I was honestly disappointed. This is the first Airbnb where I am disappointed like this.
The host and her son were nice, the instructions were clear and the arrival went well. That said, I have worked in hospitality for 13 years and also I have had numerous guests at my house and I would never want them to feel bad, the way we did.
1) on the notes I printed and sent to me via email, it mentioned bugs. I figured mosquitos and maybe other tiny bugs like the ants in the kitchen. What we found in a week was:
- 6 brown and slimy centipedes.. imagine the horror when you wake up at night to pee. disgusting..
- 2 lizards (they were rather cute)
- one gigantic roach and one baby one in the middle of the living room - fun times
- maybe 500 mosquitos despite the fact we never left the door open
- ants in kitchen
2) Hawaii is a beach destination. People therefore, take a lot of showers. Plus: its humid.. so the towels don't dry well.. what that means is that when you want people to have a good time, you supply them with SEVERAL bathroom towels per person.. (especially when there is no laundry option). Instead, we were two people and we had each one towel for a week that never dried and smelled funky - not to mention there towels were WAY old and thin.. target is cheap and its a good investment to make when someone is hosting so much..! this was by far the worst thing for us.
3) I am all about rules but i found it very off putting that there were restrictions to the TIME we can take showers (not past 11pm). we paid basically $50 shy of $1000 for a week.. I understand that the house is on a reserve and i therefore made a big effort, along with my husband, to shower only for 2-3 minutes at a time and at most twice a day but usually only once BUT on top of that .. we were not allowed to take them after 11 pm! i found this a bit excessive.
4) Hawaii is HOT and humid. Not being able to leave the fan on all day, makes the arrival at night, really uncomfortable. I also find this cheap, with the amount we pay.. its not like its AC.. its a fan! i think that when you host people you have to accept that this may be a reality.. not threaten them to come downstairs and turn it off during the day. haha.. in that case, maybe you can also help to squash the bugs in our absence, or take the trash or perhaps fill up the drinking water thing.
5) the mosquito net was not clean when we asked for it. the host took care of it that day and we had it before nightfall but there were dead mosquitos in there that were trapped.. also it was not easy to put up since there was no hook we could add to the other hook on the ceiling.
6) when i leave homes, i usually collect our sheets and gather them all in one area. This is not a big deal to me.. but being TOLD to do it, was a little much.. and off putting again. My worst nightmare though, was to see how YELLOW the mattress protector was.. those are also cheap and on sales at target!! this is the basics of hygiene.
7) One TP role for a week is a little cheap. I read in the notes that the host sent us that for people that stay two weeks they need to buy additional roles for themselves. haha.. so what exactly do people pay for?! this is a pretty basic item.. !
8) the notes i printed from host said to take the trash out on our way.. this was also a bit much! i could understand being asked to place it on the driveway or something but really!? "take it to the rental car return?!" haha..
9) there was no paper towels. when squashing bugs, it would come in handy.. rather than using the TP that is in limited supply.
10) the gear is unusable (snorkeling/noodles) if you don't want to catch a disease. 1) its moldy 2) it was clearly not cleaned after the last people.. 3) it stays outside, where the bugs are! there was a fat roach right on top of the gear on one of the days! the only thing i did find helpful was the beach umbrellas . to say you have gear though, in that condition, is reaching far.. i also think its the type of thing that might require some repurchase every once in awhile.
11) i was excited to have this place because of the patio and view. instead.. because of the bugs and the not so clean/new furniture, we just stayed inside :(( could not enjoy outside.
12) we had a huge tub of water on our arrival which was nice.. but no one ever asked if we needed it refilled .. we ended up buying our own waters.
13) the sink in the bathroom does NOT work. we ended up brushing our teeth in the kitchen sink.
14) the rules were written all over the apartment and on the paper emailed to me. it was too many reminders, and not a very "kona state of mind". It borderline felt hostile, though of course, this was probably not the intent.
we were offered bug spray, which was nice.