problem as well as they had to clean in the dark! Also the home smelled like mildew and had mildew issues in the garage and pantry so no surprise the electrical was screwed up! These problems especially the mildew hadn't just happened it had been ignored for awhile! But after reading the complaints on this page I'm sure I'm wasting my time writing this but renters beware!

I made a reservation with Ocean Reef in April for May 14th. However, due to the "state of emergency" up and down the east coast, I called to ask for a refund, partial refund or change my dates. I was treated very nasty by
a person I spoke to named *** a manager for Ocean Reef. He told me I couldn't get a refund or call anyone to try and get one. He didn't offer any type of resolution. I explained to him that I personally didn't want to cancel, but had to cancel because of the circumstances. I would have to drive from NC and hope that I would be able to get gas once I needed it while driving to Santa Rosa Beach, FL. He response to all of this was, "We have gas in Florida."
due to the "state of emergency" we can't travel right now. He responded with,
"Well, we have gas in Florida." Now, Florida's government declared a "state of emergency" too. However, I was still told by two representatives for the Ocean Reef company that there's nothing they can do. I didn't purchase travelers insurance because I knew I was driving to Florida May 14th. However, I have no control over unforseen events or the current matter. I emailed corporate, and was told the samething, "We have gas in Florida." I would highly not recommend this company to anyone. I'm also retired military, and I'm going to call and speak with a military lawyer about the situation and to inform them about the company, so other military personnel don't get screwed over.

We have stayed at Destiny by the Sea for years and have never encountered any problems. Last week we stayed at Beach Blessing in Destiny by the Sea booked their Ocean Reef Resorts. The first problem we encountered was the master bath toilet did not work. Next was the leaking roof that spewed brown liquid onto our food and heads when dining on the front porch. The refrigerator upstairs was broke and the dryers downstairs was broke. There was a gas or propane smell coming from outside the condo the entire length of our trip. There was mold in the bathroom, a broken stove and a dishwasher that didn't work the entire length of our stay. We washed dishes by hand in the bathroom sink for 14 people for 6 days because the kitchen sink had a leak. We tried not to let his ruin our trip. We paid $3800 for the week. We hoped the Ocean Reef Management team would make sure we were compensated appropriately as they were unable to move us to another condo. We remained calm and polite determined to not let this completely ruin our trip but I spent hours on the phone with management, we had repair men in the house constantly and drills and repair equipment running on and off all the time - not to mention all the strangers in the house without masks during COVID. We just heard from Ocean Reef today and they offered to take off $452 from our $3800 bill. We were appalled. We had also referred a friend to this condo embarrassingly. We will never book with them again and I would highly suggest Buyer Beware.

I have rented all along the Emerald Coast for over 40 years and the first place I look is Ocean Reef Resorts. This company is well run, responsive to any issues that arise, lead the way in easy booking, check in, and check out. Well trained professionals that I have enjoyed doing business with for over 20 years. That said, our latest rental, Seaduction on Frangista Beach left a little to be desired. The property itself was adequate, and the area traffic was busy and loud. Our biggest complaint with Frangista Beach is the beach rules. The property description states clearly that no canopies, tents, cabanas, personal umbrellas or even personal beach chairs are allowed. You are forced to rent beach setups from Dolce La Vita. Seaduction came with 2 setups included in the price, but we required a third and the $65/day fee seemed like more than we had paid previously in the Miramar Beach area. We were also surprised when they booted us from our chairs promptly at 5pm daily. The other surprise was all the personal beach umbrellas and personal chairs that set up around us. I guess to be fair the beach service sets up their chairs on the the public beach, but I believe I've been told that the beach service can move you if you're in their way. Who wants this confrontation? We enjoyed all our beach neighbors under personal umbrellas and service umbrellas except for the guy who set up so close to us that he shared our umbrella shade in the morning. I will rent from Ocean Reef in the future, but I probably won't be seen again on Frangista Beach.

