Barefoot Bungalow

This is a great property!! We had a wonderful time. The home was clean, well appointed, and with a beautiful view of the beach. We honestly don’t have a single complaint. What we do want to warn people about is the suggestion by Ryson and their affiliates that a golf cart would be a good idea during your stay. This is a flat out lie, unless of course you want to do nothing more than drive the cart from one end of the semicircle that the home sits on to the other; approximately 1/8th of a mile. Want to drive it to the beach? Nope, There is a chain and padlock keeping you from doing that. Want to drive it on the road to the nearest beach entrance? Nope, can’t do that either. Doing that, in fact, will earn you a couple of tickets from the truly delightful local police. I know, as I am now in possession of said tickets. And despite the gulf cart company telling you it’s ok, and Ryson leaving a lovely flier on the counter suggesting it’s a good idea, believe me when I say it is not. Save your money. Enjoy the property, enjoy the beach, and just do yourself the favor of walking or taking your car wherever you may need to go.

First, I'll hit on the rental company, Ryson, because they'll be your point of contact and the first experience with the property. I reserved the property and paid 50% in January for a trip we took in May. The second part of the payment was due in April. I never received an invoice or reminder for the second part of the payment. I called them a week after it was due, and was able to make the payment over the phone. Had I never called, who knows what would have become of my reservation and initial payment. I had to stop by the company's office in Galveston to collect and return the keys to the beach house. I've stayed in plenty of beach houses in Galveston, and never had to make the extra stop by an office for the keys. This seemed inconvenient, given that they could use a lock box like all other rental entities. Everything that happened in that office could have been handled by email. They handed me keys, instructions for cleanup, and directions to the beach house from their office. The directions had a wrong turn. I should have just plugged in the address into GPS, but who would have thought they directions would be incorrect? They do offer a concierge service that will bring out a canopy and other items, which was nice. My husband actually liked working with a rental company versus a private owner for this reason, and because the company sent out an inspector when we arrived and after we left to ensure everything was as it should be. Well, we got to the house, and everything was pretty great from there. It's a beautiful, clean house with an open layout. There are doors facing the beach that we opened wide every day to hear the waves, and see the beautiful view. There are two rooms on one side of the house, including the room with the bunk bed and another with a queen, and the second room with a queen is at the other side of the house. The top bunk's railing was cracked by the ladder. Our kid is small, so he couldn't break it any further, but a big kid that uses it to haul themselves up or down would snap it. I hope they fix that soon. There is a small living room downstairs, with a couch, TV, kitchenette, and bathroom, with a laundry room connected to the bathroom. The beach was a quick walk, the water is shallow for several yards out, and the shore has some shells to pick. I'd deal with the company again, now that I know what to expect. The condition of the house, the concierge, and the inspection make the inconveniences tolerable.

There is a mold problem in the lower level of the house. I am highly allergic to mold and it caused problems for me inspite of only staying in the upper level. This needs to be addressed. Otherwise, a pleasant stay and nice property.

First of all, Ryson Vacation rentals was extremely efficient and pleasant to deal with. The home itself was nice, however, their were a few things that we had to take care of while we were there. The railing on the top bunk bed was completely broken and we had to get a brace to fix it as I was scared a child would roll off. The toilet in one of the bathrooms ran non-stop. We looked at it and it needed a new ball (we did not fix it). The home does not sleep 11. It only sleeps 10. We had to provide a cot for one of the children to sleep on. There were not enough blankets and pillow cases for the pull out sofa and futon on the bottom level. There were supposed to be 11 towels, however there were only 5 and we had to wash them during our stay. There were old coffee grounds in the coffee pot that we had to clean out. The house was a very short walk to the beach (we had a wagon to carry all the stuff). The open area downstairs was a nice place to hang out in the shade. It would be nice to have more seating as we had to use some of our own chairs. Overall it was a nice place for a short family vacation.

This house is very close to the water and we loved the easy access to the beach. It was perfect for coming and going several times a day, which is a necessity with very small children! I'm giving this place a 3 because the location was so great for us. The house itself seemed run down. My husband went around and made a list of all the problems. None of them are major by themselves, but all together it just left us feeling like the house was in bad shape and we didn't really enjoy staying there. It would only take a day or two with a handyman to have the house in much better shape, if they will spend the money to do that. Next time we go to Galveston we will choose another place to stay. The kitchen was not well stocked. There were hardly any food storage containers, dull knives, and no cutting board. There also weren't any plates that were appropriate for children so my kids ate most of their meals on plastic lids! Master bathroom toilet never stopped running. Master bedroom window sill wasn't sealed so flies could come in. Master bath sink was unlevel and not flush with the wall which made it dirty. The wall around the vent in the bathroom was very dusty. Master bathroom door didn't shut properly because it wasn't hung straight. One of the swings on the bottom level was broken. One of the handles on the outdoor shower was broken. The baseboards weren't flush with the floor and the gap underneath was very dirty. Several of the household decorations were broken. The master bedroom door didn't shut properly because it wasn't hung straight. The floor transitions weren't secured properly and we kicked them out of place accidentally a few times (the little strip of wood that covers the transition from tile to wood). The guest bathroom toilet paper holder was not secured. The top rail of the bunkbed was broken. We couldn't get the icemaker to work and our call to maintenance was never answered. The downstairs unit smelled very musty.