Commodore's Retreat

Hi! My immediate and extended family want to plan a trip to Seagrove for June, 2007. We do not want a house, and want to stay in condos on the beach that have a pool. We have looked at a lot of pictures on-line of Commodore%26#39;s Retreat, and they look very nice and reasonably priced. BUT some of the posts on the forum are really scaring me. Can anyone give me an update of the condition of Commodore%26#39;s Retreat? We are also considering Emerald Hill. Would that be a better choice? Thanks so much for any help you can give me!!!

Commodore's Retreat

Hi destinjimmie!

Well, Commodore%26#39;s Retreat seems to be to me budget accomodations. Not that that is bad, if that is what you are expecting. You get what you pay for, or then, sometimes not. Sometimes what you get and what you are expecting do not match. My family and I are not above doing budget but there are other things that you have to take into account. When looking at it, I just felt there was a lot to be desired. Have you asked them when they last renovated the motel? The exterior? The roof? The lobby? The pool re-surfaced? The parking repaved? What about the building sandblasted? The maintenance just did not seem to be well kept, especially the outside. And that in hospitality speaks volumnes! I cannot speak for the interior or the beachfront. But to me, after being in hospitality for years prior to kids, it would not have been a place that I would recommend to a client of mine. However reasonably priced. Another red flag, it was quiet, too quiet. Yes, the area is in a residential area and it does dead-end off to the right towards the end of the road, but the property showed no signs of employees. Front desk, maintenance, housekeeping, landscaping. It was 8:30am. No noise, no buzzing, nothing.............Our property at 6:30am was alive and going from front to back. Not loud, but there was life to it. An energy. You know? I did see a lot of outside stains on the building but then again it is old. There was quite a bit of overgrowth around the building as well (plant wise). Across the street was a house that looked abandoned. (for the season? bankrupt) The area did not look unsafe, there were actually some very nice, expensive homes there. It is a mixed area. Like most lake/ocean properties. I had to ask myself, how is this property still here in this area? It didn%26#39;t seem a good fit? Ok but that is my opinion and I am not a local. Anyhow...............I think that is the only thing keeping it going. It%26#39;s location in the residential area and proximity to the lake. Otherwise, it would probably have had to make much more greater improvements. And maybe they are trying to sell and they do not want to make any more improvements. In my opinion, there are too many other options for you to look at. We stayed at Beachside Villas and we had a great time. Building 6. Best views on right side as you face the beach . Lots of people here have had great success with other places. I think you should take your time and find a unit with a proven track record. And keep coming back here for more insight! Hope this helps! And what I meant by my previous post is no matter what the accomodations are, or how shotty, the view, the beaches are to die for!

Commodore's Retreat

Emerald Hill is a nice property with pool and good central location in Seagrove. Just make sure that the beach access has been rebuilt. When we were there in January, it had not been repaired. But that was 8 months ago, so it should have been replaced by now (just be sure to ask).

Thanks so much for the info!!!!!

Do not stay in 101 Commodore%26#39;s Retreat. It is absolutely filthy!!! We stayed there this summer and it was a huge disappointment. I spent the first two days of my much deserved vacation cleaning. The two bunk beds had dirty sheets on them (not changed - not even straightened up). It looked like someone had just spent the night on them and they were so stinky. The kitchen had fruit flies flying all around and obviously had a nest somewhere in the kitchen but we could not figure out where. The dishes were crusted with dried egg and ketchup and a coat of bacon grease awaited us on top of the stove. I had to scour every dish before we used them. The towels were filthy - just folded up dirty. The bath had a complete black mold circle going all around where the shower walls end right over the bathtub walls. I could go on and on about the dirt in this condo but you get the idea. Also, while we stayed there the people who owned the place next door came into the condo without knocking or asking or warning. They have a key. When I got back home from our vacation I sent a letter to the owner of 101 Commodore%26#39;s retreat explaining everything. She didn%26#39;t know how the owners from next door had a key but said if she were to ask him about it (entering the condo we were in while we had it rented out) that he would lie about it and deny that he ever went in. She said he lies his way out of things all of the time. She said she would give me $40 to refund me for the cleaning that wasn%26#39;t up to what it should have been (wasn%26#39;t done at all is more like it!). I was going to be okay with that. That conversation took place at the beginning of the summer and it is now Sept 8th and I have not received a $40 check to reimburse me for the cleaning that was not done and she won%26#39;t return my phone calls. I would never stay here again and definitely would not recommend it.

doctorlady,

Did you see this posting about #101 Commodore%26#39;s Retreat from ';notail'; in February? (See below) These people also had a bad experience with the owner. How did you find this rental? Through VRBO? I wonder if there%26#39;s some way to warn others who might otherwise rent it.

%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;Posted on: 11:19 pm, February 20, 2006 %26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt; I recently stayed in Commdore%26#39;s Retreat. The building is in fiar condition, lots of rotting wood. Beware of Unit #101. We kept the unit very clean, but the owner refused to return our deposit citing pet hair in the unit -- she said I told her our dog did not shed. (Which is absurd.) I paid an extra non-refundable pet deposit upfront to cover any extra cleaning, but the owner still refused to refund the refundable portion of the deposit. There are plenty of other (and nicer) units to rent in the area; I would avoid this one even if you do not have a pet. Who knows what they would claim in the future to retain your deposit? No wonder they did not take credit cards.%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;

I did in fact get the condo on the VRBO website. I have only just now read the review that you referred to and it seems to be the way it goes for Commodore%26#39;s Retreat #101. I am not sure about there being a way to warn prosepective vacation renters but if there was I would do it. While we were staying at Commodore%26#39;s Retreat we also overheard other complaints from other renters of other units around the pool that were negative. The building needs work overall. It is cheap to stay there but for a little tiny bit more you can find much much better. The owner that we were dealing with was not professional or responsible. That is such a lovely area of Florida and there are so many nicer places to stay around there all up and down 30-A. Thanks for telling me about the other reivew. Very interesting.

Well, hopefully people will see your comments here and avoid Commodore%26#39;s Retreat #101. Sorry you had such a bad experience, but I bet you will save other people%26#39;s vacations by putting the word out.

what did you decide?

What did you decide to do about Commodore%26#39;s ?