We had really high hopes for this placed based on the reviews and the pictures, but to be completely honest, we were disappointed. The price was good but in hindsight we should have just paid more to have a nicer experience.
The pros:
- Mark was a responsive host, although we had very very little interaction with him, just to let him know we checked in and checked out.
- The price was reasonable, especially for the Wailea area. (Just be warned, nothing else in this area is reasonably priced, including shops and restaurants, so plan on going North into Kihei if you are looking for reasonably priced shopping and meals).
- The location was awesome! Walking distance to lots of shops and restaurants. The beach is a little too far to walk to but other than that we loved the location.
- The bed was pretty comfortable
- The laundry machines were the most updated part of the place and worked great.
- The AC and ceiling fan inside worked great.
- The beach equipment and towels came in handy, as well as the cooler. We loved being able to throw this stuff in the car and have it with us for the week.
- The lanai looked nice and comfortable. If the fan was working and there were less mosquitoes this would have been an awesome place to hang out in the evenings.
The cons:
The lanai was unusable for us because the fan didn't seem to be working, leading to a whole lot of mosquitoes. Even with the screen door closed, the mosquitoes were still finding their way into the condo.
The toilet paper is about half-ply and the holder it is on is loose so the roll kept falling into the garbage can next to the toilet.
Parking - Although there was parking available on the property in guest parking spots, those spots filled up quickly, and we were unable to find reasonably close parking about half the time. I'm assuming the reserved spot for the unit was given to the 1BR unit next door, leaving us to fend for ourselves and hope there was parking nearby.
Kitchenette - The kitchenette was incredibly small, and we were pretty disappointed to find out that the true size of it was not as big in person as it was in the pictures of the listing. We had planned to do some cooking in the condo but the lack of counter space made it next to impossible. There is hardly room on the counter to have the coffee pot, a small cutting board, and a plate, let alone the convection oven that is in the cabinets. Also, the listing didn't mention/show that the fridge is in the closet, and you have to keep that closet door open in order for it to work properly.
Closet - As the listing says, there are hangers provided to hang your clothes up. Unfortunately, the closet was so cramped with stuff (mostly junk, extra beach chairs and umbrellas even though there were some outside already, and the ironing board...oh and the fridge) that it was almost impossible to find any room to hang your clothes unless you move everything out of the closet. The place is simply too small to have extra junk laying around.
The pool - Basically just a regular apartment complex pool...pretty underwhelming.
Cleanliness/maintenance - Definitely the biggest turn-off of this place was the cleanliness of it. Lots of other reviews mentioned how clean the place was, but I think the cleaner was having an off-day when we showed up because that was not our experience at all. It needs a deep clean. The baseboards have never been cleaned or dusted, the ceiling has a bunch of dead bugs/spiderwebs on it, and the lanai was also covered in bugs and spiderwebs. The whole place (minus the washer/dryer) could use some updating and some fixing up.
Overall, with some updates and attentiveness, this would be a nice place for a reasonable rate. The first step should be to give it a good cleaning, spray some bug spray, and de-clutter the unnecessary junk in the closet and in the living/dining/bedroom. Then, get rid of the big bulky futon and have some more surface area for guests to put their things down, especially if they are expected to cook a meal. Otherwise, don't advertise the ability to cook here, because it's just not practical with the space provided.