First, allow me to say I am all about complimenting when it is due and about being fair and honest in reviews. This extremely small one room efficiency cannot be referred to as “entire place” in the ad, and it is so small; there is no privacy at all. If you aren’t married, forget privacy! The bedroom is not a bedroom, but out in the open with the couch and TV. If you are okay with this, then good. Furniture and bedding is old and musty and we struggled with our first impressions but, I digress.
This condo is owned by a person who owns several units in the complex (not uncommon I am sure) and only managed by Susana. Susana is very quick to respond, but does not understand good customer service. From day one, we had communication issues and she never bothered to come by. When a property is listed under a name, you expect that person to be your main contact.
First, the condo was not clean at all and I questioned whether the floors had even been cleaned. The door jams were dirty (pictures attached) and I felt like a good cleaning was needed. The entire place was in need of a fresh coat of paint. The first day I noted this and then when going to shower, found only one washcloth and two towels. This for two individuals who would need to shower daily for a six night stay! We immediately went out and bought washcloths. Susana offered to send some claiming the maid forgot only after we had already purchased some. Two towels were hanging in the bathroom and two more were in the top shelf of a dusty, musty closet that I didn’t want to touch… The patio was nice to sit out on and drink our coffee. The first night we were exhausted from our travel and went straight to bed. We tried to use the internet, but could not access it. Again, great text messages from Susana repeating the passwords, etc. and then sending her “partner” over to reconnect it. Yes, we know how to use passwords and access the internet but, since we had just arrived, we did not think to check out all the equipment and connections. While he was there, we asked about ice / icemaker and his response was, “there are ice trays and this is not a hotel”.
Day 2: We used the shower and water only came out at we both considered a dribble. For three days, we communicated with Susana about this, however she did not come to check it out (only sending text messages arguing with us about whether it was normal or not). Trust me, this shower did not spray enough water for me to shower and remove soap from our bodies, let alone wash our hair. The second day, we tried again and the same thing. We spoke to others in the complex and it was not a water pressure issue as the sinks in both the kitchen and bathroom were fine. She offered to send “her partner” again, but never bothered to show up to check herself. We tried to take a video, but honestly since they own several units, a video could have been taken from any one of the showers in other units and I didn’t think it would be necessary to prove this. Yes, water flowed, but not enough to shower. We are older and have experienced real showers including rain shower heads. From the first complaint, Susana offered the option immediately to find other lodging. After lugging everything up the stairs and unpacking (trying to make the best of this place), we did not relish a move to another property and didn’t think we would be able to find on on a weekend. Finally, after complaining and communicating with her for 3 days on Friday morning, we determined to move and packed up all our luggage and moved. Susana then promised to come by at 10:45 a.m. and immediately reminded us the policy was to check out at 10:00 a.m. so they could prepare the unit for the next renters! We never met her at all. With it being the weekend, we ended up paying premium rates and after traveling 11 hours to Maui, I just wanted to finally begin to enjoy our stay with something fundamental---a good shower. I did not want to deal anymore with Susana’s text messages. She said a refund would be “immediate”. However, after asking more questions, Susana stated she only knew policies on the owner side (not the guest side)after which I encouraged her to familiarize herself with both sides if she was going to be a host. By the time, she visited at 10:45, we were long gone, doing our best to abide by the policies. After we left, she questioned the parking pass, threatening to charge of the $100 fee if it was not returned and we told her the instructions were to leave it hanging on the door which we did. She sent us a final email indicating there was nothing wrong with the shower head and that it was fine. I’m sure we made this up and wanted to move out… We travel all over the world and never experienced this. In my opinion, this happens when the actual owner isn’t present or cares about customers. I would question the way this place is advertised. Location was great!