Anna Maria Vacations Reviews 12

LOWER YOUR EXPECTATIONS UNLESS YOU ARE EXTREMELY RICH.
Traffic ridiculous...3 hours to go 12 miles. 1.25 hrs to go last 3 miles.
Food at restaurants priced sky high due small portions with no staff trained in customer service, it's like they were doing you a favor to serve you expensive food.
Condo was small but didn't know it had been reconstructed after hurricane 3 years ago!! My condo was in better condition but @it's all about the location ", no it's not..
Many many places under construction.
It felt like spring break x 100 with people everywhere, no privacy, no relaxing, restaurants crowded and waiting lived, outrageous high prices, beaches crowded and no sea shells for shell hunters, we tried 3 beaches Abs boutiques didn't have large sizes and no price tags on items... if you have to as a price it means you cant afford it..,
Neighbor building had Latinos celebrating when we got there, fine but not until 4 am with a loud guy yelling on speaker phone with a chick outside our bedroom window... all bushings are toooo close together.
This was a one and done Abs never again to be repeated trip. I asked my friends who loved this place when they went... Over 15-20 years ago..,. Got it. It ain't what it pretends to be unless you are rich.
Save yourself the trouble and rent a few dayd at a high priced city hotel with clean pools, no noise, and room service.

Great time in AMI lovely house 200 yards from beach lovely pool and spa great accommodation for our three families would love to come back someday

Traveled to north end of Anna Maria Island mid-March for spring break. We’ve been many times, always to the north end, about half dozens times in recent years. Love the area and will go back again because of this but we will never use Anna Maria Vacations again.

We spent more than 10k for a home rental for the week and it was advertised with bicycles. We always use bikes and only one of the four was operable. They insisted they would correct the issue and did not at all. I rented bikes and asked for the reimbursement of $164 and on the day we left, when I reached out again, they refused to do so. Yet asked me for a 5 star review. The property was ok, the rental company and their service not at all. Will never use them again. No integrity.

In my experience they are the worst property management company on Anna Maria Island. They absolutely do not care to repair things that are broken in a timely manner; and they do not perform basic general maintenance of their properties. We rented a 3 BR/2 BA POOL home in May 2023 (Mermaid's Crossing in Holmes Beach). Upon arrival on a Saturday, we could not sit on any of the LR furniture nor walk barefoot on any of the rugs anywhere as they were so dirty and stained and looked unhygienic. They were "steam cleaned" on Mon. Pool was not working at all. Pumps not working, salt cell broken, algae all over, no chemicals, and water level low. Took them 4 days to send someone to look at it and somewhat repair it. He replaced the filter, cleaned the pool and the pumps began to work a little. Mattresses on all beds old and broken down. Beds were made after the previous guests left and the sheets were NOT changed. Bedskirts have never been washed as they are not part of their cleaning protocol per the housekeeper. Rugs had "never been cleaned" either. Old pillows on the beds. No beach chairs provided. Two broken outdoor umbrellas on the ground in the backyard. Large roaches in the lanai/pool found everyday. Old/torn towels for the baths and kitchen. Ice maker and water dispenser on the fridge broken. BBQ grill was filthy and propane tank empty. Decorative pillows throughout the house were dirty and dingy. House needs a deep cleaning. Asked to speak to a Supervisor and I was constantly told no one available. When I told one of their reps I was contacting the credit card company b/c of the conditions of the home, she threatened to have me and my family "escorted off of the property".
You CANNOT rent their properties w/o signing their unethical contract which leaves you in a bad predicament if you choose to leave after you arrive at the home and see the disgusting conditions. YOU WILL NOT GET ANY MONEY BACK and they are getting away with renting homes to families looking for a nice vacation and not expecting to find an uncared for home which is not what they pay for. They do not want to pay anyone on the weekends to fix things b/c it costs more money to do that and make you wait days to get someone in to make repairs. Their pictures for the houses they advertise do not show the real condition of things when you get there. They are demonstrating unethical business practices and when you take it up w/the credit card company they will say they provided a compensation refund when in fact they have not given you a cent of compensation. They also want you to sign a gag order before making any possible compensation.

