Our trip to Portland, Maine was excellent but our stay at “Best Ocean View in Portland!" was mixed.
The view is incredible and the patio had ample patio furniture. The location is excellent. The Promenade is across the street and the shops and restaurants on Congress street are within walking distance. The #1 bus picks up in front of the unit and can access the transit center and most of downtown. The rest of the apartment was short on furnishings and fell short of the description on VRBO.
The ad said “dining room” but there were no dining table or dining chairs. There is an elevated breakfast bar. We love to play cards and board games and had to improvise an adequate table/seating combination. The kitchen had no toaster or dishwasher (though neither was advertised).
The wifi was punishingly awful. Our phones couldn’t connect to the signal anywhere in the unit and our laptops were only able to connect in the kitchen. If we were able to connect to the wireless router, the signal was mostly useless. For example, googlemaps would take minutes to load before an address could even be searched.
Advertising the unit with washer and dryer was misleading. There is a coin-operated pair ($3.75 per load) down three flights of stairs in the dingy basement that is shared by the entire building. I had to walk to a laundromat to get quarters because there is no change machine! It is not how you want to spend your vacation.
Advertising satellite or cable tv was also misleading. There was an HD receiver for broadcast channels and there was a coax cable but it did not connect to the tv or a cable box.
Finally, there were no blinds or drapes in the front bedroom, which created two issues. First, the windows look to the Southeast and are flooded with sunlight at 5:30 AM when the sun rises. Second, the windows overlook the deck, which means there is little privacy for the occupants of the front bedroom.
Dan did a great job preparing us for our stay and providing instructions for our arrival. He contacted us twice asking if we needed anything. After we expressed some concerns about the unit, he did not contact us again. We never received departure instructions.
The view really is unparalleled and the unit has ample opportunity to justify the steep price. I hope the owner makes modest changes so the space can reach its potential.
2 stars (we had high expectations based on the price and description)