Sea La Vie by AvantStay

The home was beautiful and spacious. It gave us all enough space to spread out as a family to sleep, and still be able to enjoy nice family dinners & game nights in the very spacious dining room and kitchen. It was pet friendly, so I was able to take my dog instead of boarding him. The pool was nice and relaxing after a long day in the sun, at the beach, and the house had all the amenities needed for us to be able to cook from home and go back and forth to the beach, because of its ideal location. The host was responsive.

The booking.com communication portal was not good, as it appeared I was approved for an early check-in, the following day after I had requested it, but when I got all the way to Port Aransas, I was told there was no possible way I could check in early, even for a fee. We had to sit outside and wait since we didn't want to go explore and park places with a truck full of our stuff. We were told that if the cleaning crew finished early, they would notify us, but they never did. For the over 1 hour we were outside, no one was there cleaning or in the property. Prior to arrival, I kept being texted links to the address and check-in information, but I could not access them, as it never said anywhere that you really need to download the AvantStay App to get in. Without it, I just kept being taken to a portal to log in to see my info, but you could not create a password or select forgot password to actually see your booking details or check in/ check out info. I never have this kind of issue when I book directly thru Airbnb instead of booking.com. There were very few towels in the house, so I had to wash towels often, but the washer & dryer were a nice addition. I would have rated this better for value, but having your guests check out by or before 10 am (since it clearly states that the cleaning crew will be there at 10am), is not a good value. We couldn't get in before early evening and had to leave far too early for the price.

The location was great. Very close to Main Street, beach and house the rest of the family was staying in.

The owners were not transparent about the pet policy and cost of pets on their write up for renting the property. This was not disclosed until 2 days before we were to check in and after we booked. Their pet policy description said that pets were welcome and that there would be a pet charge. I let them know we would have 1-3 pets and asked what the cost was. They told me the pets would be $150 plus tax for each. I told them I would let them know when I knew the correct number. They never said that 2 pets were the limit at that time. We booked this property because of they did not have a limit. Of course the booking was non- refundable. I let them know that we would have 3 pets and to send me the total to pay for them. On Saturday before we were to check in on Monday I was notified they had a 2 pet limit. (This was Thanksgiving week). Timothy at the Management company was very kind and checked to see whether they would make an exception. They said if the pets were under 25 lbs. we have a lab and my daughter has 2 smaller dogs, all of they are older, adult dogs. I found an out about the 25lb limit on Sunday. I only wish we could’ve canceled and gone elsewhere. The purpose of the trip was our family to be together since we live in different states. In the meantime, I booked a vet friendly hotel for my husband, our dog and I. On Sunday night, my daughter said a friend’s trip was canceled and they could go over and feed their dogs during the week. We all got to stay together but the stress was awful and we were out one night at the hotel because we canceled. I feel the owners of the property were less than transparent. Even the management company said they would let them know that they needed to put their rules first their place on the pet policy.