DON’T RENT HERE there are much nicer places. We are a large family that vacations with adults, kids and grandkids. We stayed at The Blue Horizon last year. Had a nice time so we went again this year. Many, many issues this year, that made the stay terrible! For the amount of money it costs to rent this high end place it was sub par and we won’t be going back ever again.

This was mid April. The pool and hot tub was very cold. The pool/hot tub heater didn’t work. Anna Maria Vacations was called and they sent a maintenance person out the next day. He said he could not fix it they would send someone else. That person, didn’t know how to fix it either. We called every morning for the next 6 days because we got the run around and different excuses every time we called. It never was fixed by the time we checked out on the following Saturday.

It really ruined my vacation not being able to use the spa and pool. Last year we had spent the later part of the day at the pool and then in the evenings in the hot tub. I personally needed the hot tub, as I am undergoing cancer treatment and vacations are hard for me.The hot water helps, especially with all the walking that happens on a vacation. Knowing Blue Horizon had a nice hot tub on site, right outside my bedroom door was one of the main reasons I went this year.The pool and spa was unusable.

The next thing we noticed was how severely the deck on the ocean house swayed back and forth when anyone walked on it or even pulled a chair out. It felt very unsafe and you could visually see where it was pulled away from the house. Many in our group didn’t use the deck because they felt unsafe and feared it would collapse.

Cleanliness has gone by the wayside. Some of the sheets on the beds looked as if they hadn’t been changed and one room in the back house had blood on them. One person found socks just under the bed and another found sunglasses. The floors felt like there was sand left on them, like they hadn’t been mopped.

There are many TV's in the two buildings. The only one that worked was the ocean house living room, none of the others worked. We tried new batteries in the remotes, still didn’t work.In the back units and lower unit of ocean house, there was hardly any kitchen utensils in the cupboards and drawers.

The AC units on the ocean house are connected to the wall of the house which makes an extreme vibration and is so LOUD, the people sleeping in the two lower bedrooms would sleep on the couch, couldn’t sleep, etc… Plan on bringing a sleep machines or better yet earplugs! The internet is slow so if you plan to do work or school, good luck.

When you pay that kind of money you expect everything to be top notch, and for the most part, last year it was. It seems someone is not doing their job checking things out between bookings, making sure that everything works properly and that it is cleaned properly. Either the owner does not want to keep the place maintained or AMI Vacations management company is not doing their job, customers are not a priority.

Also note, if you are going to rent golf carts there is only 1 receptacle on the corner of the garage and the breaker kept tripping. They need to install some receptacles at the driveway because most people rent golf carts on that Island.

The place needs maintenance!. On a positive note, it is a great location and great beach out front and can accommodates a large group. We will not be coming back to the Blue Horizon.

This management company was extremely dishonest. We checked into our house. Our pool was filthy and full of green fungus. They did not communicate with us that our pump nor our heater was working for our pool. It took them five days for customer service to contact us. The refund was minimal at best for not being able to use our pool.

This rental company will literally attempt to defraud you. I received a call two days before my arrival advising me of a mechanical failure that would not be repaired until 3 days into my one weeks stay. They agreed to compensate me a small amount for the inconvenience and would process the refund that day and could take up to two weeks. Being two days before my arrival I had no other choice. After no refund issued and multiple phone calls and emails they sent a phony receipt as if they paid me but no refund. After a month they quit communicating with me and I finally disputed it with my credit card company and got the money. They tried to say it was the hurricane delaying things but it did not occur until 2 weeks after they supposably processed my refund and would not have been a factor. They lied and then tried to not honor the agreement. Not a trustworthy company.

As a heavy traveler who has been to numerous hotels, motels, boutique and VRBO’s all across North America, Sunset Cove of Anna Maria Vacations takes the prize for the most stressful and worst place we have ever stayed.

We could look past the peeling paint, scuffed walls, broken and missing window coverings, stained sheets, furnishings from the 80’s, tired furniture, chipped plates and moldy fridge because at least we thought the place was clean (until we saw the sheets) and had a beach view. What we couldn’t overlook is the long list of safety issues, lack of regular maintenance and how the black mold covering the air vents made us physically sick.

