We gave this property an overall 3.5-4 stars. Manny, and then Liz, were excellent communicators from booking and pre-travel through check-out. Very kind and professional, I wish all hosts were as such.
The house was clean and an appropriate size for our family vacation which included 6 adults and one 3-year-old for a week. The kitchen and outdoor barbecue made it easy to prepare basic meals for our family. A small in-cabinet dishwasher was a nice feature to make daily cleanup a snap. The jewel of this property is the backyard and lanai. The perfect spot to take in your morning cup of coffee or tea, or to sit and listen to the crashing waves in the evening under the string of lights fastened to the overhead canopy. A cute gate provides easy access to the beach to view tide pools or hunt for shells and coral (which you cannot keep but it's still fun to hunt for them). The air conditioning units and ceiling fans in the living room and bedrooms were lifesavers after returning from a day of exploring. However, the furniture throughout the property could use some updating for the comfort of the guests.
We were unable to give it a full five stars because we found that we overpaid for the property due to some drawbacks that were really out of the hosts control but they were surely aware of. I will not go into deep detail here, as we also have a travel blog and we will delve deeper into the details there. It is safe to say that the surrounding neighborhood and town have seen better days. There is a prevalence of homeless camps on just about every beach we came across, and a very sad and noticeable drug epidemic among the inhabitants of the camps. It is important to note that minus a minor interaction with one woman while walking to one such beach, these people pretty much kept to themselves and did not approach us, though my daughter's boyfriend did get hit up for money a couple of times when running to the convenience store (but you can get than anywhere). There is an obvious police presence in the area which is both good and bad.
There is also a separatist movement of which many locals in the area support and thus gives off an intimidating atmosphere for tourists who may be in the area. There was a full on parade & demonstration while we were there of about 40-50+ vehicles complete with flags and blaring horns which intentionally flooded Farrington Hwy from Waianae to Makaha (which we watched from the house) for about an hour or so one evening. Though Manny's property is truly a little treasure, the area that encircles his little piece of paradise tarnishes and devalues it. It is really unfortunate because he really cares about providing a lovely experience for his guests. If these issues are of no import to you, then you may find the value unchanged. For us, the feeling of safety and security while on vacation is an essential component of a relaxing and pleasurable experience.