Stayed at Sandprint by the Sea in Destin, Fl. 3897 Sandprint Dr. Honestly the worst beach home we've ever stayed at. From the moment we go to the house the front lawn was eat up in weeds, even the marble stairs leading to the front door had weeds growing out. They called a crew to trim the weeds and that's it ( bandaid the issue). This slung all over my parents car. The decks are not maintained absolutely unsittable furniture because it's nasty. Windows & decking are gross. Then as we're unloading there's a note that the garage code that the door doesn't work. Also on our very 1st day I had to call because the showers and sinks in every bedroom was NOT cleaned. Orange mildew everywhere in the grout, old shampoo labels to the side. My kids had shaving from a man's beard in the double queen bathroom. Just disgusting. Then the shower in the basement has one glass door ripped off but the other remains and they rigged it up with half glass door and full curtain. 2 mornings later we found out the oven doesn't work. So everything we had gotten out to baked had to be trashed. Did they come fix? yes... But the next day. So once again our plans were jacked up. All the fans and furniture have 1/2 an inch thick of dust on them. Look on top of each bed and fan and you'll see. Do NOT rent or buy from these people they answered all my maintenance and housekeeping request but when I'm paying over 3k for 6 days, is it even fair that I have to constantly email or notify them. Legit I got a call everyday from them because some maintenance crew was coming. Beyond ridiculous!

I have waited a considerable amount of time before I decided to post a review concerning Ocean Reef Vacation Rentals in conjunction with VRBO. We booked a week long stay at one of their more premium properties at The Waterview Towers back in mid-August. Their specific instructions were to not arrive early so they could take the added precautions for cleaning during COVID. We arrived just before the 4:00pm check-in and found the condominium unit "lived in". Beds had been slept in, dirty towels everywhere, sticky and crumb-laden countertops and dirty floors/carpets from the previous guests. It was pure luck we caught a housekeeper coming out of another unit to make direct contact with management. If you call yourself, they want a name and number to "call you back". After we were finally contacted, we were told they would get a crew right on it. After driving 12 hours, you're ready to unpack and get a shower, not kill 2 and 1/2 hours out while they rush clean the place. When we returned, the unit still needed cleaning. We noticed hair on the shower tiles and in the shower drains from the previous tenants, sand and dirt still on the floors and carpeting and food crumbs on some of the counters. If I could attach photos before and after they cleaned, I would. We had brought some sanitizing products just for our use that week, so we went to town cleaning ourselves. When you're paying top dollar for a unit and also being charged service fees from Ocean Reef and VRBO, as well as a cleaning fee and in addition to insurance because of hurricane season and anything COVID related that might cancel your trip, this is unacceptable. No compensation for our aggravation and time have been offered, when we were told it would be reviewed. With that said, we will not be using or recommending these services unless this is actually addressed properly.

Wouldn't refund money in the national emergency crisis of corona virus. We booked 3/16 for Spring Break for senior boys and 2 dads. Had to cancel by 3/20 because all the restaurants and beaches shut down in the area. There was no link on VRBO to cancel the reservation I had to email the company directly to cancel it. When we did cancel they sent back a cancellation notice showing our refund amount minus $144.95 which they said were administrative fees and applicable taxes. We tried to call them and email them about getting a full refund per the VRBO email and website information. They said NO. My husband said the person he spoke to was quite rude. Said he was going to report this to ComplaintsBoard.com and Attorney General and the person said do whatever you have to. Hung up. We reached out to VRBO on 3/24 and talked to them and filed a complaint against Ocean Reef. VRBO refunded their fees no problem and stated they have asked all owner/renters to due the same at this time. I checked my credit card this morning and have received a refund minus the $144.95. I reached back out to Ocean Reef this morning and the email response from Tonya was it was on the cancellation policy you signed. This company is not showing that they are looking out for it's customers best interest, but taking advantage of people during this national crisis. Ocean Reef Vacation Rentals is not abiding by the rules set forth by the government and VRBO. They have their own rules and that is the only thing they are going by at this time. I believe everyone who is having issues with this company at this point in time should not only post on the ComplaintsBoard.com, reach out to the Florida Attorney General's Office and make sure to post their reviews and thoughts in regards to the treatment and lack there of they have received from this company. I will make sure to never book with this company again and will not refer them to anyone in the future.