These are just some of the major issues with 3302 Gulf Drive unit 202:
1. Elevator was not working for the first 48 hours even though we had a person navigating the stairs with crutches.
2. No lighting at night on the stairs or hallways making it pitch black to try to find your way.
3. Missing (because it was removed), smoke alarm in the main room.
4. Two sets of sliding doors to the back deck that did not lock (easily accessible to get in).
5. Large amounts of Black mold at multiple vents throughout the family room, kitchen and bedroom.
6. Broken shelving in the kitchen (that fell on us) as well as stained carpets and other random broken items.

The management company Anna Maria Vacations did address some of the smaller issues relatively quickly (within 24 hours after we checked in). The doors that didn’t lock being one of the security concerns since the sliding doors had direct access to other units, the beach and the parking areas. Anyone could have walked up and right into the condo at anytime.

The two safety issues we could not get past and forced us to leave the unit after two days of trying to tough it out were:
1. Broken safety lights. The lack of any safety lighting on the back stairs and enclosed hallway at night were inexcusable and dangerous. Without a flashlight it was impossible to see where to walk on the steps or find the door to the unit.
2. Black mold covering almost every air vent in the condo. Made worse by the constant dripping water on the floors, counters and furniture. We had to leave a towel on the tile floor in one spot so we didn’t slip in the puddles. After staying one night we started to feel sick. At first it seemed like allergies-irritated eyes, coughing. But then it progressed to intestinal issues. In turn, this meant we cancelled meals out and missed spending time with family that were staying at a gorgeous property on 69th street.

The 72 hours we stayed in unit 202- felt like work days. Our days were spent conversing with the management company and dealing with maintenance issues. Nights were sleepless from the coughing and major temperature drop in the bedrooms. There was at least a 10-15 degree difference in the bedrooms compared to the family room. Window coverings would have been helpful to not only help block the sun in the evenings but also the light from the entire glassed back of the unit that spilling onto the beach during turtle nesting season.

The final insult was learning that we paid a huge price -total about $5k for this unit that the management company knew was barely rentable. How? During our stay we noticed the website had been updated to say it was imminently going under major renovations.

Terri , the Manager at Anna Maria Vacations said her hands were tied to address most of the issues. We hold them responsible, since it is their job to make sure properties are suitable to rent. It is painfully obvious the unit owners have been MIA for years. As for the Sunset Cove HOA that controls the (lack of) lighting. They are 100% liable for any and all issues related to the basic safety at the property.

Since we notified Anna Maria Vacations of these issues no one has returned our calls or emails. And, please look at the other reviews for Anna Maria Vacations, they ONLY respond to the positive ones and completely ignore the negative ones - which is exactly how your vacation will be with them. They also only post the positive ones one their website.

We stayed in the Beach Bliss, what a mess. This company is charging a lot more than they did before all the craziness with covid, and doing a terrible job actually maintaining the properties. The general manager (Anita), should definitely not be in a manager role. She lacks professionalism, tact, and customer service. The unit we stayed at had many flaws. Starting with the cleaning company not doing a great job(AMV housekeeping department.) The fans were all dirty and full of dust, the side table by the couch was splattered with dried coffee, as was the dining lamp shade. The AC vent was disgusting, the closet walls were literally black and filled with dust, the floors felt sandy and as if they hadn't been cleaned in months. The couch had a big yellow stain on it (gah), and the closet doors broken. There are no lights on the outside of the property, so at night going up and down the stairs is extremely hazardous(my daughter actually fell a couple steps down due to lack of light).

Three days in- the AC unit broke! It did not get fixed until Friday morning. Yes the maintenance crew came out and set up a portable AC unit- which did nothing for the coolness of the unit during the day(and I notified them about that). We called to speak to a manager/supervisor on Thursday, because all the problems accumulated warranted a call to complain, after-all we aren't staying here for free, or cheap either. We called in 3 different times because no one returned our call. At no prevail, when we got home, I ended up sending them an email to resolve some of the issues we had while there. What happened was that the roof of the AC closet collapsed and all the summer hot air from the attic was flowing into the unit! The AC being broken put a big damper to our stay, because we had maintenance crews and AC company trying to fix the issue, and yes we were told that we didn't have to stay, but who is going to leave all your valuables in the unit with strangers coming in and out. (valuables that we couldn't take with us out and about obviously. And there is no safe or anything to secure them)

