Five Star Vacation Rentals - Big Bear Lake, California

April B.

Absolutely Horrible Experience! Avoid at All Costs!

I can’t express enough how terrible our experience was with this property and the management. From the moment we arrived, it was clear that the property was neglected. The outdoor area looked like it hadn't been maintained in years – cracked pavements, overgrown weeds, and worn-out furniture. It felt more like a run-down roadside shack than the "luxury" vacation home advertised. But the real nightmare began with the appalling customer service.

The management team is not just unhelpful—they are downright rude and disrespectful. After a family emergency, we were running late for check-out (scheduled for 11 AM), but we had already packed up all of our belongings and placed them in the hallway, making it easy for the cleaners to do their job. Rather than show an ounce of understanding or basic human decency, the property manager immediately called us, threatening to involve the sheriff! They actually said they would call the police if we didn’t leave that second and even had the nerve to tell me I would be charged for the full stay of the next guests. That’s right—they were trying to charge us an extra day because we were delayed for less than an hour during an EMERGENCY!

The whole situation was handled so poorly, and the property manager's attitude was nothing short of disgusting. They were yelling at us over the phone and talking back to every question we asked as if we were the ones being unreasonable. There was no understanding, no professionalism, just pure hostility. My car was on the way, and we literally had nowhere to go. Their behavior was not only unnecessary and overboard, but it was also cruel and heartless. How is it acceptable to treat paying guests like this?

To make matters worse, the house itself was filthy. Dust, grime, and who knows what else was lurking in the corners. It was as if no one had bothered to clean it for weeks before we arrived. The kitchen was sticky, the bathrooms were far from sanitary, and there were cobwebs hanging in multiple rooms. And let’s not forget the owner—just as rude and dismissive as the property manager. When we tried to address the cleanliness, they refused to take any responsibility, blaming us for not reporting it sooner. As if it was our fault the place was dirty from the start!

This entire experience was a nightmare from beginning to end. Between the unclean property, the unprofessional and rude customer service, and the outrageous threats, I wouldn’t recommend this place to my worst enemy. Save yourself the stress, and stay FAR away from this disaster!

Angelina G.

Do not book with these people, they charge you a cleaning fee when you’re the one cleaning for the next people. There’s no way they clean the house and wash all linens in 4 hours we booked the “no 20 mountain masterpiece lake views 6 bd ac!” There was random decorations from a birthday party hosted there right before us. 4 of our toilets were leaking, shower head didn’t work, a pipe leaked the whole stay our clothes kept collecting water and as soon as we noticed that 5 star calling us saying the water company reported a water shut off but was never shut off. We told them what was happening and a repair guy came to look said he’d fix the shower never did, said the leak came from a pipe under neath/ in the wall then just left his number to report anything else but did not fix anything he just took a paper we found from a company on the 12th saying there was a leak in pipes and when I showed that he just took the paper. We called again and a plumber came, he said the water on the carpet/wall/behind the dresser was from people showering and there was no pipes right there, he said something was loose on all toilets, he did fix our shower after the last guy didn’t. I then called saying how the leaks were ruining our stay all 5 star vacation rentals said they understood and that they will get ahold of the owners to see what they can do for us yet never called us back and just emailed us our check out instructions. This situation could’ve been handled way differently and more professionally but they did not want to deal with it instead someone came 3 hours before to drop off a bag for the next guests which means those who rented the home after us will be also dealing with their clothes being wet and constantly dealing with a mildew smell and it will be a never ending cycle of complaints that they chose not to deal with. My confirmation number was 4736754942 I booked through booking.com.

Sean S.

Our rental experience with Five Star Vacation Rental this year, March 2017, was the WORST rental experience of my life. I rented from them three years ago in Big Bear and had a great experience. This year it was awful. The house was completely substandard, the furniture was disgusting, the place had been almost completely gutted as it is for sale. Light fixtures were missing with wires coming out of the wall, the furniture would not even be accepted by Goodwill, the projector fell off the attachment pole while we tried to turn it on, the sliding doors did not lock and close allowing a nice brisk blast of March air in all night long, windows were broken and covered with cardboard and masking tape, and all of this for the joy of $600/night.

With three families and a bunch of children staying for the weekend it was decided that upsetting our plans to be together was not worth complaining. I followed up with Five Star and Annette after the trip was over and was essentially told that as I did not discuss the issues while we were there I had no right to complain but that she would give us a 10% discount on a future rental.

When this quality of a home is what they charge $600/night for I have a hard time believing they are truly the luxury rental experience in Big Bear. I will be going back to BigBearVacationRentals and AirBnB for my future rental experiences as Five Star has ineffectively responded to the issues raised and is happy to rent out sub-standard homes at high prices.

