Five star views, two star lodging, one star host. I recommend you read before booking.
We booked Mike’s place for two nights as part of our honeymoon to Hawaii. Mike has a beautiful property in the jungle, just outside of Kona, with an amazing view of the ocean.
The brick and mortar of the lodging is nice, but the apartment has a faint odor we could only pinpoint as stale cigarette smoke. Additionally, each day during our stay, an elderly woman sat in her car outside all day with a clear view into the apartment window, giving a fishbowl feel.
The stale smell is not bad at all while in the apartment, with windows open and a constant ocean breeze. Unfortunately, when we arrived at our next stop and opened our suitcases, a very apparent smoke odor was stuck to all of the clothes in our suitcases (neither of us smoke).
I contacted Mike about the issue, and nicely asked for a $50-75 refund of our cleaning fee to pay for washing our clothes and dry cleaning for a couple of dresses. His response was absolutely rude, unnecessary, and terrible. The below portion of the review reflects on the character of the person that owns this place. As I cannot include screenshots in the review, I have copied and pasted the conversation Mike and I had addressing the issue.
Me:
“Good morning Mike, we got to our next spot and all of the clothes in our suit cases smelled really heavily of smoke. We noticed it faintly when we were in the apartment, but it definitely stuck on our clothes. We’d really like the cleaning fee back. Some additional compensation for dry cleaning would be nice as well, as Caitlin had some dresses that may be ruined if we do not get the smell out soon. So sorry to be a bother about this, it is just very noticeable and adds time to our trip.
We can do Venmo, zelle, or request through Airbnb. Whichever is easiest for you. Thank you.”
Mike:
“Upon reflection: no guest in over three years ever complained about smoke or odor. There are always fresh flowers in the room. You on the other hand took arduous hikes when surely you must have perspired. You did no laundry when you were here. I say you packed damp sweaty clothes and what you smell is you. The neoprene booties were on the window sill as reported. No money back, no laundry bills, kindly use your high IQ to sleuth out your smell. (It could be she). Please look at the logic of your assertions, that a damp smoky odor imbued your clothes while you stayed here. You better have proof.
Regards, Mike”
Disclaimers: We did not hike during our stay or have any neoprene booties which could have caused the odor. Neither my wife or I smoke. The dresses were brand new, never worn. We did not feel the need to do laundry during our two-day stay, and the dirty clothes did have were in a plastic bag.
These were the first two consecutive messages of our conversation. The abusive language continued from the host and I stopped responding.
Happy travels, all,
-Jordan