We have been going to Hibiscus for over 30 years. After this year, we will never go back. First, the parking issues we had were horrendous. People parked in our assigned number spot. The whole week there were cars with NO PASSES taking up all the guest spaces. When I was actually able to get through to someone the statement was always the same, “HOA II is in charge of parking, it's not our responsibility”. I was told the issue would be remedied but the whole week all those cars without passes were never moved or towed. Second, the construction that was going on in Buildings A - D caused so many problems with parking, noise and safety. The construction materials took up too many of our parking spaces. The construction was loud, and one of the reasons we use to love Hibiscus was the quiet, family friendly atmosphere. I was even pushed off the road by a huge dump truck that would wait for me to drive by! Third, it took management way too long to respond to safety issues inside the unit. What is the point of having an emergency/after-hours number if no one responds for 2 days? We use to receive excellent and efficient customer service. By not having anyone on site, the HOA has caused a huge issue. The leaking, which was never fixed and extremely dangerous. The moldy dishwasher. The mold in and on the walls from the leaks. The fridge was broken. Remotes for the tv were missing. The leaking water heater, which obviously leaked for a long time do the floor actually falling apart around it and the mold, was repaired but no one ever came back to repair anything else. And after I notified the “management” about the dishwasher, fridge and other leaking areas, no one responded. The partying and noise were incessant. Since no one is onsite after business hours and you cannot even contact anyone, no one had repercussions for their behavior. We saw people eating, drinking and smoking in the pool every day and night. There were also several nights of adults having sex in the pool at all hours. And not once did we see anyone actually clean the pool! And we would have seen it because the people in E202 stayed up all night and were loud and inappropriate. The family-friendly atmosphere is completely gone at Hibiscus now. Management wouldn't do anything about our complaints and concerns. And St. Augustine Beach Police could not do anything because “they are owners in E202” and with no management on site we knew nothing would be done. It was quite obvious to us that rules only applied to some. Our stay was ruined from all of the above and from the harassment we received from the people in E202. The police couldn't do anything and obviously management doesn't care because they allow it to happen (we were told the members of that unit could not return because they had been previously arrested on site.)
And the people with dogs in the units! And taking them to the pool deck, which is a Health Department violation! But that's okay, but having a plastic cup of water with a lid next to the pool will get you kicked out!! I have never been treated so rudely by a Hibiscus employee. And I'm not even sure if she was a Hibiscus employee. She seemed more concerned about us not having WATER on an extremely hot day than the dogs that were drinking out of the pool, the broken child safety gate ( which was reported to the Health Department by me) or the absolutely disgusting dirty and unsanitary bathrooms in the clubhouse!
It was the worst week we have ever had in over 30 years and we've been through a tropical storm there before!
The only reason we stayed was my son drove over 14 hours from Virginia to see his grandmother, probably for the last time due to her medical issues and we tried our best to enjoy the week despite all of the things mentioned above. We also didn't leave because despite EVERYTHING we were hoping for something to actually be done. We should have known that management no longer cares about our happiness, health and safety after they told us we couldn't get a refund or moved to another unit.
I could keep going on and in about how bad everything was, but I am almost absolutely positive no changes will be made. And that is why WE WILL NEVER RETURN!
And on a side note, you'll be hearing from our attorneys.