Company unwilling to refund full reservation less than 24hrs after reservation was made due to serious health issues. Made reservation at 4pm 8/11 the next morning on 8/12 I called my husband's physician to get clearance to travel due to serious health issues. He did not give clearance yet so I called the rental company office immediately to explain and request refund with the hope of rebooking reservation as soon as we got clearance. They were unwilling to give a full refund and insisted on keeping a quite large administrative fee even though it was just over 12 hrs since reservation was made. A rental agreement had not even been signed yet and the reservation is over 2 months away. In these times of serious health crisis I find this outrageous.

We felt Ocean Reef did not take our issues/complaints serious enough by refunding only $162 back out of the $2276 we paid them not $320 expected. Below is the email we sent to Ocean Reef after returning home and learning that management only felt we deserved $162. I was wholly expecting a refund of $320 for the cleaning fee I paid even though house was filthy and infested with bugs. I think they were only worried about the fact my wife said she would leave a bad review of the house( which she didn't , because the owners may not be aware the cleaning crew is falling behind). We documented lots of cockroaches with pictures and even the 2 guests who occupied the master whose legs were covered in bug bites which we included to Ocean Reef. Our stay occurred Aug 1-8, 2020 & we have heard nothing more since the original tiny refund.

Rented unit A1-940 Pinacle Port in Panama City, FL 3/27 - 4/3. Unit did not have skillets, oven mitts, dishcloths or dustpans, and floor was dirty. All 3 TVs did not work. Satellite repairman able to get 2 working but still froze. Dishwasher leaked and 2 repairmen came out & could not fix. Dryer took > 2 hours to dry 3 bath towels. Repairman could not fix. Back left burner on stovetop did not work. Repairman fixed. Hallway bathroom door would not close properly because it had been ripped off hinges and shower leaked onto bathroom floor. Door to master bedroom had been ripped off hinges. Towel rack in master bedroom fell off wall, shower drips, sink stopper did not operate correctly, and toilet wobbled. Stains on couch and loveseat. All of these problems were brought to the company's attention and a representative came out & took pictures stating we should get substantial compensation. Ability to comment removed from company website; same problems from other customers never resolved.

Condo not as described to us prior to signing contact. Broken appliances, very dirty, leaking toilet dripping from upstairs through downstairs light. We arrived at Crystal Sands 307B on 9/26. What makes this even worse is this trip was for my elderly parents who have not left the house since March due to COVID. Upon arrival the unit was very dirty and smelled of mold. Due to covid we cleaned prior to unpacking. Microwave was broken and would short out if plugged up, coffee pot broken, stove falling apart. Upstairs toilet leaked through and dripped through master bath light fixture, we had to place a pot in the floor to catch the water (ocean reef was contacted and I never received a response from them). Bar stool broken. Chair broken (which caused me to fall out of). 2 large open areas in living room and upstairs bedroom with exposed tubes and insulation. It was very obvious that this until had not been cleaned for a while. I took many pictures. We all left the trip feeing sick due to mold in the until and on the shower curtains. Not only was this unit dirty but it was unsafe. Water dripping through light fixtures, mold, broken appliances and chairs.

We were called the next day after renting/paying/signing a rental agreement and told the price MORE THAN DOUBLED! We could either pay or cancel! We rented a house with Ocean Reef Vacation Rentals & Real Estate in Destin, Florida for the week of July 3-July 10 on 1/23. I paid the required amount of 50% with a credit card that day. The total cost for the rental was $4,521.90 for the week. I received, signed and returned the rental agreement on the same day. On Sunday morning, 1/24, I received a phone call from the property manager at Ocean Reef stating that the price they charged me was incorrect. The new price would be $9,859.46! I was asked to pay the new price or cancel the rental reservation... We are a group of (3) working class families in town for our daughters' softball tournaments, we cannot afford this type of bait and switch move. How is this legal to do, especially after I paid as well as signed and returned a rental agreement!?!? This type of activity should be illegal! They told me they had the right to change pricing, dates, or addresses up until and including the date of rental per their rental agreement... I'm certain that someone realized that there would be thousands of people in town during this softball national tournament and decided they could charge DOUBLE the money! I will not be extorted like this! DO NOT RENT FROM THIS CORRUPT COMPANY! THEY ARE AS CROOKED AS THEY COME!

