We’re so glad you enjoyed our little cottage and special island!! Thanks for leaving The Whale in great shape and we sincerely hope you’ll be back soon!! Kind regards, John

Glad y’all enjoyed your stay. Please come back soon. :-)

HI ABBY!! Thanks for the sweet review! We're so pleased you enjoyed our place and totally got 'the vibe' of The Whale. We've owned it for almost 30 years now and you can absolutely 'fell the love and memories' in this little cottage. I also appreciate the kind words for me personally. I try to go over everything with each guest/family in advance and am always available to answer any question or help resolve any problems in a snap!! Hope y'all will be back soon. -J ps: we've de-cluttered a bit :-)

Hello Christopher, Thanks for the thorough and detailed review!! You most definitely captured the vibe of our cottage! It can sometimes be challenging with older homes (especially considering the salt air environment). We are planning to do some maintenance and painting over the off season so thing should be freshened up next time y’all come down. We’ve thought about upgrading to a smart TV… thanks for the suggestion. Incidentally, thanks for also dealing with the wasp nest discovered in the carport!! Kind regards, John Matthews

Thank you Susan and family for the very kind and gracious review!!! Our little beach house is dear to our hearts and we very much enjoy sharing it with folks from around the world! We hope you’ll be back again soon!!! John 🐳🏝️🤟

Hello and we’re sorry that you only felt like our cottage earned 3 stars. We communicated sever times during you stay and you never indicated any problems. We try to be very upfront with folks in advance that this is an older home… but clean and comfortable with lots of extras. You’ll see previous reviews are very positive. We are also priced quite a bit lower than other properties. Kind regards, John Matthews

What a nice and gracious review of our cottage!!! We work hard to make our place comfortable and also keep the rates lower than the million dollar homes surrounding us. :-) We’re looking forward to your return trip and will guarantee the same rate!! Cheers! John

Thank you Lisa!! We’re looking forward to your next visit! John

Thanks Barry! Glad all went well. I agree the spiral staircase can sometimes be a challenge (especially if you're trying to carry luggage)! It is what is is though and we try and give folks a 'heads up' in the VRBO listing. Hope ya'll will be back soon :-) John

So glad all went well! Hope y’all can get back on ‘island time’ as soon as possible!! Regards, John 🐳🏝️

You’re very welcome Matt. We were happily to share our cottage with your family and please know that you’re welcome back anytime!

Y’all are great!! So happy your vacation went well and you enjoyed our cottage!! Kind regards, John

Gosh, I might have to start giving y’all a ‘frequent visitor’ discount 😎. Honestly though, it really means a lot that you would make ‘The Whale’ your destination of choice on the island. I actually would be open to ‘locking in you rate’ or working out a discount for your loyalty!! Reach out and we’ll make a deal. Cheers!! John

Thanks so much Dina! It was a pleasure having y’all stay at ‘The Whale’. My housekeeper reported that everything was left in wonderful shape… we sincerely appreciate it! Our cottage is almost 50 years old (we bought it in the early 90’s). It’s not perfect, but we like to say that it has ‘a lot of character’ :-). Hope you’ll be back soon!! Kind regards, John

Hi folks: Thanks for the feedback and kind words!! I’m glad y’all appreciated the entertainment system. I used to be in the music business so I made sure to install good gear🎶🎵! We are planning to have the deck re-surfaced in the next few months. Thanks again! 🐳

Thank you so much Ms Amanda for the gracious review!! We are so happy that your family appreciated The Whale!! I also wanted to personally thank you for help protecting the cottage during the hard freeze during your stay!! We hope you’ll all be back soon!! Best wishes for a safe and rewarding new year!! Kind regards, John

Thanks Rick for your through review. Older cottages can sometimes be a challenge and we try hard to keep up with things. We take a personal interest in each of our guests and it’s nice to be able to share The Whale with others. We have considered additional remodeling/updating, however that would drive our rates up which we are reluctant to do. We enjoy being able to offer an affordable option especially for families. I have ordered a new hot tub cover, I did not realize it was in such bad shape. The tub may be 20 years old but it works great. The service comes by twice a week and keeps the water clean and fresh, vacuums and checks the chemicals. We would very much welcome your return and hope you will consider our vacation home in the future. Kind regards, John Matthews, owner

Thank You Jim! This is our favorite time of year on the island and we’re glad we were able to share The Whale with you! Please know that you’re welcome back anytime and we appreciate you leaving the cottage in such wonderful shape when you left. Kind regards, John

Hello Daniel, We're so thrilled that your family enjoyed The Whale and appreciated 'the extras'! We've worked hard to provide a fun place! Our last guests of the season are there now and we are very much looking forward to spending the rest of the year on 'Island Time'! We hope you'll be back down from Chicago Land again soon! All the best and kind regards, John

