We booked One Seagrove Place based on location and price. They rate their units as either Premium, Deluxe, or Standard. We chose a Premium-rated condo #401. Although the price for all rentals is the same (if booking through One Seagrove), these units are given a superior classification. "Premium - Exceptional as marked by unique designs that offer superior quality furnishings, luxury features. Designer appointments and top-of-the-line kitchens, baths, and amenities." They should also mention that Premium includes severely cracked tiles.
The first thing you notice as you walk in the door of Unit 401 are the cracked tiles. They begin in the entry (as soon as you step in the door) & continue into the kitchen, where they are much worse. The tiles are not just cracked, they are coming apart, at least in the kitchen. You could feel the tiles move under your feet and the subfloor beneath is beginning to give way. The tile makes a noise when you step on it & you can feel the depression under your feet ( and we're talking about under the weight of 125 lbs). Not only was it unsightly and annoying, it felt unsafe, as if your foot could go through it.
I made a call to the office within an hour of check-in. When I told the woman the problem, she said that was the "first she ever heard of cracked tile in the unit." She said they were completely booked but she could give me my money back ( i.e. Go try to find another place on spring break & good luck). I told her I wasn't happy. She said she'd have the GM call me.
The GM, Mary Jo, called and acknowledged tile has in fact been cracked for about 6 YEARS and that she was "sure" it was not unsafe. (So that begs the question why the first woman who answered the phone never heard of it.) I invited Mary Jo to come up and see the tiles for herself (since she was only 4 floors down) and she said she'd already seen it. I guess maybe she saw it 6 years ago when it was first reported and hasn't bothered to check on it since. When I told her I felt the unit was misrepresented as "premium", Mary Jo disagreed and told me that the unit had been renovated but the tile was "just too costly" for the owners to fix because they'd have to replace all of the tile in the condo. So instead they continue to misrepresent the unit as premium, making no mention of the glaring problem with the kitchen floor. I said I thought there should be some sort of discount applied and she said all she could do was buy a runner for the kitchen. (Tile in Living Room was covered by a large sisal rug so not sure if there was cracked tile underneath there as well.)
On day #3 (out of 5), housekeeping came with the runner about 10 am. I showed Housekeeping the tiles. She said she reported the problem several times in the past and she took pictures again when she brought me the runner. She also said the owner had stayed in the unit recently for an entire month and they hoped he was going to fix it, but he didn't.
Other issues with the unit and One Seagrove amenities...
Crack in master bedroom ceiling goes all the way across....has been painted over.
Almost all outlets need to be replaced, as they are coming out of the wall.
Refrigerator door can't open all the way because it comes up against a wall ( which means refrigerator drawers also can't open all the way.)
Luggage racks would be great. Yes there are dressers but I usually keep my stuff in my suitcase especially if I'm there just a few nights.
Pool small and bland.
Umbrellas and chairs start getting picked up at 4:30 and are completely removed by 5 pm???
The GOOD
Great view of the ocean (& warning flag) from living room and master bedroom.
End unit so quiet & no one walking by your windows.
Decent size Balcony
Condo was very understated/minimalist in muted tones but nicely done.
Kitchen well equipped
Call for tv repair was quick (as it turns out, it wasn't broken but had a different set of numbers for channels starting with "1- " that were different from t main tv in the living room). This would have been nice to find that out at check-in. Maintenance guy was very nice.
Summary, if it weren't for the "serious problem" (and I can't stress that enough) with the tile floor, I would have been fine with this unit. All the units are the same size and it's perfectly fine for 4 people (6 would have been very cramped). The views are great. The condo was for the most part, nicely done. And the rental price is reasonable for a place on the beach. The high-rise itself is starting to show a bit of it's age, but the location is good. However, I wouldn't stay in 401 again until the tile is repaired. As a side note, I highly recommend Yellowfin bike rentals. They came and dropped the bikes as soon as we got there and then picked them up after we left. Bikes were great, especially during spring break, when riding a bike was often faster than driving a car. Also, Angelina's Pizza across the street from One Seagrove was very good. read more