Gated Fairytale Estate | Lakefront w/ Ocean Views

I am sorry that Audrey was not 100% satisfied with her stay. This is actually the lowest rating we have ever received. Maintenance of a two-story beach home near the ocean (i.e. salt air) is admittedly always an issue and we dedicate 100% of our annual rental income in excess of our standard operating expenses to beach home upgrades and maintenance, including painting and repairs. This year in 2023 we have upgraded most of our patio furniture, replaced the front lawn (think gophers and rabbits) with very natural looking artificial turf. We have extended the irrigation and sprinkler system in the back yard to restore and improve the uniformity of the largest lagoon-adjacent back lawn in Saint Malo. We have undergone a full termite treatment with Pacific Coast Termite and are now on their maintenance plan. We will soon be upgrading or fully replacing our gas furnace in time for this winter season. Regarding the beds, all beds are relatively new except for the master bed which is about 5-6 years old and seems to me to be in good condition, although it is probably due for an upgrade in the next year or so. In fact, our two twin beds in bedroom #4 were literally brand new at the time of this stay, so I am perplexed by this guest's assessment of the beds as "old and in need of replacement." No other renters appear to have come to this conclusion. We certainly want our renters sleeping comfortably. It is worth mentioning that this particular renter (actually two families with children) broke our corner nook area marble coffee table into three pieces (not two) which she claimed she "tripped" over. Not sure how that came about. This is frankly a little difficult to comprehend, but with the many Saint Malo renters we have hosted over the years, I suppose accidents are bound to happen.

Thank you, Ashley! Glad it worked out well for you, despite all the year-end (much needed) rain! Cobe

Cynthia, Regarding the Association cabana facility, private beach and volleyball court, our website, which includes photos of this Association area, does not intend to suggest that it is right across the street from our vacation home. Sorry for the misunderstanding. I will update our website to assure that it states clearly that the private Association beach is about a 5 minute walk (or 2 minute bike ride) from our vacation home. Regarding the "private beach access point" to the public beach, Oceanside and a number of beach communities along the Southern California coast have been experiencing either permanent or temporary conditions of sand erosion due to a host of causes - both climate/tides related and man-made. Luckily ours are temporary as the City of Oceanside typically dredges sand from the harbor annually to replenish the beaches to the south including Saint Malo. All levels of government from the City of Oceanside and Carlsbad to the County of San Diego to the Coastal Commission to Sacramento are working towards a long-term solutions to preserve and protect our sand beaches. It so happens that during your stay the tides were high and there was very little public sand (luckily we always have our private sand beach area) which made normal access to the public beach and ocean either very difficult or not possible at all at high tide. This condition did later reverse and the public beach sand and normal tides returned. Everyone in our beach communities has a stake in our beautiful public sand beaches and going forward we are all vigorously supporting governmental and private efforts to achieve long-term and lasting solutions. Cobe P.S. We have now converted one of our three tennis courts to four pickleball courts - a smashing success! VERY popular! We even now have an annual pickleball tournament in addition to our tennis, volleyball and golf tournaments!

Thank you for the stellar review, Joe. Glad you enjoyed it so much. Sorry for the late response - just realizing that I should be taking the time to respond to all reviews one way or the other.