Horrible customer service. No refund given. No remorse of their mistake. We booked a vacation home at the end of November as we are taking our kids to Florida as their Christmas present. I paid for the home in two payments. $845.75 and then another payment of $1615.11 totaling $2460.86. On Thursday XX-XX-XX they called to inform me that the property has sold and that we don't in fact have a vacation home. But that they would refund me and process it quickly so it didn't mess up our Christmas surprise. It is now Monday the 21st and I've contacted my bank (Chase Bank) and they have informed me that there is no pending refunds. I then called ocean reef and spoke to a John who was extremely rude who then transferred me to a John who is supposedly the GM. He was also very uncaring and rude on the phone informing me more or less good luck with your situation. Told me that the refund was made but that it is obviously something on my banks end. My bank is a huge national bank I'm pretty sure they are aware of what they are doing. The reviews about this company are awful on google and I only wish I would have researched a bit before handing over my hard earned money. I had to scramble around and find another home that I in fact had to pay double for with it being so last minute and was banking on the refund that I have yet to receive. I think this company is very unprofessional. Has 0 customer service skills and lies about multiple things. I was never even told that this house was on the market because if that was the case I would have never booked it.

We rented the home Morning Star managed by Ocean Reef, reservation #XXXXXX. We encountered numerous issues from cleanliness to safety concerns. Upon arrival to the vacation home, it was apparent that the property had not been properly cleaned - dead cockroaches, food crumbs, dirty linens, cigarette butts to name a few. After we settled in, we congregated to the patio. This is where my daughter with bare feet stepped on broken glass. Upon further inspection of the patio, broken glass from the light bulbs was discovered on the sofa, cushions, and floor. Moving on to the next day, the toilet on the ground floor leaked water at the base of the toilet when flushed. The bathroom became unusable and required a full bath towel to soak up the water. This was not an overflow or clogging issue but a sealing issue at the base of the toilet. Moving forward, the home now had a roof leak. This required a roof repairman to come out to the house. I had to escort him around the house for an hour as he did his inspection. We also had issues with the condition of the house. The patio railing had a missing scone that had an exposed spike sticking up. The lounge chairs at the pool had ripped cushions. In addition, the lounge chairs were so old and neglected that some of the legs were broken at the base and were now jagged and rusted. This became ANOTHER safety issue as the kids were spending time at the pool. There was mold in several bathrooms, there was an extension ladder resting against the fence, the decor was old, worn out and in need of repair or replacement. All of these issues required phone calls to Ocean Reef that then resulted in numerous call backs to us. We had to schedule time to meet with their repairmen throughout the week. All of these things took time away from our vacation on a DAILY basis and took away the enjoyment and relaxation that we were expecting.

