Wednesday, December 26, 2018

Orange Beach, Alabama / Grand Pointe Condominium #605 through Liquid Life

November 2018, 7-nights, Unit 605


View of gulf and pass from unit 605
This unit has the same 3-bedroom floor plan as unit 601 where we stayed in 2017, and it is located on the same floor with a view of Perdido Pass. I had contacted the manager for the unit we stayed in the prior year, and did not hear back from him before we decided to try a different unit. The cost for unit 601 in 2018 was higher than it had been in 2017, and the cost for this unit was similar.

One of the amazing sunsets from the beach at Grand Pointe

Reservation process with Liquid Life

I liked that we were able to do everything online for this rental, including the deposit payment and making the final payment. Additionally, we did not need to send in a security deposit. The contract we signed said that if there was any damage, our credit card would be charged, and evidence/photos provided. The only uncertainty with this process, is that we did not know when they had completed checking the unit after our stay. We did not damage anything; however, there were a few minor damages and some wear when we arrived (wall gouges/damage, carpet stains, cracked fridge shelves, etc.). Since we have not had much experience with property rentals, I am still unsure what to expect. When we rented unit 601 through Alabama Getaway in 2017, we had to mail in a security deposit check, which was returned after our stay. We also had to mail in the payment, and we preferred paying online by credit card.


Grand Pointe Condo lobby

Grand Pointe Condominium amenities

The condo amenities were the same as they had been in 2017: pool and whirlpool tubs inside and out, fitness center, beach access, and BBQ area with gas grills. Follow the link above to my previous post for more details. Again, we enjoyed the outside area, especially the soft beach sand, clear water, and amazing sunsets. The gulf was calm and warm enough to swim when we arrived. It was warm the last morning of our stay; however, rain had gone through the area, and the surf was rough.

The waves at Grand Pointe Condominiums
beach the morning we departed.
There were two minor differences at the property this year: the lobby had been repainted, and the outside whirlpool tub needed some upkeep attention. I loved the murals that had been on the lobby walls in 2017, so I did not understand why those had been painted over. The walls had been in good condition at that time. The outside whirlpool tub worked fine, although the concrete walls and edges of the tub were beginning to show some wear and they looked dinghy in appearance.

View of Perdido Pass and gulf from balcony Grand Pointe condo 605

Arrival - 3 bedroom condo unit 605

On the day of our arrival, I received a text in the morning, which contained door code instructions saying that our condo was ready. I sent a delighted reply, as we had arrived in Alabama around 10 AM. I received a second text from a different number with a new door code before we arrived. The second text read exactly the same as the first, other than the door code being different. It appeared that the door code can be remotely programmed, and two different people had provided me with check-in instructions. We did not arrive at the condo until after 1 PM. This is still before check-in time of 3:00 PM, and we were happy to check-in early. When we arrived, the code I received second is the one that worked; the first code did not work to open the door.

We often saw planes from nearby naval base in Pensacola.
This view is from living room Grand Pointe condo 605.

Condo 605 at Grand Pointe

As I mentioned at the top of this post, this condo has the same floor plan as unit 601. The only difference was the way the bedrooms were furnished for sleeping. Unit 605 has bunkbeds and a daybed sleeper in one of the extra bedrooms. The online photos are a pretty good representation of this unit, other than the carpet stains and wall dents/gouges do not show in the photos.

Glassware in Grande Pointe condo 605

Things we liked about unit 605:

  • Having a coded lock instead of a key.
  • Kitchen glassware was well supplied. There were even shot glasses and a champagne glass in the cupboard. The only glassware we missed were martini glasses and a cocktail shaker.
  • The outside furniture was comfortable and in good condition.
  • Kitchen seating was comfortable.
  • Fabulous ice makers; there is one in the bar and one in the freezer.
  • The reusable mesh coffee filter. I had brought our extra mesh filter from home, just in case. I was glad one had been provided, because ours is a slightly different size.
  • The view from the balcony. We watched dolphins every morning, and the sunrises were gorgeous.
  • The good quality bedsheets.
  • Being allowed to arrive early!

Sunrise from bedroom (after opening screen)

Things we did not like about unit 605:

  • The lighting in the living room was extremely dim.
  • The master bed was quite hard.
  • The screen in the bedroom was patched, dirty, and not easy to see through.
  • Having carpet in the bedroom, and all of the stains in the carpets. This gave us a feeling of uncleanliness. 
  • The dirty, sticky balcony floor.  

Condition of balcony when we arrived

Misc. and overall

We like Grand Pointe Condominiums, and we would choose to stay at this property again. We also like the layout of the 3-bedroom units, even though there are only two of us. The balcony, and having the master bedroom on the water are important features for us. We have never been inside a 2 or 4-bedroom unit at this property, so I cannot compare this unit to those. We would love to stay in one of the 4-bedroom corner units; however, the cost for one of those is a bit steep for us.

One more photo of the moon and fabulous view from the balcony!

I am not sure if we would choose to stay in this unit again; I think it would depend on the price. Liquid Life often offers "Hot Deals" when a property is not rented. If we had gotten a Hot Deal rate with 20% off, we would have been very happy with this unit. Since we paid full price, we were a bit disappointed with the upkeep of the unit. Other than the balcony floor, the unit was very clean when we arrived.

Let me know if you have any questions. As always, feel free to share this post or add comments. Watch for my Orange Beach activity post for more information about  the area.


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