My family of six stayed at Glen's home for about a month and a half on a "workcation" that allowed my family to enjoy an extended Hawaiian vacation while still being able to do some remote working. This was the first time we have done something this extensive, and I spent a considerable amount of time researching the various Hawaiian islands, locations within the islands, and accommodations available. What was most important to us was the ability to be located in a desirable location, but also close enough to various activities and beaches so we wouldn't be driving all the time. We ultimately landed on Glen's home as the place that best fit our needs, and were excited to discover that our home rental came with a Honda Odyssey minivan which was more or less a critical piece of our stay as well. That alone ended up saving us a lot of money on a car rental. The van was spacious, more or less brand new, and fit all of us, our luggage, and a car seat.
The house is easily accessible from the freeway and has a private driveway. While it is not too far off the freeway, it is up a giant hill that removes you from the sketchy part of the city and is a very safe neighborhood. This was extremely important to my wife and I since we had younger children. We have a teenager and felt comfortable the entire time having her stay home alone and babysit the other kids. There really isn't a yard or anything for kids to play in, but there is an above ground swimming pool that my kids used on a few occasions. The view off the balcony of the house is exceptional - I spent nearly every early morning on the deck taking my work phone calls and working on my laptop while I took in the views of the city, enjoyed the morning sun on my skin, and watched vehicles, drive up and down the various roads. I saw a full rainbow probably every 2 or 3 days.
The home itself had everything we required. We needed 4 beds and a crib/pack'n'play. There were 3 bedrooms - the master had a king bed and a private bathroom, with a large jetted tub and a handheld sprayer that transformed the tub into a shower if needed. The 2nd bedroom has two twin beds, and the 3rd bedroom had a king bed and just enough room to squeeze a pack'n'play. The 2nd bath is a tub/shower combo and was shared with the other two bedrooms. The beds were comfortable, and there was enough privacy for what we required. However, the only negative thing I would say on the bedrooms is that they were all VERY cozy - there is not really any room to have an open suitcase. We ended up utilizing all of the dresser drawers and closets that were available just so we could walk around the rooms. But I say that being from the west coast and accustomed to more spacious homes - so I wasn't surprised by it, but anyone renting the property should be aware of that.
We spent a vast majority of our time in the great room/kitchen area. Not overly spacious, but big enough for us - two large couches that held all of us when we wanted to watch TV or play video games, and the kitchen was a little tight with the table in the center of it, but again, I'm just used to more space. There were plenty of pans, dishes, small appliances, glasses, utensils, etc. that served all of our cooking needs. We ate about 80% of our meals in the house, and the other 20% in restaurants while we were out and about. All the appliances worked fine, the fridge was nice and cold, and we had enough room to accommodate 8 people eating comfortably.
The hot tub on the deck was a favorite - we used it probably every other day or two - my favorite was after the sun went down and watching the city lights. It was a constant 103/104 degree and worked fine. The grill also worked really well and we had a few nights with bbq meats.
The downstairs is a different rental unit and we had a few different guests that stayed there during our rental period. The noise wasn't too bad - you could definitely hear them constantly opening and shutting the sliding door throughout the evening, as they also have a deck with a hot tub. However, I will say that surprisingly we were never bothered by the other tenants with the noise level or shared space. I hope they didn't hear us, as we tried to keep our volumes at a respectable level too.
Now - the best part of the review - the owner, Glen, is seriously the best host I've ever rented from. His willingness to make your stay "exceptional" is beyond normal. When we arrived the first night, we didn't get to the house until after 9pm and our baby was so tired and we didn't see a pack'n'play. I texted Glen, and within 30 mins, I had a pack'n'play. He left a beautiful bouquet of flowers for our arrival, and a fresh pineapple. Every time we needed something that was missing, he quickly made it appear. There were even a couple of times where something that wasn't necessarily expected was requested, and he helped make it happen. There are some chickens on the property that lay eggs and Glen would bring us some of those eggs randomly which was just super cool. Just for the record, no one renting a home on Airbnb should expect their host to be so outgoing, but that just seems to be Glen's personality. As such, it makes him an exceptional individual and I would not hesitate in the slightest to rent from Glen again. He helped make our family