First the good news: This unit is located in an older ocean-front condo development called Kuleana. It’s a condo (not a full service resort) in a convenient area of West Maui. Google “Excellent base location for West Maui” and you’ll read my general review of the Kuleana development, general location and area tips posted on TripAdvisor. I read the writeup and reviews for this specific condo unit on Airbnb, sounded good, and proceeded. Owner was very prompt and responsive to my enquiry and subsequent booking, and also provided some tips on the area.

Now the bad news: while the general location was great, this particular ground level unit was a bit of a disappointment. My comments are generally in line with those of reviewer Lisa listed below, a review which was posted subsequent to our booking and we only saw after our return. The listing description is over the top, it is nice but certainly not a luxury condo, nor is it maintained as such. On our arrival there were light bulbs burned out or empty sockets, threadbare bath mat, bathroom drawers and medicine cabinet in poor and unclean condition and certainly not something we’d put our own personal items into. So our initial impression was a letdown. Most of the unit is in good condition, but it is also quirky, with various lighting controls, motorized blinds, and other controls which are a challenge to sort out. There is a small half-height not full size fridge, and the microwave is combined with the oven, and which requires bending over or getting down on your knees to use. There was an old standard CD/DVD player (not BluRay). We were unable to use it, couldn’t turn it on via remote or even front panel, and assume that the problem was perhaps due to all the other wiring quirks in the unit. You will receive an extensive book of rules and instructions on how to use anything in the condo, which was helpful but also a bit over the top. There is no AC in this or most other condo units in the Kuleana, but the fans and ventilation instructions kept things reasonably comfortable in October. During our stay we reported our observations to the owner for the benefit of future guests, she seemed interested but not unduly concerned. We stayed at three other Airbnb locations as well around the island during our extended stay, and so have a pretty good basis for comparison. While we might return to the Kuleana which we enjoyed, we would not to this particular unit.