I’ll start with the bad and then share some good. I didn’t receive any check in instructions prior to our stay other than 30 minutes before check in Alfie calls saying he’s switching us to a different Airbnb, not just a different unit, but to a different location close by. Now typically if something was wrong with the original Airbnb and they were accommodating us instead of canceling our reservation, I’d have no problem. However, this wasn’t the case and when asked why we were switched, I was told “When I found out you have kids, I knew this other spot would be better. You’ll like it better anyways”. I have two issues with this, 1. We weren’t given a choice to stay or change our Airbnb. 2. After a full day of travel being pregnant with two young children in tow, I was mentally prepared to stay at the Aina Nalu, which is what I was expecting based on the images in the listing and the listing address matching the hotel. We were too tired to fuss about the change and were honestly in shock as we felt this was a bait and switch type situation. Full disclosure, I reached out to Airbnb support and they approved a partial refund due to this situation and the evidence I provided.
Alfie welcomed us in person as we checked in and was very hospitable, and even invited us to dinner as he was BBQing some chicken, although we wanted to try some restaurants out. Alfie lives above the Airbnb in the second story and there’s a friendly dog named Nala. We’re animal lovers, especially dogs, but would expect the yard of an Airbnb to be free of dog poop, unfortunately it wasn’t. The Airbnb is in the heart of Lahaina, so be prepared for some noise. But you can’t beat the location. You walk out the gate and you’re on Front St, so that was very convenient. We had a free parking spot and just walked everywhere. Beach gear and bikes were offered to us free of charge which was appreciated and Alfie provided us with some good recommendations. There is a pool, but unlike the safety of an inground pool like we were expecting at the Aina Nalu Hotel, this pool was above ground with a 5’ tall deck around it, a ladder to get up and no fencing. Definitely not ideal for being pregnant or young children and in fact our 5 year old tripped and fell off of the deck!! Luckily he was okay.
King size bed and sofa bed were comfy, overall clean, and it had what we needed. We did find some critters, a cockroach and some big red ants, but being in the tropics that is to be expected.
Despite all that happened, Alfie seems like a nice guy and we made the best of it, but we unfortunately wouldn’t stay again.