So glad you’re vacation went well and that The Whale was part of it!! We sincerely appreciate you leaving everything in such great shape (plus’s the wine and Mike’s Lemonade)!! Hope you made some good memories and that y’all come back soon! -John

Hi Scotti!! Thanks so much for the kind words! We’re so pleased that your vacation went well and you enjoyed The Whale! We’ve been blessed to have our cottage for close to 30 years now and very much enjoy sharing it with our families from across the country! Hope y’all will be back soon! Cheers, Johm

Hi Cindy! I'm so glad all went well. You left The Whale in wonderful condition and we sincerely appreciate it! Hope y'all will be back soon!! John

Hello Rachel, Many gracious thanks for your kind and thoughtful review. We are so glad that all of you enjoyed your stay at The Whale! I also appreciate your kind words for me personally! It is very true.... I consider every family that stays at our cottage as if they were staying with us personally here in Tallahassee. I want the experience to be good and lasting memories to be made (as my family has over the last 25+ years). It's sometimes frustrating since it's an older beach home and problems occasionally come up. I've tried to be open and honest with folks about our place and try to 'manage expectations'. The Whale is by no means perfect, but it has so much to offer and hopefully the positivities prevail! Hope you'll be back soon!! Sincerely, John Matthews

Hello Scott! Your kind review is greatly appreciated! I'm so happy that y'all enjoyed your stay and hopefully made some good memories!! We're looking forward to your return visit!!

Hello LeeAnna: I'm not sure where to begin :-). First, thank you for, quite possibly the most gracious review We've ever received. We are so thrilled that our little 'shack by the sea' worked so well for you and your family! It is very special that, having been there as a child, you could come back decades later and have your own kids make new memories!! We really have tried (after 25 years) to make The Whale comfortable and relaxing. Our only concern is that you might have set the expectations of future families 'too high' LOL. We want to be clear that the BWI, while having many positive qualities.... is still an older home with it's small 'glitches' and 'imperfections'. We love it though and have passed up many lucrative offers to sell. Thank you again LeeAnna and we sincerely hope you'll be back soon!!! Cheers, John

Danke Schoen Michael! We are so happy that your stay was good. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to drive down to meet your family, but maybe next time. My cousin and Godson live in Stuttgart, so next time I’m in Germany I’ll ring you up! Probst, John

Thanks so much for your kind words. The Whale has been a part of our family for over a quarter century! It may be old and have its quirks, but definitely provides a warm and comfortable home base for your island adventures! We hope you made some great memories. Y’all are welcome back anytime! Cheers, John 🐳

Thanks so much for the kind words!!! Glad y’all had fun and I’m glad I found your grandkids PlayStation!! I’ll be sending it back to them in tomorrow’s Mail. Thanks for leaving the house in such great condition! Happy 4th 🇺🇸

I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your kind review!! We have tried to keep rental rates reasonable and very much enjoy sharing The Whale with others! We’re also pleased that you ‘got the vibe’ of our cottage. It’s got it’s quirks and there are always a few things that could be improved, but there are many other positive aspects that make for a fun time! We hope you’ll be back soon!!

Thank you Kevin for the gracious and ‘spot on’ review. I’m so glad y’all enjoyed your stay at our little cottage and sincerely hope you’ll be back to the island again soon!! 🏝🐳😎

Thank You so much for the very kind review!! We’ve owned The Whole for 25+ years… we’d spend entire summers there when our kids were younger. Again, we very much appreciate your review and truly hope you’ll come back again soon!! Cordially, John

Hello Bridgette! Thanks so much for your thoughtful review of or family cottage highlighting it’s wonderful location and more! Please come again soon! Cheers, John Matthews 🐳🏝

Hi Kevin! I can't thank you enough for the kind review of our little cottage by the gulf. We're happy that the 'extras' at our place were appreciated. We're pleased to share what we have at The Whale. The beach gear, bicycles, hot tub, outdoor sound system, etc. I set it up the way we like it when we come down and it's great that guests are also able to enjoy the amenities!! I also wanted to thank you for your help and understanding with the minor plumbing issue encountered during your stay. The BWI is an older home and things do occasionally happen... I'm glad it was quickly resolved and your gracious attitude was very much appreciated! We hope you'll be back soon! Cheers, John

Hi Tina! It was such a pleasure to be able to share our family cottage on SGI with y’all. We are thrilled that your stay went well and you appreciated the ‘extras’ at The Whale. Your positive feedback was sincerely welcomed!! Please know that you have an open invitation to stay at our place anytime!! Cheers, John

Thank you so much for the very kind words Cennedy!! We’ve had the privilege of owning The Whale for over 25 years now. It is so rewarding to be able to share our cottage on the island with so many great folks that truly appreciate it’s unique character! We hope you’ll be back again soon!!! Cheers, John 🐳😎🏝🤟⛱❤️

