Upon arrival, we followed the owner's directions to the dingy and were told to park in a hotel parking lot, in the back. This seemed dishonest, and upon speaking with the hotel staff, this arrangement was, in fact, NOT approved by the hotel. We were advised that if we DID park there during our stay, that it would be illegal and they will call the police, having our vehicle towed. After that debacle, we decided to try to find the sailboat, and worry about parking later, as it was getting dark at this point. We loaded our things in the dingy and followed the information given to us by the owner to find the sailboat. The info said that from the dock, we were to travel at "11 o'clock" for 2 minutes, and we would see the sailboat. However, in the approximately 40-50 boats out in Tarpin Basin, ours was NOT at 11 o’clock from the dock. We searched on a small inflatable dinghy in the ocean for the greater part of 2 hours, and never found it. We messaged the host, and it took an unacceptable amount of time for her to respond saying that it WAS out there, that is how everyone else parks, and she didn't know what to tell us. So as it is dark, we have ONE small flashlight out in the middle of the open basin, we decided to air on the side of caution and return to shore for the night. We contacted VRBO, and they said they would try to contact the host as well and get back to us in 24 hours. We decided to find other accommodations for the night and begin the search in the morning, when it was light. When we went to begin the adventure again in the morning, the dinghy was no longer where we had left it the night before, so we were unable to even LOOK for the sailboat. The owner would not respond to any more messages at that point, and the information we got back from VRBO was that they would not refund our money due to the cancellation policy.
The frustrating part is that WE DID NOT CANCEL OUR RESERVATION. We were not able to locate the sailboat in the dark, and were given false parking information that would lead to ticketing and towing, and we were given NO HELP to find the property, neither that night of check in or the next day!!! This was supposed to be a relaxing getaway and has become a nightmare of a battle with the owner and with VRBO. We have never had this kind of trouble before and it is unreal that we are having to fight this now! It is completely unfair to charge us for a property we couldn't even access!