Our Winter Vacation Nightmare in Florida 2023
We’ve come to Florida from upstate Pennsylvania, spending over $10,000 to flee the freezing cold weather, to sit on the deck of our beach front condo, enjoy beautiful early morning sunrises and listen to sound of waves breaking on the sandy beach at the Luxury Beachfront Condo. Unfortunately, not the fault of the realtor, none of this has happened. Three days prior to our arrival we were informed there was construction maintenance going on and we were not able to move in. We were offered a full refund but the Amtrak auto train was already paid for and we had made all the necessary arrangements, friends and family have booked flights to visit and we were more than ready for the warm weather already having experienced sub zero temperatures at home.
We were temporarily relocated to a substitute condo built in 1975 and obviously in need of maintenance and nowhere near the quality of Luxury Condo. It appears to have been remodeled in 2001. We spent 32 nights here.
The construction work continued daily and we were told we could move when it’s completed. However, this entails packing again, two months worth of stuff into our SUV and then unpacking again. This entire ordeal has become extremely stressful for both of us. The realtor was available when things needed fixing but we feel they could or should have provided us a vacation property that was at least equal to or even better than what was provided. This clearly did not happen. There was daily hammer drilling from 8 AM until 4 where they are repairing concrete and replacing doors on the entire building. Days were spent elsewhere. Were told they will compensate us for the differences in quality of the two condos, 32 nights at the substitute condo (the pit) and 21 nights at the Luxury Condo. We did appreciate the help to push the contractors to get us in as fast as possible and making maintenance repairs as needed. I also made daily visits to try and get them to finish our place ASAP.
We were offered a minimal compensation, the difference between the two properties, 1/10 of the total cost. I told the realtor we also need compensation for the stress and aggravation we endured. They said the owner of the unit offered additional money. We accepted the money and decided we didn’t need the aggravation and stress of pursuing additional reimbursement .
The Luxury Condo is beautiful. Nicely furnished and decorated in a great location.