Mom N.

Here is a list of my concerns that make this house uninhabitable. To top it all off, the internet has been down for 6 hours today.

CONCERNED FOR OUR HEALTH DUE TO MOLD.

The house is FILTHY our feet were black within 15 minutes of walking in the house. We had to get a cleaner to return in order to mop the floors and vacuum the chips from the previous guest.
1. When the stove is on, it is constantly clicking and we are not sure if there is a gas leak or not since the burner won’t stop clicking
2. The guest bathroom toilet seat is not attached tho the toilet making it unusable
3. The other guest bathroom toilet is not sealed to the ground making it wobble back and fourth when in use
4. The garbage disposal has no cover on it
5. The guest bathroom has mold on the ceiling in the shower
6. The house was INCREDIBLY dirty when we arrived, there were chips and food all over the floor and chips in the pool
7. The pool skimmer is broken making it impossible to clean the pool which was filthy when we arrived
8. The guest room bathroom towels in multiple rooms were damp when we arrived
9. There are hardly any cleaning supplies to trash bags to things to use to clean up the kitchen after use
10. There is a TON of trash piled up on the side of the house that smells and there is no more room to put our trash, all of the cans were already full when we arrived.
11. The pool is cloudy and the pool skimmer has a hole in and the poles to it are both broken. When adjusting the umbrella in the Baja step, leaves, dirt and debris from previous guests comes out of the hole.
12. Wifi is not working in order to attempt to fix these issues
13. Both trash cans are over flowing and there are bags of trash on the side of the house

Management is impossible to get a hold of. I have left messages. The sent the cleaners back so someone is listening to the voicemails, but they are not calling me back. This is the second terrible experience with this company.
Will not be using this company again.

Moses D.

Booked a cabin in Big Bear in February 2022. Check in time was 3:00 p.m.. We showed up at 3:00 p.m. and the place was filthy. Bathrooms were recently used, half soap in the shower. The kitchen was filthy with dirty pots and pans in the sink. The beds were recently slept in by the previous guests. Called five Star vacation rentals and the lady that answered said the cleaners were 5 minutes away. 2 hours later still no cleaners. My wife and I decided we had no choice but to clean ourselves. We called five Star vacation rentals to let them know and ask for a refund of our cleaning fee. Instead of apologies or an effort to rectify the situation, the lady at five star vacation rentals immediately asked us to vacate the property and called the sheriff. This in the middle of a snowstorm in Big Bear with two young children. The lady at five Star vacation rentals insisted that the sheriff was on their way. We had to find another hotel at the last minute. I'm still waiting for my refund. Terrible experience never rent a place managed by five star vacation rentals!!!

Joe B.

Let me start by saying how exceptional this company is. I was stressing over leaving my dog home for 4 days with the neighbor. Annette understood my stress and told me I could bring my pet for a $20 a night fee. I was so relieved and it was cheaper than the pet sitter! The cabin was amazing and was exactly like the photos. I stayed in cabin # 3 Five Star Snow Summit. The weather was perfect and the view was spectacular! It really felt like a family vacation. The cabin was cozy and everything was in working condition. Many great memories were made in the game room. Can wait to try one of their other cabins next year!

Cathy D.

We stayed in property 25 for a long weekend with friends. The house is absolutely beautiful and the views are amazing (forest and lake). We had 8 adults and 6 children and we very comfortable as far as space goes. The kids loved hanging out in the downstairs game room and the adults enjoyed being on the main floor enjoying the views on one of several decks. Five star was very accommodating with our early check-in and also allowed us a few extra hours past check-out at no charge. Kevin was also very helpful with the booking process since helping me decide which home would be a better fit for our group. We will definitely be using their services again!

Tommy L.

It is a shame some property owners use 5 star to rent their homes. We rented a cabin in the winter and it was snowing. Our heater did not work in the house. We called and asked if we were doing something wrong. They said that they would send someone over to fix it. When we got back from dinner the heater still didn't work, but the person they sent over took the space heaters out of the closet and put them on the dresser in each room. This was their fix. We turned on the heaters in 2 of the bedrooms where the kids were going to sleep. The circuit breaker tripped. All the bedrooms are on the same 15 amp circuit along with other things. Not one heater would run without the breaker tripping. We used 100 in firewood in 2 days to heat the place. Not grocery store bundles but from the firewood place (tree service). Total about 1/3 of a cord of wood. We did call again that night, they said they would send someone over but they didn't show. The best part was the lady on the phone from 5 star vacation rentals told us if we were to cold we could leave and go to a hotel. That was their fix- again. Really poor service. I would be very disappointed in this company if I was the home owner.