Property was a complete dump and not as represented. Ocean Reef Resorts, Inc could care less about the truth. My email to Ocean Reef Resorts, Inc is below who sent a too bad it did not work out reply. Reservation: XXXXXX Guest: *** Guest E-Mail: ***@me.com Property ID: 3CSEAHAUNTS Check-In Date: 7/15 Check-Out Date: 7/19 Property was falling apart. - Downstairs bathroom - door lock was not intact and the remaining piece inside bathroom fell off trapping me unable to open door. Then next day, I heard water dripping while walking out to beach at lunch and the toilet was leaking everywhere with the basin cracked in the back along the wall all the way down to the flapper. I had to shut off the water, get a cup and drain the toilet and clean up the water all over the floor. Then when it was replaced a day later, the shut off valve blew and water went everywhere again. - Downstairs rear door was stuck and unable to open and maintenance had to fix the bottom of the door which was jammed. - 3rd floor balcony sliding door While the 1st door toilet was being replaced, one of our guests walked downstairs and said the entire door fell off. I had to help the maintenance guy pick up the door and inspect the bottom. The door corner bottom had obviously been previously been "repaired" and rigged with a hinge and some wood holding a rusted wheel into place. If somebody had been in the balcony when it fell, they would have ended up in the hospital. A child may have been killed. - Toilet and towel holders were loose ready to fall off. - downstairs bathroom sink did not drain properly - Screws were sticking out if the wood walkway to the beach access. If somebody steps in them, they will be injured. The place was a mess and my vacation was ruined having spent day after day dealing with maintenance issues. I never would have stayed at that unit knowing it was in such deplorable condition. The online representations are inaccurate and border in consumer fraud and misrepresentation. I would like to know how you intend to rectify this matter before I contact the State if Florida consumer affairs division and file a complaint. I await your reply. Thank You, Paul

On our drive down to our beach we were told our rental was unavailable. We were switched to another unit, which was not cleaned and in gross condition We booked a home on the beach for 4 nights to enjoy one last vacation as family of 4 before we soon become a family of 5. On our drive down to the property we called to remind Ocean Reef that we want the pool heated, which we would pay for, so that our young children could use it. Only then did they remember to send someone to turn the pool heater on and when the service person went to turn it on they realized the tile work around the pool was incomplete so they called us and said we could not stay in our rental and they were moving us to another rental. We booked a 5 bedroom and were moved to a 4 bedroom. When we got to the replacement unit had not been recently cleaned. We also realized it was a unit we had seen online and intentionally chosen not to book bc the reviews stated the place was gross. And it was gross. There was a dead roach on the floor that greeted us. The couch was so old and nasty that we put a sheet over it. The rep confirmed that the place "had not been cleaned in awhile and had been vacant for some time". The bedroom we put our 2 year old smelled terribly of urine and it was clear someone had a dog in there as the carpet, bed, and curtain all had pee stains and smells. We made it clear to Ocean Reef that this was an unacceptable switch but they told us they had nothing available. They did at least try to remedy the issues we brought to their attention, I will give them that. But when they were unable to move us to a well kept up unit we asked how they would compensate us and we were told we had to email them with a specific request. Given that they moved us to a unit we intentionally did not rent, Which was not even cleaned for our arrival, and that we had to deal with people coming in and out during our entire stay to address the myriad of issues with the unit: we requested they refund half our stay. Needless to say their response and counter offer did NOT come in writing and was offensive. We've now resorted to other means to remedy this situation as it's clear that Ocean Reef has no intention of making this right on their own.

Rented a cabin from ocean reef resorts. Within an hour we had found a couple roaches. They refused a refund. We had rented a cabin in Gatlinburg, Tennessee from Ocean Reef Resorts on sept.8th through the 12th. As soon as we arrived we had noticed the toilet was not flushed and there was a bathing suit on the floor in bathroom from previous renters. Within an hour we found a couple roaches crawling on the coach. I called ocean reef and told them what we had found and that we had one in a bag if they wanted someone to come up. They told me there was no need in someone coming. I then asked if we could get placed in another cabin which we was told they do not own any more cabins in Gatlinburg. The employee told me there was nothing he could do for me. So i asked for a refund and he was suppose to call me back. I ended up calling an hr later and he said his manager just left and he was not authorized to give me a refund that i would have to talk to his manager to get a refund.(Sounded like i was going to get a refund.) Since he said there was nothing he could do to make it right that evening, we decided to stay in a hotel. The next day we called several times to talk to a manager. Communication was aweful! We finally talked to a manager and he refused a refund. Saying that "if you find a couple bed bugs or roaches thats not an investation. And the roaches probably walked in when the cleaners were there". Which He told us its our fault for not asking for a exterminator. (It should never be the costumers job to ask for that. It should always be offered) He also said it was our choice for leaving. (Yes it was our choice for leaving because someone should not have to stay in a rental with roaches.) The manager was rude and very unprofessional. We also had communication issues with him not calling back. He refused to write an email as to why he was refusing our refund. We told him that it did need exterminated on day 2 after he said it was our fault for not asking for one but the exterminator was not able to get to the cabin till the following morning. We paid a total 4 days 869.31to ocean reef by cc. After the extermination we did go back to the cabin for 2 nights because we had already spent an additional 541.00 by cc on a hotel stay at greystone lodge for the first 2 nights (we had to get two hotel rooms for our party). Ocean reef refused to pay the hotel stay or even half of the hotel stay after he asked how much it was. We would like to get our refund from the 2 night stay at the cabin that we were not there or make it right and get a refund from the hotel stay for the first 2 nights. Ocean reef refused everything. This is not right for a business to do.

