Good:
- the view is a 10/10 and the huge lanai deck provided hours of working and relaxing while overlooking the ocean
- the top floor is spacious, 4 adults lived comfortably
- the space was very clean when we got there
- lots of towels, had the basics covered
- good wifi, multiple people were able to hold video calls during this time. definitely helped a lot to be able to work
Okay (out of the host's control):
- despite the strict noise guidelines for guests, the neighbors are mowing their lawns and doing construction from as early as 6:30am
- while sitting on the porch, there were giant cement trucks struggling to drive up the hill every 30 minutes or so. there was one day during our two week stay where this wasn't an issue
- there are really loud frogs that make noise at night and if you keep your windows open (it gets hot), you'll definitely need ear plugs
- there's a golden hour around 4am where things are quite, then the numerous roosters start their day around 5am
- despite the host's requests to close the doors to keep humidity down, 1/3 of the main wall consists of screens. it gets really hot and humid in the house during the day.
- laundry room is two floors below the space. this isn't a big deal most of the time, but somewhat annoying when it's raining or at night (there are motion sensor lights that take you the whole way though)
- the area isn't really close to many of the Kona-side activities and good restaurants, good food is mostly a 20-30 minute drive up to Kailua-Kona
Okay (in the host's control):
- there is no A/C, central or portable. this would cost the owners somewhere around $500-1000 dollars per unit (a few night's stay) and would make for a significantly better experience
- the upright fan in one of the rooms (not sure about the other) was covered in some disgusting black substance, maybe mold? we would either turn the ceiling fan on or open the windows. opening the windows was really loud due to the previously mentioned frogs and chickens (lol)
- appliances are cheap or falling apart and amenities are cheap. the microwave is tiny, the pots and pans aren't high quality, the toilet paper is 1-ply, the espresso machine is broken, the french press looks like it hadn't been cleaned in ages, the TV sometimes decided not to respond to the remote control
overall, this was an okay airbnb. if the space were cheaper, i probably would have bumped this to 4/5 stars. there were a few annoyances out of the host's control (noise, humidity, laundry) but for the most part there were big things the hosts and owners could spend money on to improve the living experience. because of that, keeping it at 3 stars.
i would recommend this place if you're in town for a few days. anything longer than that, i'd recommend staying elsewhere until some of the problems in the host's control are resolved.