Besides being clean, modern, and roach free, this studio is well laid out, sized, and furnished with a good seating area, dining table, firm bed, large bath, separate rain shower, and storage space. The host outfits the place well with towels, bedding, kitchenware, toiletries, hair dryer, ironing and cleaning supplies, and other items. Add in free utilities, filtered water, a printer, good wifi, and TV with FOX news, CNN, Discovery, and 4 english movie channels. A full glass wall with 4 sliding doors keeps the place bright and airy - helped by ceiling fans. Mostly though, the SW view of the mountains, city, beach, ocean, and gorgeous pool complex below is truely extraordinary.
All was not good though. Besides the old building with its unreliable elevators and VRBO's payment system not working, I had no access upon check-in, the power and hot water shut off several times, a broken shower, a crumbling plaster wall, and an insecure door that allowed people to enter my occupied unit 4 times. There's also wall repairs and painting needing done, but mostly, there's mold and noise problems. A serious leak caused extensive mold to grow on the walls, ceiling, and floor of the bathroom. The bedroom and bed sheets also smelled bad and musky, creating an overall unhealthful environment. Extreme noise contributed to make this unit unsuitable for a guest. With mall construction on one side and condo units above, beside, and below being completely regutted, there was loud jack hammer, steel cutting, pounding noises to be endured from within the condo all day, every day, except Sundays. And in the evenings, several nights a week, the resorts beside and below replaced the construction noise with loud music or shows, sometimes past 11 p.m. Even with the doors closed, it was often loud enough to compete with the TV, and I found myself using headphones just to cope.
How do you rate a 1 star living environment, in a 3 star condo, having a 5 star view and helpful, friendly, honest host? A 3 for now seems fair, but the unit will likely warrant a 4 in the future with the mold removal, wall repairs, and painting being done. The construction noise will come and go - with the mall being finished soon, but more Sunscape building construction due in 2017. The resort noise will continue though. You can have peace and quiet, or you can have the lively, noisy resort environment and awesome view, but you'll not have both with this unit. One must choose their prioroties.