As a frequent traveller to Destin and the surrounding areas, the last visit we had was a very bad experience. In order to help those thinking of renting a beach home in the area please read what happened to our family dealing with Carter Beach properties before you rent.
Read the story at [link removed]

Hi plakng. Welcome and thanks for sharing your experience for other travelers. I've had a similar experience in a different city so I understand your frustration.

However, we removed the link in your post for administrative reasons. Maybe you could just summarize your experience in the forums instead?

Sorry your Destin vacation was a wash... hopefully the next one will be better! Please let us know if you find some places you'd recommend.

Thanks!

The story is long and frustrating.I will say that Carter Beach properties does not depict what you are renting accurately on their website. Makes for a very unhappy family once you arrive after having driven many hours. Users can simply google Carter Beach Properties and our story will be in the first page results. We have however been back to the area with great experiences with the fine folks in Watercolor and the Watercolor Inn. I would recommend the ease of dealing with this group. Thanks for listening.

Thanks for the heads up. We will be steering clear of that rental agency.

Your best bet is stay at a hotel/chain you KNOW and watch out for the "local" rip offs here in my neighbourhood. There's an Economy Hotel in FWB that's horrible and drugs are abound in that section of town. Stay away from it.

-Rob

It has been almost two years since this posting and I thought it time as a co-owner of Carter Beach Properties that it be addressed. First, note there have been no other complaints regarding our company listed on this site.

Second, the issue was not about bad housekeeping or bugs. If you look at the photos they are date and time stamped, this party had access to the house for 18 hours and could not come up with photos of housekeeping issues but had to revert to “clip art” of palmetto bugs (not roaches) which are normally found in the south; especially near water. This house backs up to a lake and is within 100’ of The Gulf of Mexico. It would be typical that some would be found on the property. That is why we require that all property owners within our management program maintain a quarterly pest control treatment. We manage that program and provided documents to this party to show that such treatments had been made quarterly for years prior to this incident.

The issue was about construction. The guest arrived late in the afternoon on a Sunday when our office is closed. After their arrival, they called with a message to the effect they were unhappy with the construction. We maintain an after hours line for emergencies, and respond to emergencies. Emergencies do not include construction in an area that was going through the same building boom as the rest of the US. Emergencies are: the house is on fire, the air condition is not working, there is a gas leak, etc. All other calls are answered and issues resolved during regular business hours.

Instead of waiting until business hours to give us an opportunity to resolve their issue (advertised and posted as Monday – Saturday, 8 – 5 central time), they made a decision on Sunday night to move. Upon calling us Monday morning with their decision, they stated that they had construction by their home inGeorgia and did not want construction while on vacation.

The credit card carrier of their choice agreed that they had not honored their agreement with Carter Beach Properties and awarded the rent and taxes to us. We refunded the security deposit they paid upon booking (no mention of that on their web site). One of the reason the credit card company awarded us the funds is this party did not give us an opportunity during business hours to resolve this issue. The award to a vendor by a credit card company almost never happens. The credit card companies always favor the consumer.

Once this customer realized they had forfeited their rent and taxes as per the contract they signed, they started slandering our property and our reputation. All property management companies ask you to sign a rental contract. This is not unique to Carter Beach Properties.

We have been in business for 8 years and have worked very hard for a reputation of excellent and ethical business practices, and to provide quality, well maintained, vacation rentals. The majority of our business is our satisfied repeat customer. Please feel free to contact us with your questions and concerns. Thank you!

Welcome to the forums mscarter... and, thanks for sharing your side of the story.

I remember removing their link because the website they posted was sooooooo slanderous I didn't want Tripsmarter linked to it.

We did however want to allow them to share their experience in an open forum.

Seems like you've set the record straight, though...