W A R N I N G
A surveillance detector picked up what might be a hidden listening device (a "bug") in an artificial plant right next to the bed in this unit.
We called the County Police; an officer came out and we filed a police report.
• Proceeding this unsettling issue, we arrived to the unit, and found stale-dated food and condiments in the refrigerator and freezer, much of it several months old (including fish and one item from 2015),
I messaged the Host ("Tommy") about this, and he replied to throw it out, which I did. This also necessitated cleaning up sticky messes in the fridge, then hauling this load of garbage out to faraway dumpsters. (Host Tommy claimed the refrigerator had been meticulously cleaned before our arrival, which was NOT true).
At the time of our booking, there were misleading statements & omissions in the Host's listing. This included not alerting guests that the TV won't work unless guests bring their own equipment to hook it up to (which we don't travel with) and that the "dedicated work space" had a door. Although there is a small student desk in a dark, unlit area of the loft, there is no "door" to close off the space, so any noise from the living area below was a distraction. Host Tommy then claimed that the lanai was a "dedicated work space" "with a door". The lanai has a high bar table with a small diameter tabletop & two very uncomfortable, tall bar-stools, & can be quite windy. That is NOT a "dedicated work space" "with a door."
There was also a problem with the ceiling fan: it wouldn't turn on with the wall switch-&-slider. Someone prior to our stay must have pulled the fan cord; it was in an "off" position & so the wall switch wouldn't turn it on. Unfortunately, the fan is 20 feet up from the floor, and the pull cord is too high to reach. Host Tommy seemed upset that we "bothered" him about how to get it to work. He thought we were just "idiots" & didn't understand how to turn it on. He claimed it was "on" - but it wasn't. To get it turned on necessitated my husband (a climber) stepping onto a high rail & tugging on the cord.
When we messaged our concerns to the Host about amenities not being as described in the listing (no usable TV) & about the old food in the refrigerator, Host Tommy became defensive & belligerent.
Host Tommy accused me of "complaining". He also said I "complained" about the beach when I asked where a boogie-board beach might be found (versus a hard core surfing beach).
The Host then fabricated a story about us & reported that a "neighbor" said we had a third person - a child - in the unit with us. This wasn't true, as it was just the two of us - my husband and myself, and no visitors.
His claim of a child being with us was especially baffling, because aside from a few maintenance workers, we didn't encounter any other guests, saw no neighbors, nor did we see any children in the vicinity.
HOWEVER - I had a video chat and some calls on speaker-phone with my grandson a couple days earlier.
This made me think that the Host probably has a LISTENING DEVICE in the unit, and had overhead my grandson and me talking!
We figured Tommy possibly listened in on my video calls with my grandson on my cell phone, probably thought we had a child with us, & then possibly fabricated the story about a "neighbor" allegedly seeing a child with us, so as not to expose himself as having bugged the place to listen in on us and other guests.
Host Tommy's false claim & accusation (that we had a child with us) was probably made in retaliation - but this false reporting that we had a 3rd person with us is what clued us into a probable "bug" or listening device being in the unit.
It also led us to take the next step:
I then downloaded an app onto my smartphone, which detects hidden spyware, like bugging devices, surveillance equipment & hidden cameras & microphones.
I took it around the unit and did a "search" and scanned the place.
And it went off! It lit up, & began to buzz (a buzz buzz buzzing sound) when we put it next to a fake palm plant in a pot right beside the bed (note: Host Tommy keeps several fake plants in the unit.
The detector sounded a positive alarm for the presence of a possible surveillance device.
My husband then downloaded a different app that detects spyware, and his app did the same thing with this same artificial plant.
We called the County Police Department right away.
An Officer from the Maunaloa Police Department arrived and we filed a police report. We then packed up and left the unit immediately. We vacated the unit two and a half days early from when we were due to checkout, as we no longer felt safe.
It is so creepy, Host is creepy, and we felt extremely violated.
This was my first and only negative experience with any Host.
All prior encounters have been wonderful, friendly and respectful, and my privacy has never been compromised. I have also had lovely, positive reviews written of me by every Host I've ever encountered.
I consider this Host and this awful experience an anomaly; it was extremely unsettling, very disturbing, and quite frightening.
Because of the extreme possibility of a listening device being in the unit - and the lack of cleanliness & Host Tommy's untrue allegation & false claims - I would advise not booking this unit - or any unit that Host Tommy might be associated with, not under any condition.