Window Cleaning at Contessa at Bay Colony. Inside glass. Balcony sliders.

Contessa was built by WCI Communities in 1991 at 8111 Bay Colony Drive, inside the gated Bay Colony neighborhood of Pelican Bay. Local condo guides describe 76 residences: four per floor on the standard floors and two per floor on the penthouse levels, every one with a direct Gulf view. Plans range from about 2,125 to 3,027 square feet, each with a den. A 19th-floor listing describes Gulf views to the west over Vanderbilt Beach and city views to the east, so many homes here have important glass on both sides.

The four plans

Residence 01 is the largest, a three-bedroom-plus-den layout of about 3,027 square feet. Residence 02 is a two-bedroom-plus-den of roughly 2,125 square feet, residence 03 a two-bedroom-plus-den of about 2,297, and residence 04 a three-bedroom-plus-den of about 2,626. If you give us your residence number, we already know roughly how many rooms open onto the Gulf and which plan you are in, and the written quote can be accurate before we ever ring the bell.

West glass and east glass

The Gulf side of Contessa takes the salt. Sea breeze leaves a fine film on the lanai doors and windows every day, and afternoon sun bakes it on. The east side faces inland toward Pelican Bay and the city, and there the problem is different: pollen in spring, dust and the occasional storm streak. We treat the two sides differently, with more rinsing and track work on the west and a lighter touch on the east, and we time the visit so the Gulf glass is done when the sun is not shining straight onto it, which avoids fast drying and streaks.

A building of more than thirty years

Contessa has stood since 1991, and over three decades owners have renovated kitchens, replaced doors and in many cases upgraded to newer windows. Inside one residence we may find original sliders beside newer impact units, each with different frames, coatings and track designs. Before cleaning we identify each type, test our method on a small area and choose tools that will not scratch coated or laminated glass. Where we see clouded insulated panes, worn rollers or tired sealant, we note it for you to pass to the association or your contractor.

The den and the in-between rooms

Every Contessa plan includes a den, and in many homes it has become an office, a media room or a guest room with its own window. Hall baths and laundry areas sometimes have small windows too. We include all of them on the checklist so the quote counts every pane, not just the big Gulf-facing ones.

Seasonal leases and long absences

Contessa limits owners to two leases a year with a 90-day minimum, so most homes are either lived in by the owner or rented for a full season. Either way, there are often long stretches when nobody is home and salt sits on the glass. A visit just before you or your tenant arrives, and another after departure, keeps the haze from building through summer.

Beach Club days

Contessa sits within walking distance of the Bay Colony Beach Club, which offers attended beach service to members, and of the Ritz-Carlton. Walking back from the sand brings fine grit and sunscreen onto hands, towels and chairs, and both end up on the lanai doors and in their tracks. We clean the tracks fully first so grit is not dragged across the glass while we work.

What the association handles

We clean everything reachable from inside the home and from your own lanai: interior glass, both faces of the lanai sliders, lanai railing glass if your home has it, plus frames, tracks and sills. Outer faces of fixed windows on a tower are cleaned from ropes or a platform under the association’s own contract, and we leave that to them.

Getting in

Bay Colony is gated and Contessa has a staffed front desk. We email our certificate of insurance to the building manager before the first visit, ask to be put on the gate list for the day, and follow the building’s rules on contractor hours, elevators and parking. If you are away, the front desk or your home watch company can let us in.

Between visits

Wipe the lanai door handles and lower glass with a damp microfiber cloth and dry them, keep chair legs and planters a little away from the glass and vacuum the slider track now and then.