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Top > United States > Hawaii 
| Vacation Rental Complaints |
| 3. |
Paniolo Hale K1
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Property manager double-booked the unit I reserved, so that when I came to pick up the key, it had another person booked there. Ray Miller, owner of Friendly Isle Realty, was defensive, made every effort to blame me (even though Friendly Isle had cashed my deposit check three months earlier and I had a record of the booking for that date). Ray refused cover the difference for providing a comparable unit in the same complex from a competitor. He did provide an alternative accommodation which was much smaller, far less atmospheric, and did not suit our needs for Thanksgiving weekend. He never apologized for the mess-up, and rather blamed me, the other customer who booked the unit, and his staff.
Date Added: Nov 29, 2007
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| 4. |
Sunset Beach Cottage- North Shore Oahu
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The property was poorly maintained and somewhat dirty (there was no actual doors on the cottage only fly screen and therefore when it was windy the cottage would fill with dirt and dust). There were missing shutters on the windows making it difficult to keep clean and dry at times of wind and rain. The cottage was not lockable. The bathroom was of an extremely poor standard- it was unclean filled with dirt and dust, ants nests, animal poop, and it was very open and not private…it was what I would expect of an old camping ground. The kitchen facilities were very basic consisting of a few appliances and dishes in the corner and I found these to be only useful for heating things up but not for cooking as such. The location of this property was OK. It was about a few minutes walk to sunset beach, but unlike the description there were no visible shots of the beach as the cottage is located at the bottom of a hill surrounded by trees making ocean views impossible. There were an extremely large amount of mosquitoes, ants, spiders, geckos and other living creatures in and around the cottage that no mosquito coils or insect repellant could rid.
Furthermore, we experienced a number of drainage issues where on several occasions we had sewerage flow out the shower drain when the toilet was flushed in the bathroom or sink emptied in the kitchen. The owner fixed this each time but blamed our use of the facilities for it…even though there was no improper use on our behalf whatsoever?
The cottage did not feel safe or secure for us. There were no locks on the cottage, there were no curtains on the cottage and the bathroom was very open. Whilst the cottage was located in a secluded spot we still didn’t feel it was safe or private enough… the last straw was when we were shocked to find one morning someone else using our bathroom! This of which the owner flat out denied.
We had booked the property for 6 weeks and after 3 decided to move as we did not find the cottage, clean, safe or comfortable …which is all that we expect in accommodation. The owner was not pleasant to deal with when we made the decision and he refused to reimburse any money unless he was able to re-rent the cottage, which of course did not happen.
We suggest that before booking this rental that you seek further photographs (specifically of the kitchen and the bathroom and the areas surrounding the cottage) and a clear description of what you should expect of the cottage (we were told there a tv and dvd player in there…but alas there was not) to ensure that it suits you and your needs. We were charged a lower rate for a the 6 week booking (working out to be approximately $75USD p.n when it is usually $125 USD p.n)) and we still felt this was too much, especially considering the other accommodation in the surrounding area for a similar price. We were able to find nice places close by for the same amount and were of a much greater standard. We would not recommend this property.
Date Added: Dec 9, 2007
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| 8. |
Kahuna Vacation Rentals Hawaii - AVOID - IT IS VERY COMPLICATED TO EXPLAIN THE FULL STORY
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1). Unnecessary middleman: When I arrived the 1700 Ala Moana Ave., Aqua Marina Hotel, the clerk told me I could directly book from Aqua Marina Hotel without unnecessary commission.
2). Careless clerk: careless typo made a lot of unnecessary communication and unecessary payments
3). Inducing language: Kahunarentals would not directly answer my questions for sensible key information, but he would tell me something else to later fight back. He later told me I should have figured out myself.
4). Duplicate charge: Kahunarentals will tell me that the hotel did not charge him, the middleman, the prepayment I made to Kahunarentals. I paid the prepayment to Kahunarentals, and Kahunarentals should have paid to the Aqua Marina Hotel a portion of the amount as room charges. Apperantly, Kahunarentals did not do so. Therefore, he called me and ask me to pay te full amount on the counter and promised me for refund.
5). Hustle in Refund: Kahunarentals never said it would not refund me, but it put out many excuses to lag the refund time and to reduce the refund amount.
6). Kahunarentals made the process very complicated, and I believe this is why not a lot of complains about it. However, I do want to provide necessary information relating to my experience. My advise for you is to avoid Kahuna Rentals and Bill Birmingham. I hope he still has peace in his heart, but his business is definitely not what you want to be involved in.
May the perfect deal reaches you! Have a great trip in Honolulu!
Date Added: Oct 29, 2008
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| 10. |
Lots of little problems... Ants and Ants and Ants, Oh my!!!!
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I do want to start off by saying that Suzie, the manager of the property, was nice to work with and very helpful in giving suggestions about things to do. We planned a much awaited Hawaiian cruise and stayed at Dolphin manor for 3 nts after the cruise. I chose this home because of the "view of the ocean from each bedroom" as I was told. The house is large and the beds comfortable but the view that is seen from each bedroom is of the busy street directly outside and trees. When the leaves blow HARD, then one can see a peak of the ocean. In addition, the ad says "steps" to the beach- true but you do have to cross a very busy /only 2 lane road. Worst of all was the ANT INFESTATION that we were greeted with the minute we arrived.
The upstairs bathrooms had ants crawling out of the sink and around the countertops. They were the little tiny "sugar ants" as Suzie would call them but nonetheless when they are taking up residency in our toothbrushes and drinking cups, so I don't care what they are. We also found (literally) hundreds of them DAILY in the kitchen. Before we knew about the infestation we had bought a pack of pastries and had them (in the box) on the counter. The next day the ants COVERED the pastries.
Also, when we arrived, we decided to run a load of dishes.
I sat the clean dishes on the counter to put them away and when I returned later, the little guys scampered from my plates, cups etc. I did immediately call Suzie and she said they were there because the people before us let food sit out. Not sure if that is the case but whatever the reason, they were there and in full force. They were EVERYWHERE-in the bedrooms, in the bathrooms and in the kitchen. We had to put everything away which, quite honestly, when I am paying the exorbitant rental amount that I did, I don't really think it is fair to have to hide everything.
She even had the exterminator come and spray while we were gone one day(which left an inviting aroma, haha). The infestation was so bad that we literally had to get the food from the refrigerator, heat immediately and serve each person one at a time whenever we wanted to eat something. And you couldn't put your plate down because they were immediately on your plate.
One thing that I didn't appreciate was the fact that she assumed we brought the little critters from the boat, which she eluded to repeatedly. I highly doubt this because they were clearly calling out from under the backsplash from the sink and from the vanity in the bathrooms.
We were forced to store all of our 'goodies' /souveniers in the refrigerator. While we were packing, I took 2 bags of choc. chip cookies we had gotten in town (very expensive but delicious from Ch-p and Cooki-). I literally sat them on the counter for 5 minutes to pack our carry on and apparently the little ants decided they wanted to go home w/ us.
When we returned home, we found them in the cookie bag so we had to toss the 2 bags, after paying almost $10 for them. And we had to keep our suitcases outside since we were fearful that they would infest OUR home.
I did tell Suzie repeatedly about the ants and other than being told that I should look for the little ant bait and put it around (which did absolutely nothing), and having the exterminator out during our visit, nothing was done.
Dolphin Manor was beautiful but, hey, you are in Hawaii so the island is spectacular. If you don't mind sharing your toothbrush, plates, food, bedroom etc with hundreds and hundreds of little ants, this place is for you.
Date Added: Mar 20, 2009
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