Our vacation rental was filthy, the company could not clean it and had no other options. We were forced to leave the unsafe and unsanitary conditions. We arrived Sunday, July 6th (reservation #XXXXXX) to the Sandpiper rental. Upon entering the property, we smelled vomit. The inside of the property was semi-cleaned and the outside had not been cleaned at all. Inside, the property had stains throughout, caked-in substances in rugs, dirt on the floors, stains on the bedding and old food residue throughout the kitchen / dishes. Outside, the pool had dirt in it (and was cloudy), old wet socks on the deck, old pool toys scattered, trash on the property and an old pacifier on the seating. We called Ocean Reef and they sent two cleaning people. Those cleaning people told us they had cleaned many houses and sometime miss things, and then did minimal cleaning for 15 minutes. They threw away the trash but did not fully clean the property. Additionally, it was clear the cleaning staff were not taking any coronavirus precautions. They did not wear masks and had not fully disinfected the place. Even after cleaning, the following remained: - Trash / broken toys around the pool - Cloudy, dirty water in the pool - Old food trays and remnants of food on outdoor tables - Old soap bars in showers, dirty shower curtains - Bodily fluids on the walls - Dirt caked into carpets - Missing furniture compared to pictures - Missing bedding (no covers, missing comforters) - Red stain on beds - Infestation of flies INSIDE the property Pictures can be found here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/iFcWE2453o9mwPMR6 After finding more issues throughout the property all evening, we called first thing the next morning (8am). The company said they had no other rentals (just a smaller option with no pool) that we could move to. We requested a refund for the remaining days so we could find a new place. After waiting for hours and repeatedly calling, they said their CEO had declined to refund us but they advised us on getting a refund through American Express instead. It is clear this is par for the course in terms of business practices for this business. They are pedaling dirty, poorly maintained properties. To add insult to injury, this company charges a $425.00 cleaning fee. The property was the exact opposite of what was advertised on Ocean Reef's website. The property certainly doesn't meet the company's purported pandemic standards (let alone basic cleanliness). We could not stay in unsafe and unsanitary conditions and were forced to relocate, since the company would not address our concerns. We checked in Sunday, July 5 at 5pm and left early afternoon the 6th after being told to wait hours to hear back from the company on possible remedies and then being told there were none.

