We really enjoyed our stay again. We stayed here 2 years ago and was thrilled to be able to stay again and was glad the dates were available. Convenient - Loved being on the beach and having access to the pool. Lots of room for everyone in the house. Needs updating but that didnât stop us from having a blast.
This place was not worth the price that we were charged. I also called and left a message for one of the property managers to call me back and never heard back from them was never connected to them directly. There was no hot water. The decks were all worn And caused splinters. There was no grill
To begin, I was given the wrong address for the property. The listing on VRBO is wrong. The property was a half hour past the original address I was given. Not a bad location. Just not where it was supposed to be. The property itself is a dump. Major issues with leaking from the third floor air conditioner into the living room/kitchen. The ceiling looked like a quick patch job gone wrong. The stairs to the rooftop deck were completely missing! The door was locked and a clear plastic tarp was taped over it! This house should not be rented out at all. Not while itâs under construction. Also, the furniture looked like it came from the Goodwill in the eighties. The beds slept like the mattresses came from the same place.
GulfGem is in a small development of homes. All appeared to be rented when we were there July 4th week but there was plenty of room on the beach and quiet, family-friendly groups.
Of all the homes, ours seemed the most in need of up-keep and was in the process of maintenance work on the 3rd story porch. We were informed of that weeks before our arrival date. It didnât dampen the fun at all. Iâd recommend Port St Joe and will definitely return. I would rent in Brighton by the Sea again if it suited the traveling group. (The home had stair-only accesses and no elevator).
This was a good value when considering rentals on the Florida Gulf Coast. I researched and researched where I wanted to stay and finally landed on this one.
The place was very clean and the kitchen had everything I need to make several meals. My only complaint was the coffee maker takes an unrealistically long time to brew lol. The furnishings were a bit aged and some of the outdoor furniture was broken but still very usable. All bedrooms have their own bathroom which was great. The lower level middle bedroom has bunkbeds (which is where I was stuck) that are ok at best. Great for the kiddos, not so much for a guy with back issues. The uppermost floor had a nice bed and view of the gulf. It has a nice balcony with chairs to relax on. If you can stand the stairs, this is the best room in the house! The bottom floor Master is nice too and opens to a neat patio.
The beach is not the white sandy beaches you expect on 30a but they were still very nice. Not white sandy beaches. They reminded me of east coast Atlantic beaches. Very clean beach although the water is not the clear turquoise you'd expect. I asked a few locals about it and they say the water has gotten to that pretty clear turquoise color in the past, but what we saw is pretty common. I'd like to stress the cleanliness and the niceness of this beach though. There were hardly no other folks around. You can drive on the beach and there are several access points along the highway. A permit is required which can be obtained at the court house. I asked those same locals if a permit is truly required and they all said absolutely,. it's a $500 fine if you're caught out there without one. If you like to fish in the surf, this is a perfect location. All in all, it's a great beach but wished the water was clearer.
Locals, Bars, and restaurants were all very friendly. There's a Indian Pass Raw Bar that gets a 10 out of my book for it's seafood. I'm from Louisiana and have very strong opinions lol. This place is great. We really enjoyed the shrimp and the raw oysters. There's a small general store close by that has pretty much anything you need. In town itself there are several places that had good food and drinks.
All in all, it was well worth the money spent. When I asked the group how they would rate this one, they all said 3.5 out of 5. I gave it a 4 as I think it's better than a 3 rating.
Nice house. Enjoyed staying here. Nice location on the beach. Enjoyed the community pool too. The upper level bedroom was great! It was nice to have for bathrooms, and the house seemed clean.
There were a couple pairs of shoes left out by the houseâs deck. I donât know if it was from previous guests or neighbors using the outside shower.
Very minimum with amenities. 1 towel per person for two nights/parts of three days. No coffee filters, paper towels, tissues, etc. There was toilet paper though, and some kitchen utensils, as expected. Overall we were pleased and would stay here again.
My family came here with our own agendas.
MomâŠcan I open back doors and the beach be right theređđœ
HusbandâŠcan wife open back door and beach be right there at a great price for the entire familyđđœ
KidsâŠcan mom open back door and the beach be right there and can we come alongđđœ
The layout of the house was amazing. My husband and I had the very top floor and we had our own space. The main floor was the kitchen living room and screened porchâŠkudos on that because those biting flying ants are no joke. Just needs a ceiling fan, but Iâm a sit on the porch with fan blowing kind of gal.
We had an amazing time catching baby sharks right out in the ocean there. Caught some catfish and red drum. And the way the houses are set up is like a little community. Everybody respectful of each other. The pool was awesome. Grandson and I and few of the kids in the other houses there had fun playing ring toss and Marco Polo.
But something else happened toâŠ.memories I was able to share with my family of me and my brother running up and down Mexico beach and showing them where my grandparents honeymoon at over six decades agoâŠEl Governor Motel. Showing them the bay and all the hermit crabs. We had only 2 out of 5 of kids with us, the middle (24y) her husband and our grand child (8y) and the youngest son and our youngest (19y). The space in the house was perfect after being on the beach all day we all had our own spots to go and cool off. Very comfortable, especially that top deck in the sunset time with the amazing breeze and most stunning views. Beautiful beach.
Pictures were misleading. Due to so much rain the house was sitting in water which went all around and under the house. The water smelled like decay which meant swarms of mosquitoes during the day and bats at night so we could not sit out on the deck. The beds were all old and very uncomfortable, the coffee maker was rusted and hardly worked, the dryer only worked on one setting and would not shut off. But at least the beach was good which where we spent most of our time.
The house layout and floor plan is awesome. Two families would have plenty of space to spread out and still have functioning spaces. The pool was much smaller than photos made it appear and was in dire need of a cleaning so unfortunately we werenât able to use it. That aside, we would return...for the money it was a good value.