The Villas at St Pete Beach

My husband, myself, and our 18-year-old daughter rented three nights at The Villas and had an exceptional stay. I’ll admit I started to get concerned on our way there, as the reviews here on trip advisor are less than complimentary. I retook a look today at the reviews after having been there myself and having such a lovely time, and I thought it might be helpful to address some of the negativity from a happy customer's perspective. If there was a cleanliness issue, ownership thoroughly addressed it, as our villa was nothing short of meticulous. That’s one thing I wouldn’t defend, but there was no sign of anything unkempt. We ended up staying two days longer than planned, and Dave was very accommodating to this and other changes (even ones he wouldn’t profit from) made during our stay. So, those that are downvoting because he canceled your stay as it didn’t match the criteria of his changes - let me ask you this: If you buy tickets to your favorite band, and they break up and cancel the show while ensuring you still receive your full refund, do you expect them to compensate for your inconvenience, get back together, and play you a private show? You are negatively impacting a business because it doesn’t match the expectation of a different company. He is under no obligation to make allowances for what was agreed upon by the previous owner when this is an entirely different business model. The cost ownership would have to eat on separate cleaning services than budgeted for the startup. Potential new business complications would amount to much more than the loss of refunding you. Take your money and rent another place. That’s just simple business acumen. I looked at the website before coming because it’s obvious this isn’t a standard hotel, it’s more similar to the VRBO or AirB&B model, and they tend to have their particulars. Here’s what I learned: 1. The owner does not have an on-site office; instead, he provides email and text instructions for entry. If a situation requires attention, calls and texts are warranted. Again, this isn’t a hotel, so there isn’t the expectation of 24/7 on-site hospitality. 2. There are no refunds. Now, I believe that a hurricane would perhaps warrant a justified exception, but other than that - there are no refunds. I think that if done within 72 hours, the deposit could be held, and not the entire cost, but that’s just my business experience and based on the fact that as a destination villa, surge season more than balances the scale. But again - the website says no refunds. It’s black and white. You can’t argue with a policy you chose to accept. From a marketing perspective, I can see how some messaging styles can be slightly abrasive, which could use updating. Still, it only seems to be an issue for those who have other circumstances cloud their experience. I’m left to deduce that after a less than satisfactory ending, the experience plus the instructions vernacular combine and make something seem m

After my friends wedding in St. Petersburg, he wanted everyone to stay by St. Pete Beach the next day. We chose The Villas and were very pleased with our stay. Easy check in-out. Place was clean and quiet. Plenty to do on site but also just a 5 minute walk to the beach/beach stores/restaurants.. John runs the place and was a great host. He was nice enough to mail me my suit that I somehow left behind. Would highly recommend staying here!