We knew our Pam Harrington Exclusives rental was an older home with outdated décor, but we figured we could overlook the tacky wallpaper and threadbare carpets given the prime beachfront location. Wrong. There is nothing Exclusive about a home where the first thing you see when you walk up the front stairs is duct tape. And that wasn't the only place. There were at least 4 places where duct tape was the maintenance approach of choice. Maintenance issues abound...a better word for the home than Exclusive: NEGLECT. Torn screens. Locks so covered in rust you couldn't turn them. Everything covered in rust on the screened in porch - and please spare me the "beachfront homes are exposed to salt, sea air and sun and of course they are going to rust." When Zillow lists the value of the home at several million dollars and you charge the same nightly rate as the luxury resort a mile down the road you can afford to replace ceiling fans, hinges, locks and anything else as often as necessary so that guests don't feel like they are sitting in a junkyard. Almost all of the lights in the garage were rusted with broken glass - and pine straw had accumulated in at least two of them creating a fire hazard. Also in the garage: a grill that hasn't been cleaned in a decade, a utility sink that had someone else's debris in it, and a random pall mall cigarette resting on one of the outlets. In the house, two broken lamps where the bulb was literally hanging out of the base at a 90-degree angle. A large kitchen with two of everything...from the 1970s. Even the dishes were old. You know you can buy plain white ceramic plates at Target for $40 - right? The shower curtain in the master bath was the cheapest you can find (I've seen nicer shower curtains at efficiency hotels)- and it was covered in mildew. Pam Harrington has moved check-in all the way to 5pm and check-out is now at 8am so they can have ample time to clean in between guests. I am not sure what happened in those 9 hours the day we arrived, but the house wasn't clean. There was sand on the dining room table. The previous tenant's beer can was sitting on the table on the porch. There were two freezers - one was covered in rust and one was covered in freezer burn. Housekeeping came the next day to clean them and told us that they were also full of sand and hair. She also said that whoever cleaned the house had failed to do basic tasks such as wiping down switches. Traveling in the age of COVID you expect top notch cleaning protocols to ensure safety, but at Pam Harrington it is empty words on the page. We checked in on a Saturday and we emailed management Sunday morning. They replied right away (hence why housekeeping came) but no real effort was made to come up with an alternative for us. We checked out the next day and checked into the luxury resort down the road. We submitted an honest, 1-star review of our experience through Escapia. It was not posted. I have seen other people say their less than 5-star reviews have not been posted either. We also saw pages torn out of the guest book in the home - I can only imagine what they wrote. My husband's family has been renting from Pam for nearly 40 years. And in less than 48 hours that reputation was destroyed. We will never rent from her again. And she's not that exclusive - there are other rental agencies on the island who do a much better job of managing the homes they rent to vacationers. read more

We rented through Pam Harrington Real Estate last month and while we didn't have problems with their management company before or during our stay, we rented a below average property which I reviewed with details on their website with three stars. Their website states that they will post "acceptable" reviews within two days... it has been a week and my review has not been posted. Be aware: It appears Pam Harrington only posts favorable reviews of their managed properties and you may end up being duped into renting a home that will disappoint. read more

First time to Kiawah - we will be back! Great resort experience & facilitis. Condo was as expected and conveniently located in Tennis Villas - nice view overlooking a pond. However, representatives were deceptive about resort amenities that are not available if you rent through Pam Harrington Would not rent though this agency again. read more

Repeat visit to Kiawah for the 4th. Always a great experience with Pam Harrington and staff! Exceptional unit and seamless check in and check out! Thx! read more

My family's been going to Kiawah Island for over ten years, and we've always rented through Pam Harrington. The condos at Windswept are always immaculate when we arrive and are located right on the beach with balconies that offer amazing views of the ocean. We've seen deer in the brush below our condo and even an alligator that had somehow found its way onto the beach. It's definitely expensive, but if you're a frequent renter, Pam Harrington will offer a slightly lower rate. read more