Vacation rental was not as advertised. Response to issues was very delayed, no willingness by company to work with us on partial refund. My family has been a customer of Ocean Reef's for several years, but our last experience renting a condo through Ocean Reef at Edgewater Unit #514 in Miramar Beach 1-8 August was very disappointing. We have vacationed through Ocean Reef before at Edgewater Condos and had dreamed of renting one of the end terrace units. When we finally did last week, it was a nightmare. My family arrived on 1 August to a filthy condo with sand all over the floors and in the beds. The mirrors that cover almost all the walls were extremely dirty, a decorative panel had been ripped off the wall, ketchup was on the kitchen cabinets, a lounge chair was missing and another was broken. There were cigarette butts on the terrace, which was overgrown with weeds. We immediately complained to Ocean Reef staff and another cleaning crew was dispatched. The emergency cleaning crew did a good job and acknowledged that the condo had not been properly cleaned, if it had been cleaned at all. We quickly discovered other issues to include a toilet that did not function, a master bedroom shower that did not drain, a dishwasher broken top rack, a DVD player that did not work, and most concerning, an unsafe children's bunk bed. We discovered that the bunk bed in the kid's room had a ladder that was not secure when one of our kids attempted to use the ladder and it fell off the bed. The child could have been seriously injured. Additionally, the wrong mattress was on the bed and actually sat above the siderails, making it very easy for a child to fall off the bed. We had to remove the mattress and have the child use the mattress on the family room floor. The first maintenance person sent to our unit three days after our initial complaint simply rigged the broken toilet instead of fixing it, placed the lid back on the toilet, and left. The second maintenance person arrived on the fourth day and fixed the toilet, shower drain, and bunk bed ladder. The bunk bed could still not be used safely due to having the wrong mattress. The kids brought several movies to enjoy movie nights, but we did not receive a working DVD player until the fifth day of our one week vacation. As you can imagine, my family and I were not happy and I asked for a partial refund. The Ocean Reef representative that I spoke to several times and emailed a half dozen times promised that management would be contacting me before the end of the week to make things right and that they would ensure we did not end our vacation on a bad note. This turned out to be false, I finally got a hold of a manager, Justin, the following week and he said he was sorry about our experience, but there was nothing he was willing to do for us. I expressed my displeasure with Justin and let him know I would use social media to share my experience and he simply said, that is your right to do. I strongly advise families vacationing to the emerald coast to avoid renting through Ocean Reef.

Our family rented a luxury beachfront home with private heated pool which had numerous repair issues, along with safety concerns. Our family rented a luxury beachfront home with heated private pool the week of 9/19 thru 9/26. Upon arrival there were numerous repair issues/non working: oven, garage door, garbage disposal, ice maker flooded great room, stairs to beach unstable, handle on primary back door would not lock, dryer did not work, and heater on pool not working. Numerous phone calls, emails, texts were sent throughout the week. We had revolving door of repairmen in and out of house the entire week. Pool tech out daily trying to fix heater on pool. During our week stay the garage door and back door handle were the only items repaired. We were told that the house was owned by a problem owner who owned 8 houses in their inventory and that he insisted on doing all of the repairs himself. On day one Ocean Reef knew that the oven did not work and said that they were ordering a part for oven. We were told to flip the breaker any time we needed to use the oven. One tech told us it was unsafe to flip breaker so we ended up not using oven and eating out much more than we had planned. On our last day, repairman came out to get part number because part had never been ordered, and mentioned oven had not worked for 6 weeks. It was sad to see that I had been speaking to office daily and no one seemed to be concerned over the fact we could not use the oven. The main reason we booked this home was for the private heated pool. We understand we were at the end of Sept and heat not normally offered til the first week of October. We paid for this feature. Pool tech came out daily and was unable to get heater working. Mid week the pool tech came out around 4 pm and while attempting to fix heat, somehow without us knowing it at the time began to empty the pool. Around 8 pm that night we noticed the pool had about 3 feet of water and called the emergency number. Emergency repairman came out, turned off motor/pump and said if he left it running it would be a possible fire hazard. The pool tech told me he had only worked for the company for 2 weeks, no pool experience and no idea what he was doing. I received harrassing texts and phone call from this pool tech. I did speak to the Director of Operations and was told to try to enjoy the rest of the week and he would call me the following week to make things right. He did give us a little over 10% of refund, and told us that this was the last straw for this owner and it appears this home has been removed from their inventory. We could have rented a luxury beachfront home for half the price with no pool and a working oven. We went all in this year on renting a premier luxury home and could not have been more stressed or disappointed. We have rented from Ocean Reef in the past and had exceptional stays. I insisted we use them again this year, so that we would not have to deal with any of the issues you would normally have dealing directly with owner. By far the biggest issues were that we could not use the oven or the pool. Since we are in a pandemic we had planned to cook all of our meals at the house. Both the oven and pool issues put the safety of my family at risk. I had written a letter directly to the President of Ocean Reef, but did not get a response. Hoping that they will review our case again and provide at a minimum 50% adjustment.