Oceanfront Kailua-Kona Islander Studio w/ Lanai!

Reviews

• 1/5

  When we arrived there was a thick layer of dust and mold covering many surfaces. It looked as if only the kitchen counter had been wiped. There was also only one thin blanket so if you want more than one, pack your own. We called the property manager. Let’s call her EK. I first asked if maybe we had overlooked another blanket somewhere. I was answered with a sarcastic “well there’s only one bed”. Thanks EK… really helpful. A simple “No. Unfortunately not.” would have sufficed. Then I asked if the unit had been cleaned. EK stated “Yes, she herself had cleaned it last week.” (here lies the problem) … when told no offense but there is no way that much dust and dirt collected over a week. EK responded with “No offense but you don’t live in HI and don’t know how fast dust collects here.” …. Um what?!?! I’ve never heard a dumber response in my life. If Hawaiian dust collects that quickly over a week then EK should have been there the day before to clean. After contacting Evolve, EK did come “clean” the areas of concern however they were still not clean… and she knocked all the dust onto our suitcases instead of disposing of it properly. I’m not sure if she’s dumb, blind or just genuinely doesn’t care but I know I will never rent from this company again. Evolve did end up refunding my cleaning fee however that did not solve the problem of inhaling mold for the 5 days we were there. Now we both have a cold from it. If you’re into being sick and having to deal with rude people this is the place for you!!Oh and watch out for earl…He’s the pet cockroach in the bathroom.

  *This review was originally posted on Vrbo

• noise above and next door renovation

  3/5

  lot of working noise

  *This review was originally posted on Vrbo

  Manager's Response:

  Hello, thanks for letting us know about your stay. The owner wanted to share the following: When guests book their reservation a notification is sent within the check-in instructions advising guests there may be construction in the area. While construction and noise from the neighbors is out of our control we are sorry this impacted your stay. We do all we can to ensure our guests have the best possible stay!

• Kona condo

  2/5

  Everything old and dared. Sheets worn out and would not cling to mattress. Refrigerator made intermittent clinking noise and had to be disconnected at night.stove not working. Bathroom fan not working. Place is a sh.. hole but good location parking sucks

  *This review was originally posted on Vrbo

  Manager's Response:

  Hi Michael, the right vacation home is everything, and we're disappointed if this wasn't the one for you. We followed up with the homeowner after reading your feedback, and they would like to share the following:
  - We use professional photographers so we can be sure that our images accurately reflect each property and guests can decide before booking if the décor meets their expectations.
  - We take pride in the upkeep of the home and have high quality linen for guest comfort.
  - We were unaware of any issue with the fridge but offered to have someone come look at it during your stay. This offer was denied and your privacy was respected. There have been no issues with the fridge since.
  - The stove is in perfect working condition and we would have been happy to assist you with working it had you reached out.
  - The bathroom fan works well and has a remote that operates it.
  - We let all guests know of the parking situation before arrival but apologize if this caught you off-guard.
  We do all we can to make the best possible stay, and we look forward to this property hosting many satisfied guests.

• Great location in town.

  4/5

  Nicely decorated, easy check in, clean pool, unit well supplied. A number of small repairs would make it perfect.

  *This review was originally posted on Vrbo

• Excellent safe location

  4/5

  After a few days of exploring the volatile mountains and rainforests of Hawaii, our stay here was a welcome, quiet home base for the relaxation portion of our trip. Located right in Kona, you have a view from the lanai of both the ocean and the hustle and sleepy bustle of the seaside town. Decent food and shops are right next door. Parking, though a challenge in their small lots, can be found fairly easily on the streets. Unfortunately, our stay was slightly soured by a less than positive experience with the guest contact. We initially reached out to Evolve, the property management company about extending a night but since we didn’t receive a reply, we reached out to the guest contact who was strangely both passive aggressive and then defensive, asking us via text for our credit card information to extend the stay. We asked for a booking link since we are not comfortable providing that information outside of established networks for electronic payment and the we were actually gaslit with, “I never said you had to pay over an unsecured network. I can take your card information by phone.” We were then told that she owned six properties for 18 years and that was how the process was… Aside from the obvious foolishness of providing direct payment information to a person I had never met, this is in direct incongruity with Evolve’s management agreement and VRBO’s own rental agreements. We’ll also ignore the question of why providing a booking link seemed to be such a hassle despite “18 years” of property ownership. We were eventually given a payment link…..for some site I had never heard of but at that point, we no longer felt safe in our interactions and decided to go elsewhere. Maybe there were legitimate reasons to do things the way she was insisting. Maybe it was to get around associated fees and cost but it would have displaced all accountability and would leave us with very little room for recourse being from out of state (and that’s with my partner being a federally licensed attorney). I wanted to provide this feedback separately as this may be an opportunity for improvements in hospitality but didn’t see a way to do so via Evolve. Vacationers want to know that there is a community that advocates for their safety in all ways and despite how lovely the location of this rental, we’ll be staying elsewhere for the future.

  *This review was originally posted on Vrbo