I feel reluctant to share my honest thoughts, as I am not in the habit of writing critical reviews, and I hope that Cab can succeed in his future endeavors. However, I feel it is important to give an honest review for the benefit of others.
My stay at Cab’s B&B was unfortunately my worst experience with AirBnb so far. I did not mind the clutter and disarray, the cockroaches in the kitchen, or the general lack of cleanliness.
Encouraged by the positive reviews I read, I pre-booked a 2-week stay in the downstairs room for $125. When I arrived late at night, Cab showed me to a room in the house that he advertises for $96, rather than the room I booked. I did not initially notice the difference; I assumed he had shown me to the room I had booked.
When I noticed, after a week, that I had been paying $125 nightly for a room advertised as $96, I gently brought up this discrepancy in prices to Cab.
Cab was dismissive when I brought up the price difference between the rooms, and insisted that I pay the higher fee for the room that I was not staying in, as I was receiving the benefit of being “the only guest there.” He cited the cooked meals (which he advertises as being included - although I purchased my own groceries during my stay) as a reason that I should pay for a room I was not staying in, and that I had never been shown upon arrival.
This struck me as unfair and dishonest. After my attempt to bring this up to him, the atmosphere in the house became icy and hostile.
Cab’s girlfriend came by the home one evening, and made an insulting racial remark towards me and my ethnicity. I mentioned to Cab that this had made me feel uncomfortable, but he seemed unperturbed by it, and irritated that I’d brought it up.
I kept to myself during my stay, and even conveyed my gratitude to Cab for being my host a few times throughout my stay in an fruitless attempt to ease the tension and hostility.
My elderly mother arrived in Hawaii and stayed for one night with Cab. I forewarned her of the icy atmosphere, but she opted to stay for a night because we had not yet located a different B&B to move to.
My mom felt protective of me, and brought up her concern to Cab that I was paying $125 for a room advertised as $96. Cab was combative and rude in his reaction. He responded so callously and with such hostility that this caused my mother to lock herself in her room and cry.
The whole experience was so disappointing, distressing and aggrieving. It hurt me deeply to see my mom be so poorly treated by the host. I felt that we could not stay for one more night in the house. We packed our bags immediately, called a taxi, and we left within the hour.