May 2011

Jean,

It is Mrs Underwood here. Just wanted to say thank you very much for the personal attention and help you gave us whilst staying at your lovely house. We absolutely loved the FLorida Keys and I am sure we will one day return.

I have just written a long post on my blog (see address below my name) with an account on how special this holiday has been. I hope you like it and please do leave a comment on the site if you feel inclined to do so.

Thanks for everything.

M. Underwood-London, England

January 12, 2011

"Gecko house Christmas 2010"

We have been coming to the keys for 20 + years for the holidays. This was the cleanest unit we have stayed in. Location is optimal. The owner went above and beyond to satisfy our every need. We would and will stay again.

Marge

February 22, 2011

"unforgettable"

we have quite possibly found the perfect place to stay. you can walk out your door and walk for 1 to about 15 miles without leaving key colony. you can golf, play tennis, swim, fish, off the pier in your back yard or on one of the many charter boats, bask in the warmth of the wonderful florida sun, walk to breakfast, lunch, dinner- dancing, and the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. and above all else, the coldest day here was at least 45 to 55 degrees warmer than back home in indiana.

Dec 2, 2010

"Can't wait to go back next year"

We have stayed at Gecko House for many trips and look forward to going back every year. The house is clean, comfortable and well equipped. The owner is great to work with and is constantly making upgrades. This year among other things, she added a new luxurious King size memory foam bed in the master suite. You can watch dolphin play in Shelter Bay out the window or from the shady hammock. There's plenty of dock space right on the bay, no crowded canal to deal with. There is quick easy access to the atlantic Ocean or Florida bay, or fish right off the dock. You won't regret a stay at Gecko House.

R.Sallas

August 15, 2010

"Paradise in the Keys..."

We stayed for a week at the Gecko House with another couple (4 adults total). Our experience there was beyond excellent. From the initial contact/making the reservations until checkout on day of departure, our time could not have been better. The house was well-appointed with comfortable furniture and beds, plenty of family room seating. The kitchen was also well stocked with the necessary items for a week stay. The best part, of course, was the outside area including the dock and boat slip. If you've ever been to the Keys before, you know that a must is being able to keep your boat in the water during your stay. The house is a short boat ride to the open atlantic where clear, azure blue water awaits. We can't wait to go again next year and would highly recommend this for for either families or an adult weekend.

Donna

Barn Light Electric Company

July 2010

Jean

My husband and I had awonderful stayat the Gecko House last week. The comfortable beds,the well equipped kitchen, the priceless wide water views on Shelter Bay and gorgeous Inch Beach made this vacation probably the best ever. You are very fortunate to own this piece of paradise!

Thanks,

LuAnne and Ron

June 2010

Jean,

I don't think I have talked to you since, but we had the fishing trip of a lifetime while staying at the Gecko House a couple weeks ago... In short, we caught piles of dolphin (very few peanuts), some tuna, wahoo and my boat landed 3, I repeat 3 blue marlin!!! I have attached some pics for you! Thank you for returning our deposits so fast... I already gave Mike Cleaveland his $50 ;) Expect our call in early January, as we intend to do it all over again. Same approx. time, same bat channel!!!

Your neighbor helped us out by letting uskeep a boat/trailer in his driveway on our last night, before a very early departure... We left him some fish too! What a gentleman!!!

Todd

April 2010

We have been vacationing at Gecko House for many years and love it. We stay in one side of the duplex and my sister's family joins us staying in the other side. Very nice, well equipped accomodations with beautiful sunset views over Shelter Bay from the hammock. Spacious dock for multiple boats with plenty of room to get the boat turned in to the dock. (No crowded narrow canal to manuever around in.)

Safe, convenient waterfront location with quick easy access to the Atlantic Ocean or Florida Bay as well as nearby marina services.

Our thanks to Jean, the owner, she's great to work with and is continually making upgrades to make our stay better every year.

November 2009

Jean!

We loved our week at Gecko House. Although Ida was stirring up the seas some, we still were able to get some scuba in. Gecko House is perfect, and we did a lot of fishing right off the dock. Book us again for the same week next year!

Rachel & Lisa W. - Ohio

July 2009

Hi Jean,
Our friends rented one side and we rented the other-we had such a wonderful time! The Gecko House was just perfect. We couldn't have asked for anything more.Except maybe more fish LOL. The guys only caught one out on the boat. My husband's parent's drove down for a couple of days to surprise him for his 40th birthday. It really shocked him. I haven't been able to forward any pictures yet, because I still have to download them to my computer :) .

Thanks again for everything!
T McLane

July 20, 2009

Here are some pics---I'll send a few more in another email.
Thanks again Jean!!
We will be in touch soon to plan for next year's trip :)

Thanks & Have a great day!
Darri

Note from Jean: See more great photos from Dari throughout the website

June 24, 2009

Hi Jean..

Well we had a wonderful time, would have loved to stay another 2 weeks..but oh well
must come back to work. Hope you enjoy these pics.
As we spoke I would love to be penciled in for both sides next year:



Thank you again,
Sharon & Big Al

June 1, 2009

Jean...

I'm attachingsome of the pictures we took while enjoying a wonderful week at Gecko House. We were fortunate enough to meet Earl the day before we left. What a sweet man! Again, thank you so much for accomodating our stay!

Tracey and Logan

April 20, 2009

And from 5 year old Andie...

Jean,

Please feel free to use her note. She actually cried when we had to leave. Was so sad to come home (me too!!)

We truly enjoyed our stay. I think this was one of the best vacations we've ever had!!!

Thanks again for everything!

