I want to start by saying thank you to Anthony publicly because he is an exemplary host. He is easy to communicate with and will do his best to attend to your needs.
We had a large party (9 adults and 2 kids) and he worked with our budget so we could spend the Labor Day weekend together.
We arrived in Hilo earlier than expected and unfortunately were not able to check in early because Anthony had to fix the pool slide from previous guests which we truly appreciated because we were looking forward to using the pool/slide!
The house consists of a two story home, 1 room by the garage with a 1 queen bed and equipped with a mini fridge. The garage comes with a pull out couch but we did not feel comfortable using it as a bedroom especially due to all the trash inside the garage.
The bottom floor consists of 2 bedrooms: 1 with a queen bed and 1 with two full beds. Also a coveted enclosed lanai with 1 queen bed. The downstairs common area has 1 full bathroom and 2 couches (not pull out) and 2 chairs. There’s also one small sink (bar sink).
Upstairs is a very large area with kitchen and dining tables and one half bathroom. The kitchen is equipped with pots and pans, coffee maker, microwave, blender, toaster, dishwasher. The fridge is rather quite old, wasn’t working properly or it was just too hot because it was constantly “sweating” and even the freezer wasn’t keeping ice cream frozen (I did not address the issue with Anthony).
The pool area is amazing, the slide is super fun, and there are floats available for you to chill. The jacuzzi was nice and hot for the late, chilly nights cruising outside.
Checking out was as easy as checking in and Anthony was very kind allowing us to do a late check out.
Downfalls:
1. NOT AIR CONDITIONING! Flying to Hilo during summer was not the best idea; we were sweating whenever inside the house. Cooking without AC was not very pleasant neither eating inside the house even though we had fans out (2 standing and two regular). The kitchen area has two ceiling fans but it’s definitely not enough.
2. NEIGHBOR! Our first day, we finally get to jump in the pool and before 6pm we hear someone screaming: SHUT UP! Let me tell you we had 4 adults in the pool and one 7 year old boy. We were laughing coming down the slide and just having a good time. (I did contact the property manager - Monique who advised us not to worry as long as we are not being loud after quite hours). Then on our last day around 10am he screams again: GO TO HELL. Mind you we were making no noise. We were cleaning and packing. Very rude and made us very uncomfortable.
3. ANTS! Ants everywhere! Kitchen, pool area. We had to hose the area around the pool so we could hand out.
4. STRAY CAT? Not sure if the cat hangs out around the property but one morning we came down from the kitchen to find the cat inside the house laying in the mat by the couch. (I did not address the issue with manager)
5. The description says there’s 2 bathrooms/half but in reality there’s one full bathroom downstairs (by the rooms) and a half bathroom upstairs (dining/kitchen area). There is another half bathroom by the pool area and a hot shower also by the pool area (open air).
6. As mentioned in the description there is a master suite upstairs but it’s not included unless you pay $200/night.
Overall we had a great time, and would love to stay there again but not having AC and the grumpy neighbor it’s a no no.