I would not recommend renting through this agency. I have visited Kiawah 5 times and have never had an issue with property maintenance (always rented VRBO or through the resort). For our honeymoon we rented through Pam. There were dead cockroaches under the furniture and "palmetto bugs" aka american cockroaches crawling on our countertops and floors at night, some up to 2-3 inches long. When we contacted the office, they told us that because it was a wet summer there was nothing they could do. They offered to downgrade us to a condo that was "not comparable" (their words, not mine) in the same general area that had been treated for bugs previously, but would not give us back the difference in price. Their reasoning was that they were losing money with us opting not to have our condo bug bombed during our stay. One member of the office staff recommended we just not finish our stay with them - again with no refund. With only a few days left of our honeymoon, we decided to stay. Their office was unpleasant, unfriendly, and totally unhelpful. If you want a 5 star Kiawah experience, rent through the resort - it is well worth the extra money. read more

Pam Harrington DOES NOT HONOR SIGNED CONTRACTS. We rented a home on Kiawah on the water through Harrington. We signed the contract and paid the deposit. Several months later we were told the owner decided to use the home the week for which we had a signed contract. Pam Harrington offered other homes that were not on the water, but would not offer a comparable home. She was very rude and condescending to deal with and was obviously only concerned about her profit and not the customer. read more

This by far is the worst experience I have experienced with Pam Harrington Exclusives out of 10 years. First we were contacted after choosing our villa. By the staff stating, they would need to move us because renovations may not be completed upon our arrival. The staff indicated the unit we were changing to was an upgrade. I didn't see anything to reflect an upgrade, however the golf view with the well manicured lawn. I assume. Just to note this is the second consecutive year we had to change our villa choice due to an unforeseen situation. Well we agreed to change we understand things happen.The villa at 4960 Green Dolphin Way had a horrible smell, the unit reaped an old smell,something similar to mothballs and sweat. Immediately the smell triggered my allergies. We open the doors in order for the unit to air out. However it didn't help so we decided to go in town for a while. Upon our return we enter the Master suite , to try and relax a moment. We sat on the bed immediately we felt springs. Oh my the worst. Unfortunately we were up and down due to the bed being uncomfortable. The last night we washed our clothes the washer worked perfectly, once it was time to dry we discovered the dryer doesn't work. Needless to say I would not recommend this unit , the furniture needs to be upgraded including the dining area the table is not sturdy. The living area furniture is worn out. DO NOT RENT THIS UNIT. Check-in was seamless. read more

Kiawah is gorgeous and the two houses that we rented through Pam Harrington Exclusives were both beautifully appointed but the management group is exceedingly difficult to work with. After months of planning for a large reunion that required 2 neighboring houses, we received notification that one of the houses would no longer be available because "the owners decided to use the home for their personal use." This meant splitting our group. After two stressful days of negotiations, we were relocated to two new houses that were within close proximity but the capacity was smaller because there were fewer actual beds. We rented one 6 bedroom and one 5 bedroom house, 11 bedrooms total for 8 families - there was plenty of room, especially with the sleeper sofas. A portion of our security deposit was withheld because of the size of our group and because we did not remove the trash after upon exit. Kiawah is a luxury resort and these are luxury homes; is it reasonable to withhold security deposit for not removing trash, especially when that requirement is not included on any printed check out list? Ms. Harrington was upfront that the move to the new homes would cost her money, it sure feels that she attempted to recoup a portion of that by withholding a portion of the security deposit. We were excellent stewards of the properties, shoes were removed before entering, bedtimes were early, and our days were spent on the beach. I will never rent from Pam Harrington again. read more

We love Kiawah Island and have rented homes through various agencies over the past 15 years. The occasional problem has always been managed professionally. HOWEVER, we had a contract with a paid deposit with Pam Harrington for a home the week of my 50th birthday. We had rented a home with a water view to be near the home relatives were renting. We were notified that the home would no longer be available because the owner wanted it for personal use when we were contracted to be there. They offered another home that was "comparable"...the same size, not by our relatives and without the water view we had contracted for. On our own we did find a comparable home with another company that was $300 more a week and not near our relatives. I tried working with a representative unsuccessfully, then was able to speak to Pam Harrington myself. She was condescending and she would not even allow the $300 difference or ask the homeowner to pay the difference. A contract is not honored with this company. If the homeowner decides they want the property, you have no recourse. I can not recommend that one rents through her if you expect to get what you contracted for. I see other reviews that describe similar experiences. read more