I booked this Airbnb and was excited to see there were 2 spacious beds and a sofa! This place was booked for my parents' stay and it was spacious for the two of them. Given similar places I looked in the area, other places only offered one bed and one sofa. Overall, the unit was fairly clean and pretty representable compared to the actual listing. Location was great and very central in Waikiki.
The check-in process was easy. You are given a code to retrieve your key fob to the unit from the mailbox. The owner was also kind enough to offer an earlier check-in if needed. Take note that buildings in Hawaii are definitely on the older side and this is one of the older buildings. However, the unit seems to have been renovated and you can tell there's effort put into maintaining the tidiness of the unit.
However, there are a few things to note:
1. The AC is LOUD. I've seen this on a few reviews too and didn't think too much about it. It might be because the AC is trying to regulate the set temperature, but I also noticed a red indicator light that the filter needs to be changed. Not sure if this contributed to the sound. I have stayed in a different unit in the same building in the past and the AC was noticeable, but not as loud as this one.
2. There were missing blinds. The unit has long individual blinds to block sunlight and I noticed a few of the blinds were missing, so there were small gaps that did not block the sun.
3. When I retrieved the key from the mail box, I only noticed one set of keys in there. It stated there was a laundry card that was supposed to be in there as well, but it was not at the time of check in. Only one key fob was in there. Therefore, I thought that we were given only one key fob for the entire stay.
During check out, I followed the instructions to take out all the trash and return the key fob back into the lock box. I noticed the laundry card hanging next to the door. Next to it, there were other items hung next to it but I did not pay too close attention to it. Given I was already checking out, I proceeded to return the one key that I got during check-in back into the mailbox.
When I returned the key into the mailbox, I noticed it was empty and there was no mail in there, I left the key and closed up the box. I even made sure the mailbox was locked properly before I left. The owner then reached out to me with a photo of the mailbox and said I only returned one key. But this whole time I was only given one key! I'm suspecting that when the mail was placed into the mailbox, the key fob that I returned might of slipped out. Now I am being charged to replace a key fob that I returned. If I did lose the key fob, I am more than happy to pay for a replacement. However, given that I followed all the instructions, I returned the one key that I retrieved during check in and haven't touch or moved any other keys, it is frustrating to be charged for something that I did not lose.
Overall, I think this place would work well for some people if you want a clean, easy accessible and centrally located place. If sound doesn't bother you, then it will be a great fit. Heads up to make sure you take a picture of the returned keys when you check out to ensure you don't run into any hiccups!