Barbara

July 26, 2007

Jean,

Our sincerest gratitude for allowing us to stay at the Gecko House for a magical week in the Keys! We had such a wonderful week together with our friends the Smiths. We are hoping to get our calendars out very soon to plan for next year. Your house is great, the view of the cove was amazing and everything about our stay was perfect. I have so many photos to download yet and will send them in the next email.

Thank you again for everything. Please let us know if there’s anything else you might need. I’ll get some photos to you in the near future and we very much look forward to booking again for next summer!

Our best regards and thanks,

D & V Hoffman

Jan 29, 2007
Dear Jean,

Just wanted you to know how much we have appreciated the excellent accommodations that you have provided us in our two previous visits to the Gecko House. You and your staff have certainly made sure that everything has been in tip-top shape upon our arrival and that our visits were both enjoyable and relaxing. You have made us feel special with your attention to our visit and the wonderful upkeep that your property receives.

Without a doubt, one of the highlights of our visits to Gecko House has been the wonderful sunsets that occur there on Shelter Bay. It is such a wonderful way to cap-off a fun day of vacationing in the Keys. We are now looking forward to another week this summer at the Gecko House. Maybe we will get lucky with the Wahoo’s again, if not we will at least know that our accommodations will be a sure thing. Here’s one of our favorite sunsets with the friend that is always begging for handouts while we are cleaning our daily catch.

Regards
Charlie, Matt and Tommy Novak (soon to be 3-timers)
Georgia

Hello Jeanie,

I just wanted to drop you an e-mail to let you know how much I enjoyed my stay at your Gecko house from April 29th to May 12th 2006.

Everything was perfect. The house was clean and updated and in excellent condition. The boat dockage was superb. The location was perfect, and of course the fishing was great.

I attached a photo of one of the better days catch from the humps.

Thank you for your excellent service. I am looking forward to my next stay at the Gecko House.

Regards,
John M.

May 2006

Hi Jean,

We once again had a wonderful time in the Keys during our stay at the Gecko House on Shelter Bay. It is a lovely location and you keep up the place so well that it such a pleasure to vacation there. As I think I told you years ago, we used to haul half our kitchen for our short stays in the keys until we found your place.

It was special this year being able to share the Keys experience with our nephew, Cory and brother-in-law, Dave Casey. They had never been to the Keys before and thoroughly enjoyed it. We made the most of the three windy days they shared with us, fishing at night from the docked boat (and catching big nurse sharks each night), trolling and bottom fishing on the reef the first day before the winds picked up to 20-25mph, a trip to Big Pine where they saw Key deer, and then an action-packed day on the Gulf side where we caught a variety of snappers, groupers, houndfish, sharks, and Spanish and cero mackerels. After the Caseys left that first week, the weather improved and Dennis and I got out fishing on the ocean and Gulf sides and also fit in three snorkeling trips that were spectacular.

It was a bit of a shock to be immersed in a week of work after two weeks of having nothing to decide except how many chums and bags of ice we needed to fish each day. At least we have good memories that have not faded and pictures to remind us of those good times in the Keys.

Thanks for all you do that contributes to a well-maintained unit, beautiful property, and personalized, professional vacation rental service. We are already looking forward to our next visit and maybe will explore the possibility of coming one fall, as you suggested.

Have a great rest of the year,

Wendy and Dennis

Hello Jean,
Just a note to let you know we had a great time as guest of the Gecko House. You have done a great job of making it very comfortable. We had no problems of any size and all enjoyed their time in the Keys very much. We would be interested in reserving again for next year. We are thinking about August 1 thru 10. Let me know what your thoughts Take care and talk to you soon.
Glen
Glen, New York

What a wonderful week we spent in paradise! The rental property was comfortably furnished and we also had location, location, location. The amenities provided by the owner were greatly appreciated. We'll be back!
Anonymous

I have enjoyed staying here and I also at others in Key Colony. This has one of the best views and very well maintained. So I'm coming back again this year for 3 weeks. Thanks for renting to me.
Cindy , Gibraltar, Michigan

Note from Jean:
It will be Cindy's 6th year staying at Gecko House this winter.

Jean,

I wanted to drop you a note and tell you how awesome our vacation was. We stayed 840 side from 5/22-29. The place was perfect for me and 3 friends. Extremely clean and extremely convenient to any kind of fishing we wanted to do. We chose to primarily run offshore and chase dolphin. Here is a pic we took when leaving the dock, and here is a pic of what the neighbors got to see when we returned to dock. The third pic is of me holding my record dolphin, 55 lbs.

I will definitely be going back to your place.

Sincerely,

Richard Konefal

Note from Jean:
See Rick's trophies under "Grouper Hall of Fame" page

June 20, 2004

Hi Jean,
Just wanted to let you know how much we (Dennis, me and Calli) enjoyed our stay in your place once again this year. We returned to SC yesterday afternoon after splitting the drive over two days. The weather was the best we've ever experienced during the two weeks we were in the Keys and we fished somewhere everyday. Fishing was very good on the ocean and gulf sides. One of the more exciting catches was a 50 pound class galiath grouper that released itself alongside the boat on our first day fishing. We also did a little snorkeling for the first time, used the kayaks to explore a few places, and enjoyed eating fresh fish dinners of dolphin, grouper and snapper. We appreciate your good taste in furnishing the unit and I especially appreciate the well equipped kitchen. The yard and view is also very special. Returning to the office today was not easy and we are having to adjust to sitting behind a desk and staring at computer screens instead of baiting lines and enjoying that Keys blue-green water.

Thanks again for your wonderful attention to detail that really enhances the place and added to our vacation experience.

Have a great summer,
Wendy and Dennis

Note from Jean:
See Wendy & Dennis's trophy grouper on the "Fish Tales Hall of Fame" page. Wendy, Dennis & Calli 's next stay will be their third 2 week stay at Gecko House.