We really wanted a stay that situated us super close to a wonderful beach, and Rising’s place delivered that in spades. The Kamaole I beach park across the street gave us our very first Kihei sunset just 5 minutes outside our door, and the stretch of road out front leads to so many delicious, well-rated food spots within minutes of the condo. Her home is also very clean with comfortable bedding and furniture, and the kitchen was awesome with its wealth of home comforts. We appreciated the ample fridge space, kitchen wares, in-unit washer/dryer combo, and overall security of the home. The complex feels very well-maintained and safe.
There were some matters we wished we knew would be larger issues during our stay: the air conditioning and the wifi. The listing makes it clear that the AC must be given a chance to cool the home down the first several hours after entry. Unfortunately, with the AC unit located near floor level in the living room, it simply does not have the ability to help cool the bedroom, which is down on the other end of the condo and just too far away. While ceiling and desk fans were appreciated, they simply ended up only moving the hot air around, and we wrestled with the heat and humidity in the bedroom each night despite having the AC on for the vast majority of our stay. We eventually gave in and slept the last couple nights on the living room floor. Kihei is a toasty area, so AC was a major selling point for us on this trip.
We had some frequent connectivity issues with the condo wifi. We were able to pull up email on our phones, but loading mobile apps like Yelp and TripAdvisor was an intermittent struggle. Streaming shows or movies via Netflix/Hulu/Peacock on our tablet or phones was especially hit-or-miss. Rising was very quick to try and help by having us reset the modem/router, but the connectivity issues resumed within the hour. The wifi also only reaches the living room and kitchen areas. Connection dropped off our iPhones and other devices any time we headed into the bedroom. Just understand you probably need to stay in or near the living room area to do anything online.
We had some hiccups with check-in, as our lock code was apparently sent to another unrelated guest upon notice of our arrival. However, we were able to call Rising and retrieve the code, and we had no other issues with access during our stay.
Rising returned our communication whenever we reached out and was always polite and welcoming, and we were happy to have her as a host. We hope our feedback helps Rising and her co-host Pat smooth over our issues for future guests, and also helps inform others in the short term, so that expectations are kept in check. Vacation time to a place like Maui is both precious and costly for most people, and we appreciate when a home away from home delivers on everything that’s promised.