Our stay here was a great experience! – not perfect, but great 👍
Pros of the stay:
The view –
Your view of the ridge Diamond Head is a part of is partially obstructed by a high rise as you look out your front windows, but there is still so much of it (including Diamond Head) that is completely visible. The view is such a treat! You wake up and look out on most of the crater's ridge and Diamond Head in front of you and the ocean and beach off to the right. It's also a Tremendous benefit being on the 32nd floor – you're in a city, so being too much lower would leave you without a view (unless you consider concrete skyscrapers a view, lol).
The location –
I'm not a big city guy, but I will say it was such a kick to walk out your door and be right in the action. The beach, convenience stores, a plethora of dining options, an active day-time and night-life strip – all within a 5min walk from your front door. If you're looking for that kind of scene, this is a perfect spot for it.
The layout and decor –
For being such a small condo (1bed/1bath at 500-ish ft²), the layout makes it feel oddly spacious; it's hard to describe. Sufficient to say, my family of 6 adults stayed here and, while it was a bit tight, it didn't feel like we were completely on top of each other – the color scheme and decor of the room, use of mirrors, and, of course, the wall of glass looking out to the mountains help this very small space feel very not small.
The amenities –
A full kitchen, window AC unit, pool, hot tub, and BBQ area made the condo a perfect fit for my family to enjoy homemade breakfasts before starting the day and have hang out areas in the evening before going to bed.
Cons of the stay:
Sleeping accommodations –
The condo is advertised as being able to sleep 6 with 2 beds (to sleep 4) and a couch bed (to sleep 2). This was not what we found. The "couch bed" was not what you typically might think of as a couch bed. The back folded down at an odd angle and made for an uneven, slanted surface that you felt you might roll off of if you weren't careful. Also, there's no way 2 adults could even consider sleeping on it – way too small. Thankfully there is a second, "non-couch-bed" couch that worked reasonably for my sister (5'4ft) to sleep on, but would have been way too short for me (6ft) or any of the rest of my family to sleep on. Sufficient to say this comfortably sleeps 4 and very technically sleeps 6. A simple remedy would be to replace that pseudo-couch-bed with an actual couch bed, but that's in the owner's hands and not currently the situation.
Fridge malfunction –
My family of 6 had planned on saving some money by buying food for breakfasts and some lunches/dinners for eating in. As the condo was listed with a full-sized fridge, we felt assured we could do that. However, the day after we arrived we awoke to find the $500 of food we'd purchased the day before to be lukewarm in the fridge and freezer. The entire unit was broken, and we had over $100 of spoiled food. This was incredibly inconvenient as our budget was contingent on being able to eat in from time to time. After contacting the agent, we were compensated for the spoiled food, and a mini fridge was dropped off at our condo the next day. The mini fridge held some of the food that was needed, and we were told a repairman would be sent out to fix the main unit so we could get all the necessary food chilled. We never heard back about a repairman. Not sure if it takes a long time on Oahu to get repairmen out for this kind of thing, but we definitely could have used a full fridge/freezer for the remainder of our stay.
Conclusion –
As said before, not a perfect stay, but still a great one. Communication wasn't perfect with the owner, but was great for 95% of matters needed (the missing 5% was the deal with the fridge repairman). The view wasn't perfect but was right up close to it. The amenities weren't 5-star but they were present and quite comfortable. Overall, we enjoyed our stay here very much, and look forward to coming back next year should the sleeping accomodations be fixed. The biggest changes necessary are replacing the fake couch bed with a true couch bed (to sleep 2) and ensuring the fridge is functional.
Until then, aloha!
– Chris