Worst AirBNB Experience.
I don’t even know where to start with this experience. The communication with the host was extremely misleading and unprofessional, the unit was absolutely filthy (especially horrifying in the middle of a pandemic), the unit was only one room and not two as advertised, and this was not a beachfront unit, but only had a view of the ocean (the view is gorgeous and it’s the only thing this place had going for it).
Concerning the cleanliness, we arrived and were absolutely shocked at the condition. The bedding smelled moldy and old, there was literally hair on the bathroom countertops, the dishes and utensils had food stuck to them… it was very obvious the unit had not been professionally cleaned, which is especially shocking given a $500 service fee for cleaning! We couldn’t believe our eyes. We had to go, get our own cleaning supplies, disposable plates and cutlery, and even bedding to feel comfortable in the unit. I really can’t stress how disgusting this was. We were in complete shock and so disappointed. Especially since we booked this unit for a month.
Secondly, for a major part of our stay, the dryer in the unit did not work. This was one of the main reasons we chose this unit over others is that there was an in unit washer/dryer which would have been perfect for the length of our stay. A week in, the dryer broke, and after having to wait a half a day for a handyman to come and take a look, we were told it would be a week before the necessary parts would arrive. On top of that, the TV didn’t work and multiple lights were out in the unit, meaning we had to constantly call the handyman and wait for them to fix these issues as if we were house sitters more than on vacation. It was very time consuming and extremely frustrating that the unit was not in the condition advertised before we arrived.
Next, and one of the largest disappointments - this unit is NOT two rooms. There is one bedroom with a closing door, and a second room that has NO privacy. There is a curtain that hangs that does not latch shut, and constantly blows up and out because the doors/windows have to be left open (as there is no AC) - this means that for whoever is staying in the second bedroom, there will be no privacy. It is incredibly deceptive to advertise this as a two bedroom unit, and we were so disappointed with the lack of privacy.
Finally, the unit is advertised as beach front. While there is a lovely ocean view, there is no beach. The tide comes right up to a stack of sandbags, and even then, there is no beach access at all from the unit. You have to walk a minimum of ten minutes on a road with no sidewalk to actually have contact with the water. Again, the way the unit was described was just so inconsistent with what we actually got.
When we told our host of our issues, she reassured us repeatedly that we would be refunded for the inconveniences. However, when the time actually came, she didn’t even refund us for the full cleaning fee, let alone for all of the other issues and misrepresentations we had to deal with during our stay.
It also would have been nice for the listing to give guests a heads up on the horrendous non-stop construction on lower-honoapiilani road right in front of the condo building making it extremely annoying to come in and out of the parking garage - not to mention the NOISE. Instead of ocean sounds, all we could hear for a majority of the days was the beeping and banging of loud construction machinery.
Overall, this was the worst experience I have ever had with an AirBNB - In general, the places are as described and the hosts are so accommodating when an issue comes up. Here, we were lied to about a unit we were staying in for an entire month (and couldn’t change once we saw the condition), told we would be compensated, and lied to when the time to pay us back actually came. 0 stars. Could not be more disappointed, and I hope the host learns not to lie to the next guests of this unit. I was really hoping she would make things right.