Here is my review of Tom's place:
1. Location - You cannot beat the location. This place is literally steps from really well known eating places such as Iasyme Musubi, Marugame Udon, Forty Niner Restaurant, and more. Also, it's really close to Waikiki Beach, Royal Hawaiian, and high end shops (Gucci, Apple Store, Jimmy Choos, etc.) and convenience stores such as ABC Store and Mitsuwa Market. That being said, there is a trade off. At night, the noise level is pretty loud at night. You hear loud music, loud exhaust, and sirens from ambulances/fire engines/police (it seems that the siren noises are amplified as it's bouncing off the buildings). But if you do not mind the noise, then this is the perfect spot.
2. Host - Tom is such a great host. He has been very responsive and has answered all the questions I had about the parking and check-in process. After booking, he gives you very detailed instructions that are very helpful.
3. Check-in - This can be somewhat confusing if you don't do your research and ask Tom questions. For example, the entrance to the parking structure is the same lane as the exit. So when you enter the entrance, you're literally driving over an upside down painted "STOP". So you're driving on the opposite side of a single lane to get into the parking structure. This can be somewhat of an issue if you have someone that is exiting at the same time you're entering. You have to play a game of chicken to see who will pull off to the side first. Someone actually made a YouTube video about the check-in process which is helpful.
4. Parking - See above on #3. In addition, one of the things that worried me was the parking space as I was reading the comments of those that had previously stayed. If no one parked in front of us (which was about half of the time), then parking is simple. If there is someone that is parking in front of you, then that can be a challenge since the parking structure is small, the open space between the parked cars (from hood to trunk) is small, and you're adjacent to a wall. We had a mid-size SUV parked in front of us and as we were backing out, we had to pull a 7 point turn to get out. We had a compact SUV that was about 169 inches long. So you can imagine how hard it would be if you had a full size sedan. However, if you park in reverse, it is easier to get out of the space. Width of a car is not the issue, it's the length. So if you have a stubby SUV or a compact car, that should fit well.
5. Unit - The unit was well described in Tom's check-in instructions and he even provided details of how to pull out the sofa into a bed. The unit was also very clean. The AC works great but it is pretty noisy. It does help provide a "white" noise that would overpower the noise outside noise. It's great on those hot and humid days. Tom also provided useful things such as chairs, beach towels, and beach umbrella. The internet is blazing fast. I was getting about 500 mbs download which was great for streaming movies on our tablets.
6. Building - Because this is an older building, there are some issues with it. For example, during our stay, one of the two elevators was out of service and during peak times, you can wait upwards of 10 minutes just to go down to the lobby level. The building does provide a washer/dryer which was great for us since we constantly washed our bathing suits when going to pools/beach. There's also a trash shoot in the laundry room which was convenient since it was near Tom's unit. There are cockroaches there so just be prepared in case you seen any. They're attracted to food and trash so it's no surprise that there are pests.