This is my first Air BnB stay/experience that was not good. Pros were that the bed was very comfortable, the apartment was clean (there was one roach in the bathroom but that can be expected in a tropical environment), the shower was hot and the location was excellent next to the Hilo beaches.
Cons were that there is no lock to lock the apartment sliding door. There is a key to lock your room door but the living room area is open when you’re gone. The host said there use to be a key to the outside door but guests kept losing it. There are 2 doors that lead to the bedroom but only a key to one door. During my stay I locked myself out the wrong door which did not have a key. The host told me to use a screwdriver to try to get into the room that was kept in the living room because this had happened before with a few other guests. I was initially unsuccessful with opening the door this way. The host was very frustrated and told me she would be home in 3 hours to open the door. Next, there is a gate that you have to get out of your car when entering/exiting the property and manually open, drive through and then get out your car again and lock so if mobility is an issue for you, this could be a problem. Next, there is an outside washer/dryer unit next to where you park. I put clothes in it to wash thinking that it was part of the Airbnb. It is not. The host called me and yelled at me to tell me that this was their private washer and not for guests. I apologized because this was the first Airbnb that I had stayed in on the Big Island that did not have this available. Also there were 2 goats tied up to a tree on the property for a good part of my visit so if this bothers you then this is not a good place to stay. Lastly, the host was rude from the start. When I arrived she yelled at me from another building that the reservation was only for one person when she saw my family member carrying my luggage up the stairs. That was my very first interaction with her. I told her that my family member lived on the island and was only carrying my bag and not staying with me. There was no greeting or anything to welcome me except for that. When I left I received a message that the bathroom towels were missing. I bring and use my own towels when I travel which I informed the host who did send me a text to apologize when they saw the clean towels still in the hanging basket but for me just the accusatory tone of the text in addition to everything else made this stay completely unpleasant.