Thanks so much Dennis! Y’all are welcome back anytime!! Cheers, John

Thanks so much Ann!! Please know that y'all are welcome back anytime! Cheers, John

We are so happy that your stay at our place went well! When I received your text when you arrived saying: 'This place is great', I knew we were off to a good start! I was also pleased when you said our place brought back fond memories of older traditional cottages from your past. It is so nice when a family appreciates our special island and, although not perfect, our cottage. Please know that you are welcome back anytime! I also wanted to thank you for the beautiful night sky photographs you sent! They are on out Blue Whale facebook page now! Sincerely, John Matthews

Hello and thanks for the kind review. We’re so glad you enjoyed your stay at our cottage!! Come back soon! Happy Christmas, John

Emily, thank you so much for your very gracious review of our little beach cottage. I'm so glad you 'connected' with 'The Whale' and appreciated the small things we've done to try and create a pleasurable island experience for our guests! We try to be very upfront with folks about our place.... it's an older home and not perfect. We are glad you appreciated all the positive aspects!!! Very kind regards, John Matthews

Hello Chandler, Goodness, I had no idea that you were having so many issues. First, I sincerely apologize for the problems you encountered. I do appreciate the kind words you had for me personally and acknowledgment that I did respond quickly (even though everything was obviously not corrected completely) . As for the bug situation, I've heard from other property owners that the heavy rains the previous two weeks caused much of the problems. I believe it was most definitely an isolated event. I spend a lot of money annually on pest control. You can read reviews prior to and after your stay and there have been no reports of bugs... however, I am sorry you had the unfortunate experience. As for the light switches and lamps, I've had them all replaced. No one had ever reported a problem, so I'm not sure how long they had been broken. There is obviously no excuse for the sand or dog hair. I have reviewed everything with my housekeeper (who is normally very good). I am going to make every effort to make sure it never happens again. I wish you had let me know about the pet hair and smell in the rugs... you never brought it up in our phone conversations or many text messages. I could have sent a carpet cleaner out and had a different house keeper come by and deal with the pet hair (of course it shouldn't have been in that condition in the first place). Additional deep cleaning has been done... all the rugs have been steam cleaned and covers on futons removed and professionally washed. We've owned The Whale for close to 30 years now... it's an older home and does require constant maintenance. We try to be very open and honest in our description so folks get a accurate picture and have also tried to keep our rental rates very affordable. My goal is to always provide a comfortable and clean cottage along with fun, extra and unexpected things that other beach homes don't . Again, sorry for the negatives you had to deal with. Your feedback is very helpful! Kind regards, John Matthews

Thank you so much Mary for the kind words and we are so glad that you enjoyed your stay on our special island! Hope to have you back again soon all the best John Matthews

Hello Rachel, We are so pleased that you enjoyed your stay at our little 'cottage by the gulf'. After 25 years we still treasure every moment, memory and sunset at The Whale! We also obviously enjoy sharing our place with others! Thanks for leaving the house in great shape and we sincerely appreciate the gracious review! Hope y'all come back soon :-) John

Thanks so much Mitch! It was truly a pleasure having you at out cottage and I’m glad everything went well. Y’all are welcome back any time!!! 🐳

Where do I start… LOL. Erin, you and your family were such a joy to work with. You left The Whale in wonderful shape (probably better than when you arrived). You completely got ‘the vibe’ of our place (which many don’t). We’re a funky little cottage on the #4 rated beach in the country!! We’re not perfect, but we try as best as we can to provide a great spot to soak in the beauty of SGI. We sure hope you come back soon! 😎🏝🐳🙏❤️

WOW!!! One of the nicest and spot on reviews I’ve received!!!

Hello Charles! Thank you so much for the 'spot-on' review. As a property owner, that very much tries to provide a nice experience for my guests, it's gratifying to receive positive feedback!! The Whale is an older house (we try to be very forthcoming with our description). It's not perfect, but you 'got it' perfectly! Over the 25 years we've owned it there have been hundreds of life long memories made. We love helping others make more! Hope you'll be back soon!

Thank you so much for the kind review Rebekah! My son often says with 'global warming' we probably will one day be 'water front' LOL. It is nice to be so close to the Gulf though... being able to hear and see the surf, see the dolphins play and smell the salt air is great! Plus it's a couple thousand dollars cheaper being across the street!! I also wanted to thank you for leaving The Whale in such wonderful shape when you left. My housekeeper called me and said she really didn't have to clean very much! Again, thank you for the nice review and please know that y'all are welcome back anytime! John PS: I did also leave you 5 stars on 'communication', but the corporate I.T. masters at VRBO can't seem to figure out why it doesn't display it ?!? :-)