Out of all that- the worst part was the emails between me and the "general manager". I was told that there was nothing they cant reimburse or offer anything because we didn't call the first day we were there. (BTW we drove about 6 hours to arrive- who wants to leave all their things in the place you just arrived to for them to come and make you wait even longer to clean the way that it was supposed to be clean from the beginning.) She then offered the explanation that before we arrived, there was a realtor showing the property. (which I believe is a lie because I looked it up on the marketplace- -and it shows as off the market. Either way the dirtiness of the unit had nothing to do with a realtor showing it- I'm sure they didn't plant dust on the fans and dried coffee on place!)

This "GM" had an excuse and justification for EVERYTHING! That is not how you conduct business! Even if there is no reimbursement to offer- you apologize and reassure that the problems will be handled. No- not her- she berated , belittled, insulted, and basically called me a liar.

I took pictures of EVERYTHING, because we vacation at AMI every year, and never have had this problem, until now with this company! When I explained to her about the AC, she basically called me a liar and told me there was no roof collapse. (I sent her the pictures). She then proceeded to tell me that if it happened at my house- it wouldn't of been dealt with this fast. WHAT?!?

I advised her that I was going to leave negative reviews to save other families their hard earned money and not have to deal with this terrible customer service-

These are her exact words:
"It's a shame that people today think threatening to leave bad reviews will get them what they want. That has no bearing on our business decisions."

This company should be ashamed that this is how this person is conducting business- and I hope that the owner reads this and trains her properly, or replaces her.

STAY AWAY!!
Corona Virus kept us in home quarantine. Anna Maia Vacations would not reschedule our rental as they said they were open.
Profit over people.
Keep that in mind if you rent.

STAY AWAY!
I wish I could give a Zero. We booked the same large 14 person home as years past for our upcoming Spring Break trip for March 21-28, 2020. We have been carefully watching the news regarding shut-down of the island due to the novel COVID-19 Outbreak.
The US State Department has issued a world wide level 4 - Do not travel advisory- due to the outbreak. The White House has issued guidelines from March 16-31, 2020 to avoid gatherings more than 10 people in public or at homes and to avoid discretionary travel of any kind.
The State of Florida, the city of Anna Maria, and the county of Manatee is under a State of Emergency.
Restaurants and beaches are closed and the grocery stores have limited supplies.
Our towns have issued a city wide lock down where we can not leave our homes except to get food or medicine. We physically can not use the home due to a situation out of our and their control.
Many other rental companies on the island have made public announcements they will issue full refunds for anyone traveling.
Anna Maria Vacations is NOT willing to offer any refund for our reservation of over $7000. We asked to move our funds to another date in 2021 or for a full or partial refund. They will not accommodate or talk through any option.
Please DO NOT rent from this company. They are NOT socially responsible nor do they care about the safety of others. They have been incredibly rude, unaccommodating and unwilling to do the right thing for their customers during this historic State of Emergency in our country.

Every year we rent a property on the beautiful island of Anna Maria.
Usually staying for four weeks. This year we booked through Anna Maria Vacations.com
We asked the agent when we booked and paid for the rental one year in advance to let us know if there was any building work near by before we arrived. Needless to say they didn't and low and behold when we checked in we had not one but three major building projects under way either side of the property. We had radios blaring out, nail guns banging constantly, cherry pickers and bulldozers beeping and honking as the moved around and the constant followup cement trucks and tradesmen arriving and departing. We asked to move but where told the agent had no other similar properties but offered a 20% refund of our rental fee. In hindsight what we should have insisted on was a full refund so we could book with someone else.
Regardless We then tried to book another property for next year but wanted to get what they usual offer as advance discount on their Black Friday deal. There response was we would have to wait until the the offer was released in a few months time. Needless to say we have found the perfect property at the perfect price with another agent and will be going back to the island for five weeks in 2020.
All through our dealings with Anna Maria Vacations they adopted an off hand and somewhat arrogant approach to dealing with us. Its a shame they have lost our business due to their poor customer service. Fortunately there are many other good and much better rental agents on the island from which to choose.