Venice Villas on the Beach

Met my daughter and her family at Venice Villas. We stayed in Unit 46 which is a house and not beachfront or directly on the beach, but just a short walk. This is a small community consisting of a couple houses, a couple of hotel/motel style buildings, and several villas (pictured in listing) some of which are beachfront. All units are a very short walk to the private beach access which includes beach & lawn chairs for community use. The pool was undergoing a last minute renovation, but the owner was kind enough to call and let us know prior to arrival. Unit 46 is dated and could use some painting, but well worth the price. it was clean, spacious, and included lots of extras (beach umbrellas, laundry detergent, completely furnished kitchen including small appliances, dishes, pans, dishwasher, trash bags) which made our stay quite comfy. This area is super quiet and yet there are several shops and local restaurants nearby. Beach is not the white sand FL is known for, more silty. Also, you will need to watch children extra carefully. The water is like steps, walk a few feet, drops a foot, walk a few feet drops a foot. Still we had a wonderful w/e with the family. I would consider staying here again if in the area.

Owner communicated well. A little of a hassle that we scheduled everything around check in at 3 but it wasn’t until 4 and we didn’t find out until check in instructions were sent. The front door squeaked terribly. The shower barely spit water out of the faucet. The beach was a good bit from 23 and it was about half way between the pool and the beach. The beds were not great. Both sank in the middle. Fridge didn’t really cool well. Coffee pot not a kuerig so don’t get the pods. The beach was a strap drop down. We did not complain about any of the things listed so there was not an opportunity for them to fix it before we left. The good stuff. There were chairs and umbrellas to use that the beach. It was close to a publix and several places to eat. The condo was very clean. The shower was very roomy and helpful for handicap. The beach was not cramped since it is private. Only a few people at a time except at morning and sunset there are more people. Probably a great place for small young families.

PROS: This unit is a one-minute walk to the beach. Parking was by assigned space. Unit was bug free. Swimming pool was nice, with plenty of seating. Laundry facilities on site were sufficient. All appliances worked. CONS: I was surprised to discover that this rental was in a retirement community. This unit is a time capsule of the 1980’s and is in serious need of updating. The only updated items in the unit were the refrigerator and pedestal sink in the bathroom. The front door has serious wood rot throughout and would benefit greatly from a fresh coat of paint, if not a replacement. It was next to impossible to read while inside the unit, as the lighting throughout is extremely minimal (both lamps and windows combined). Whoever the cleaning service is, needs to do a much better job of cleaning. We arrived to burnt-on food on the foil lined burner pans and the floors were in serious need of a good vacuuming and mopping. The areas under the kitchen table as well as the coffee table have not been cleaned at all in quite some time. NEUTRAL: The queen sized bed was okay – on the border of being worn out, whereas the pull-out sofa was surprisingly comfortable. BEACH: The gulf waters are gorgeous, and this is a great place to find shark teeth. However, this is not a beach for younger children as it has a very sharp drop off on both the sand and in the water. The sand is also very coarse and grey.

We loved this location! Just a short walk to the beach, clean and was perfect for our family’s weekend adventure! They had all the beach amenities (umbrellas, sand pails, sifters to find shark teeth etc) which was a huge bonus. We would totally stay here again!