This house is most definitely not a beach house as advertised; in fact much information about the place is just plain WRONG! The house not only is quite a distance from the ocean ( blocks ), the deck is not a wrap-around deck, and does not have fabulous views of the ocean. You barely see a tiny piece of it through all the trees and only if you`re on the deck or looking out the sliding door. You see no beach at all. There are many obstacles between the deck and the ocean, one being a parking lot that is full of cars coming and going all day long that sits next to a park. There are tall houses on one side that look right down onto the deck and an RV space on the other side, meaning you have no privacy. There are not three bedrooms; there is one bedroom and two lofts. The lofts are only adequate for children as the access to them is certainly not for adults that are middle-aged and may have arthritic problems. The mattresses were also very uncomfortable, as well as not being made up (we had to crawl around in the tiny little spaces and try to get sheets onto the mattresses that lay on the floor). The first beach access is quite a distance away and is all down hill, very steep, and certainly not easy for someone with arthritis such as I; even a few rocks to crawl over at the bottom nearest to the beach. The second access is many, many, many stairs to get down to the beach which was not an option for myself. The owner assured me that we would be just fine and we`d love it there. The house itself was beautifully decorated, comfortable (except the beds), and clean. It was furnished with everything we needed, except a set of sheets were missing. Unfortunately we had the desire to light a fire in the woodstove the second night and had to endure the horrible creosote smell for the next three days; apparently the stove pipe needs a good cleaning! The garbage can was overflowing with trash when we arrived and that concerned me cause garbage pickup wasn`t for another three days. Fortunately we didn`t produce enough that it was a problem and am real glad that the racoons didn`t get into it. It is quite frustrating that the owner felt the need to deceive me in several ways in presenting the house in order to convince me to book it for five days. In all honesty I have not stayed in a place that far from the ocean in the forty-some years I`ve been going there and it was a huge disappointment, especially since the friends that joined me were expecting what I was, to be able to sit on the deck and watch the waves crash on the beach. In my opinion this house is only suitable for one young couple, a young family, or young people that don`t mind no privacy (the deck and sleeping areas) and are agile enough to handle the lofts, the accesses to the beach, and no beach views.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
18 Nov 2014
I’m sorry to read your bad feelings about the 5js beach house. We have many repeat guests that stay at the 5js and love it. We love it too, but we are in no hurry to book it when it is not appropriate for someone. As to your allegations of misrepresentation:
We never claim to be beach front. Webster’s dictionary states that a beach house is on or near the beach. Since Oregon beaches are all public there aren't houses built after the 60's that sit less than 16 feet in height above the water line or directly on the beach. We are 76 yards to the steps to the beach.
Everything on our listing is accurate. We rely on our clients to inform us of special needs that they may have and if we cannot accommodate them adequately we encourage them to book elsewhere. The ship’s ladder to the Crow’s Nest Loft is in the description and also in our first contact with each guests inquiry, and sent prior to booking. The 5js sleeps 6 but since it is 1 master w/2 lofts it has to be listed as a 3 bedroom because lodging requirements prohibit listing 1 bedroom to 6 persons and marketing companies do not have the option to choose a loft.
Our chimney is cleaned and inspected annually. Our wood stove is certified by the state of Oregon. The wood stove does have a handle with a damper on it and it is left open. At the time of your departure, our housekeeper stated the damper was partially closed. It is possible that a previous guest inadvertently closed the damper. We apologize for that oversight.
Our large garbage bin is emptied every Friday.
Finally I would like to say that we do not deceive anyone, nor do we wish anyone to stay there that is not a good fit. Your inquiry which I still have along with your personal information stated 3 persons were coming. Apparently there were as many as 6 of you and some with special needs which put us at a disadvantage as we were trying to ascertain your needs. We realize that at times people are fatigued as they go through the process of inquiry and might be tempted to fill out details quickly but those details are essential for us to make a determination in behalf of our guests, as they are in any lodging situation. We are truly sorry that it did not meet your expectations.
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC