Archival
8/10 Good
Chris B.
6 Jul 2016
Phoenix V - Good, Not Great
This was our third trip to Orange Beach and first stay at a Phoenix property. Previously stayed at a friends place at the Admiral's Quarters, so I don't have a lot to compare it to, so take this review with a grain of salt.
Renting was easy, with reasonable cancellation policies. We certainly weren't planning on cancelling, but that was nice.
The unit P5-1015 was great. Plenty of room for a young family of 4, probably a little tight for the 6 that they advertise that it will sleep. It was clean and the kitchen was decently stocked with dishware, cookware and utensils. But when they tell you that you need to bring everything, you need to bring EVERYTHING. Other rentals I've stayed in elsewhere were at least stocked with a few staples (spices, cooking oil, foil, matches, etc.) and sometimes more, but hey, we were warned.
The complex was fine, but it showing its age in places, particularly the elevators. The folks at the front desk were friendly and helpful. The splash pad was a hit with our young kids, and the main pool was kid friendly. The indoor pool/hot tubs were ok and the cool water/AC provided a nice respite from the midday heat. However, the indoor pool could stand a good cleaning as the tile, coping and floors had plenty of mildew. Beach access was great, and the water was somewhat closer than other properties we considered. We used one of several grills and I was surprised how clean it was, the next morning I noticed them being cleaned. Thumbs up for that.
For the most part, the crowd was family oriented, but there were a few rowdies and a couple of alcohol induced vomit incidents that we could have done without. Generally, it was quiet between the quiet hours (10p and 8a) which was nice, because I have read other things about some other properties.
Our biggest complaint are the elevators. 4 are clearly not enough to serve a 270 unit complex. At any time, you could wait 5 minutes for an elevator. Our last morning, I was up early shuttling things to the car and was waiting 10+ minutes. By the time we actually left (9ish), our wait for an elevator with space (either up or down) was nearly 30 minutes (some folks claimed to have waited 45 minutes and an hour). After 20, I was ready to unload the cart and take the stairs, but wasn't wild about hauling my kids and stuff down 10 flights. Combine the wait with the poor condition of the elevators (slow, rattling, guillotine doors), and Phoenix V needs to do something.