Sandbridge is a great location and overall Bay Dreaming met our needs. The house it big, and we had plenty of room (4 adults, 4 teens). The kitchen and dining room have been updated and look great. The kitchen has more than anything you’ll need and has good quality utensils and pans. The pool is well maintained.
With that said, I’m a big reader of reviews, so I’d like to be transparent with some concerns we had during the trip. We live in Ohio, and with everything going on with Covid, we had some reservations going into this trip. About two weeks prior to our leaving, we received an email from the management company with an in-depth video on all of the new processes and procedures they’re taking in order to ensure that every rental house they manage is meticulously cleaned. They even changed the check-in time from 3pm to 4pm to allow an additional hour for the cleaning crew. After seeing this video, we felt relieved that the company was taking this so seriously and confidently decided to go on the trip.
We arrived at Bay Dreaming at 5:15 pm and much to our dismay, the cleaning crew was still cleaning the house! Not only was this annoying after a 9-hour drive, but also concerning because the crew was rather large (about 8 women) wearing no masks. We contacted the rental agent and were told they were finishing up. We had to wait about 15 mins before we could enter the house. When were did enter, the cleaning did not live up to expectations. It was clearly rushed. One of the bathrooms hadn’t been cleaned at all. Additionally, two of the bed coverings had red spots that appeared to be blood. The cleaning not only didn’t meet that standards outlined in the video but didn’t meet basic pre-Covid standards. We took pictures of everything and sent them to the rental agent, who was very responsive. She asked if we wanted the cleaning crew to return. We didn’t want anyone unmasked in the house, so we declined and ended up doing our own cleaning – not a way to start a vacation!
Some other minor things to note. The air conditioning was struggling the whole week. It was one of the hottest weeks of the summer, but it really didn’t do the job. We anticipated using the pool house a lot, but unfortunately there was a strong mildew smell that was hard to get past. We did see some mold around the AC unit in there which may have contributed to the odor. The gazebo area had stained cushions. The living room couch was extremely uncomfortable.