The location for this rental is great - 2 blocks from the beach, right next to a fabulous playground. There is a nice pool on site surrounded by beach chairs and some palm trees. There are also tennis courts, ping pong, and a little store in the building where you can pick up groceries. A full grocery store and liquor store is within walking distance (~1/2 mile) or short drive away. Because of the location, there are lots of kids and families.
The rental itself is on the penthouse floor - 17 stories up, with a balcony and a fantastic view of the intracoastal waterway. This location can also be a downside - too high for stairs, and the elevators take a while and are often packed. To get luggage and groceries up to the apartment, ask the front desk to borrow a shopping cart.
Downsides: The rental is pretty minimally managed. The instructions for checking in were completely inadequate so it took us hours. Here are more complete instructions for those who need them: To access the front door of the building you need to drive past a gate house (empty) and press a green "exit" button to get the gate to lift. At the front door, you can ask the valets to park temporarily while you get the building key from the front desk in the lobby and the parking key from the apartment. The rental is on floor "PH" (we were told the wrong floor) and the parking key is in the kitchen. The valets can then give you (general) directions to the parking lots. The catch: There are two entrances and there are multiple lots. Circle the building next door, and the parking lot for the apartment is the gate on the left. Once in, you turn left and drive through the garage until you enter a second garage ("C") and then drive almost to the entrance of the building. The building key is necessary to exit the parking lot through the gate.
The apartment itself is clean but seems neglected. Some of the sheets were stained and the kids room lacked pillowcases. The blender was broken, the microwave smelled horrible, the vent over the oven didn't work, the shower door had trouble opening and closing. Our last day there, the water for the apartment was turned off. Many of the supplies typical of rentals were missing: e.g., no beach towels, no bottle or can opener, no wine opener, no pitcher.
Useful: The tap water is naturally light green (not a plumbing issue). The bed in the small room is trundle, but you need to rotate it to be able to close the door.
The location is worth it.
