Well, we are in Mexico now at Los Barriles on the Sea of Cortez. We have stayed in 5 different units here at Villas de Cortez over the years and have had amazing experiences in all but the one we will be staying in for the next 8 weeks. I am sure that most people who rent this unit stay anywhere from 3 to 7 days on the hotel fishing plan and eat at the Café downstairs and main buffet restaurant for breakfast before fishing. When you are planning an 8 week stay, your expectations are higher and your needs a little more defined than a place to sleep. I am disappointed but we will muddle through. We will purchase what we need as we go. So far that has been a Melita coffee filter system, a set of glasses, and an ceramic water dispenser for large bottles of purified water.
The owner was here last week and left us a handwritten note on a scrap of paper saying to "enjoy the liquor and beer we left for you" which was a 1.75 liter bottle of Kirkland Plata tequila and 2 six packs of Corona Lite beer. Everyone who knows us knows that we don't drink beer and would never touch a plata tequila but it was a nice thought. However, with the owner being here the week before we arrived, you'd think some of these issues might have been addressed, wouldn't you? The key, in my opinion, is that you really need to put money into your investment to keep it current and cutting edge when asking top rental dollar but that doesn't seem to be the case for Villa 1209. They will not be getting a favorable review on www.VRBo.com!
LIVING AREA
Upside in the living area is the couch is comfortable. There is a nice table and 4 chairs (original to the unit) and the Murphy bed is firm. On the downside, an old 23" Olevia TV is not hooked up to anything but an older Sony DVD player - no cable, no Dish, no antenna. Can you imagine me without a TV for 2 months??
Owner states in his welcome letter (not provided until the final rent check is received): "The Wi-Fi instructions should be in the unit. We have a nice Home Theater system but do not have satellite (so not many US channels). Bring your favorite DVD's...We have a pretty good selection down there...you will find maps, restaurant info, brochures for the area etc."
Our response:
- There is no Wi-Fi. The building manager was gracious enough to provide us with Wi-Fi from the hotel.
- When I asked the owner about TV viewing/connections he said they only use it to watch DVDs so we tried that. You only hear the sound but no picture ever makes it to the TV. No big loss as their "good selection" of DVDs identified by the owner has in it exactly 9 movies, the newest movie is Madagascar from 2007. Sony DVD player will not accept BluRay disks.
- The only information in the unit about the local area is a 1998 copy of Cabo Handbook by Joe Cummings. Luckily we've been here before and know where to go for food and services.
- There is no phone service, not even local to the front desk for emergencies and our Verizon cell service doesn't work on the AT&T cell network here. We can buy a burner phone but so far we don't see any need for one.
- There is one stainless steel pot. All other pots and pans have Teflon coating which is peeling, making them unusable.
- Missing cutlery - there are 2 teaspoons and 2 forks (and there are just 2 of us)
- Rusty and dull knife set
- No glassware - just a few horribly stained/discolored plastic items
- Coffee maker doesn't work - only releases 1/2 of water sent through filter
- Dishwasher latch is "iffy" at best.
- No food staples such as salt, pepper, and oil that every other VRBO rental has provided. Unit does has: unrefrigerated, open bottles of red wine vinegar & salsa picante, salt with 4/15/15 expiration date, powdered chocolate creamer in a small Mason jar that's one solid lump, ancient box of Sleepy Time tea that expired in January 2010, and 1/2 box of Sweet & Low
While this unit is listed as handicapped accessible, the shower door opens about 18" inward and 12" outward. Even I can't squeeze thru the 12" opening with the sink countertop in the way. In all fairness the shower is very nice with good water pressure and ample hot water.
You never know what you will find at a VRBO rental. We hope for the best but are flexible enough to handle what is thrown at us wherever we travel. The staff here are the Villas are very easy to work with. Gabby did our laundry on Tuesday for $10 - about what I pay in the hotels as we travel. Pedro, the manager, gave us free Wi-Fi and an 8 gallon bottle of purified water until we could buy our own. He also hooked us up with Thrifty Car Rental for a very nice deal on a 2 month rental of a Nissan March. We will have a great time here and go with the flow.
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