Coastal Vacation Resorts - Holden Beach

"We stayed at “Almost Heaven” September 2023. (Forgot to write a review until I just received an email from the realtor to book for next summer). Wanted to give our full experience, so here it is: Our booking experience was good. The gentleman on the phone was very knowledgeable and answered any questions I had. We drove 12 hours to get to Holden Beach. Our keys were ready an hour early which was a plus and we were very thankful as we drove through a tropical storm, so it was stressful to say the least. We arrived to our rental (Almost Heaven) 1093 - and this is where our experience changed completely. We opened the door to a dirty house. There were still crumbs on the counter, garbage on the floors, not vacuumed, food still in microwave, messy couch and beds etc. The outdoor pool area had drink cans and garbage, and even bandaids left behind on the pool deck. The chairs on the poolside were rusted and fallen apart, which was very hazardous especially to our 3 year old. I immediately called the number listed inside to speak with someone at the agency. This is what happened: The woman I spoke to was very apologetic at first and said she would get the cleaning crew to come back to reclean the house immediately. While this was an inconvenience as we wanted to unpack and relax after our long trip, we were very happy they were going to make the situation right— or so we thought! The “cleaning” crew arrived visibly annoyed and came inside with a rag and a broom. NO CLEANING SPRAYS ETC. I asked specifically if there was a way they could use cleaning supplies to ensure the space would be thoroughly cleaned and was told, THEY DO NOT HAVE ANY?! What! How are they cleaning these rentals if they aren’t using cleaning supplies to properly clean? Disgusting. I called the agency back to address this issue, and was told that if I wanted cleaning supplies I can go to the store (15 mins away) and buy some myself… are you kidding me?! We ended up cleaning the entire house ourselves with the supplies we could. We were disgusted with knowing how they were cleaning these homes, and very disappointed with how we were treated being that we were spending a week here. I asked to speak with a manager or supervisor multiple times and was told I was not allowed to. I called multiple times on various days and was told they are in meetings etc, and was never successfully able to speak with one even after leaving my phone number for a callback etc. Our experience was unacceptable, and very disappointing.. very unprofessional and I do not recommend dealing with the agency at all. They only care about your money and unfortunately do not care about the way you’re treated or your experience you paid good money for. I hope the owners of these vacation rentals are aware how this agency is treating the people who are booking their homes."

"We give CVR 0# stars in this review! Coastal Vacation Resorts really let us down. They have NO allegiance to their loyal repeat customers. We have rented the same ocean front house the past 7+ years, paying a hold deposit 12 months in advance for the same week the next summer, per their policy, each year. Last summer when we tried to reserve the house again for the same week the following summer (2024), we were informed it had already been reserved 14 months in advance (policy change??). We were NOT given a courtesy call to let us know someone else wanted to rent the house our same week. CVR said it’s “first come, first served”. They didn’t seem the least bit sorry. We will NEVER rent from CVR again, nor do we recommend them. Lissa A Charlotte NC"

"Coastal is still in business regardless of how they manage properties & treat paying customers! From the booking stage, getting charged $1000 too much, the staff was difficult. Staff was rude, unresponsive & too many issues from the start. From maintenance, housekeeping, functional furniture/appliances & overall management of the property. They had an excuse for everything & don’t want to fix anything. Coastal is not very responsive. Coastal claimed "the person that got my complaint/concern was off until Sunday"? Sunday was a week after my original email? My email went to main company email. Nobody followed up until 2 days later & no fix until 2 more days (only new sheets). No fix of other MANY issues. I contacted Coastal at least 1-2, maybe 3 times per day & they always gave us some rude or unresolving response. Blew us off. They also would not give us a credit or refund due to property being discounted prior to us booking. Not our problem that it couldn’t rent for a higher price before 2 days prior to arrival? Appliance not functioning? Per coastal, go buy this down the street to fix your issue? Really? They never apologized for my daughter getting hurt first day, falling through broken furniture on the pool deck that should’ve been trashed months before renting. They didn’t replace furniture, but removed it. No lounge chairs by the pool due to this. We were told we could sit by the pool in metal/aluminum chairs in 95 degree heat that would scald or burn my kids and us! Again, rude! We will NEVER rent from this company again. Castle in the Sand property on Holden beach was our rental. I have no choice but to warn the next paying guest. Sheets & towels left in bag on front porch. Beds weren’t made, annoying but we dealt with it. Not ok that king bed sheets badly pilled & not replaced until 4 days later after multiple follow ups on my behalf. Full bed sheets were blue with bad yellow stains. Home was not stocked at all. No hand soap, No spices, no salt/pepper! Main door wouldn’t stay shut without locking it. Fridge didn’t produce ice. Last morning, we finally got 4 pieces of ice. Lack of clean: Master-bath drawers & dresser had black hairs everywhere. Bedroom floors not vacuumed. Master bed is firm not comfy, husband & I didn’t sleep well; Full in bedroom is hard and you could feel springs; bunks are pretty bad too. Couch in living area is a sleeper and it sucks you into the back of it so you are sitting at an angle. Pool: biggest upset; i wanted a place with multiple lounge chairs to lay out. 4 women & only 2 loungers. Ok deal with it? Right? Well, first daughter sits on one day after arrival, she fell through broken rotted very weathered wood chair, shouldn’t have been out there! I went to sit on other chair before something happened. Gently sitting on it, it felt unstable & if I moved, I would’ve ended up on the concrete too. Coastal aid they will remove chairs but can’t replace for a couple weeks due to owners ordering new ones that won’t be in. Never got an apology for my daughter getting scraped up. Never asked to fill out incident report. Never layed out due to this. Was told by Brooke at coastal to sit on metal/aluminum sitting chairs that were so hot from heat, I would’ve been scalded! Pool company came by once & didn’t clean well at all. Spiders & sand in the bottom of the pool the entire time. Said I got a discount before arriving due to late booking so owners wouldn’t do more. I still paid asking price. They discounted because it wasn’t rented up until 2 days before. I still paid & got a place with so many issues & a rental company that didn’t seem to care. BEWARE!"

"Wish I could give zero stars. We stayed at an oceanfront home of theirs, everything was fine the first night. Next morning we make breakfast. By the second night the infection of roaches has come alive. We then find the traps hidden in and on the cabinets. When we reported the bugs. They called us liars, threatening the call the cops and have us removed. The woman in the office are some of the nastiest women behind a counter I have ever come across. They continued us treat is like trash and looked for a retaliation because we brought the bug problem to their attention. You can see from the pictures...."

"We stayed in our favorite beach rental, Aquarius, for three weeks this Fall. Except for a visit by Ian, the weather was perfect. Our house weathered the storm just fine. One favorable result was the abundance of beautiful shells washed up by the storm. All our dealings with Coastal Vacation Resorts have been great and I highly recommend them for your vacation needs. The staff is super friendly and helpful. We're looking forward to our stay next Spring!"