This one is tricky, because basically this property is a sure 5 star. But our stay was tainted by many setbacks some of which were handled by the agency but with one big issue which could have been avoided if the agency had been more honest about what to expect.
The good things first:
The house is located perfectly with the view of the mountains to one side and partial sea view to the other. The pictures on the listing is what you get, and the pool area is beautiful and a much needed oasis in he heat after a day at the beach. The house itself is spacious and has a great layout. We stayed 6 people and never lacked privacy.
The nearby beach is quiet and you can rent nice sun beds for €12 a day. The restaurant and beach bar KUALOA is absolutely amazing with superb food and a very cool vibe. Very far from the touristic restaurants that otherwise are the norm.
The not so good:
During our 7 nights we encountered a few issues with the house. The pool pump ran dry for almost two days which made the water a bit murky and somehow caused power outages in the whole house then it went on a timer. We contacted the agency and they sent out a pool guy who fixed it. He also added chlorine to the pool which it also seemed to lack.
One night we woke up with water dripping on our heads from the a/c. We contacted the agency who sent out a friend of the owner and he was super polite and cleaned out a lot of dirt from the filter and the next day he returned with a specialist who cleaned the drainage pipe which altogether fixed the problem. This stuff happens and we can’t complain about how this issue was solved.
But along with our main problem it all added up to a list of issue that tainted our stay in a quite negative way.
The big issue:
When we arrived at the house there was no water at all and we called the agency who told us, that it was a general issue in the area. We didn’t see it as a big issue at this time since we thought it would be a one off. Not being able to flush the toilets or shower is not ideal, though. The agency suggested we use pool water to rinse the toilets.
The next morning we had water and felt relieved. However, this was not a one off. We encountered this several times and we later learned that the area has issues with its water supply. Had we known this in advance, we would either have rented another house or prepared mentally for the periods with no water. Two evenings we were planning to cook but had to abort. Several times we carried pool water from the garden to avoid the smell of old toilet during the night. A few times the kids and the women in the family experienced starting a shower and putting shampoo in their hair but had to finish with bottled water.
Since this seems to be a general issue in the otherwise very nice area, the agency could avoided our struggles and frustrations by communicating honestly in advance.
That way, we would had had the ability to prepare and I would have been able provide a 5 star review which the property deserves in most other areas.
But I have to conclude by warning coming guests about the water outages. Have buckets of water ready and test the supply before you shower.
And if you choose to stay in this property, I hope you’ll have wonderful vacation.