Honestly, the only thing that we liked about this house was the beach. This house is VERY old and unkept. The hot water heater isn't even big enough for a one bedroom apartment. We couldn't have one nice shower without the water getting cold! The washer and dish washer are so old it made us wonder if our dishes and clothes were even getting clean. The cupboards are all ply wood and filthy. There was no where to put our clothes, had to go buy a bunch of hangers. The beds and the bedding was terrible! I felt really lied to as far as the pictures online go... The pics made the house look amazing! Your people told me that they had personally seen the house and that it was REALLY nice!! Clearly that is not the case. I couldn't wait to leave. On a positive note, the beach was awesome. However, I would NEVER stay in that dirty, dirty house again. Way over priced!!!!!!!

Jennifer K., La Quinta, CA, 1.17.12

Comment by Owner/Manager:

Dear Jennifer, We are very distressed to hear that our house did not live up to your expectations. The philosophy behind our rental ambition is to share this wonderfully located beach house with tenants when we are not there to use it ourselves. We aim to provide all the essentials and comforts of a vacation home, one that is very affordable when shared by large families. We welcome all feedback, though we do not feel that what you have had to say is fair. The photos have been taken within the last few months, and nothing has changed since that would give an improper expectation of what you will find when you arrive. I think this is indicative of our other top ranking reviews that we received within weeks of yours. Our property manager spoke to you upon your arrival and nothing was mentioned of your dissatisfaction. The home is not a luxury hotel bungalow, we don't promote it that way, nor is it priced at that level. We do spend a lot time and expense making sure that the house stays clean, fresh and updated. We are continually painting, repairing, and updating, because this is the nature and requirements of a beach house. We have two hot water heaters in the house to support up to 10 people, and we have since checked and confirmed that they are both working properly. We are sorry if your family had a different experience, but we have not personally had any issues and this is the first time someone has mentioned this. Our property manager is there on the island to respond to issues immediately, and we wish that you had notified him of your concerns. We would not rent a dirty house, and we are sorry that you were not satisfied with the cleanliness. Our cleaning crew thoroughly scrubs the house after each renter, and if there is a particular area they are missing, we would love to know because we have not found it. The house was cleaned hours before you arrived. Each of the 5 bedrooms have a large closet, and 4 of the rooms have built-ins with dresser drawers. We were not aware that we are short on hangers, but we will replace those that have gone missing. We are truly sorry that you did not have the experience that you had hoped for, you have our sincere apologies. The Danch Family

The house was so much more than we expected.....it was a delightful surprise. The nearness of the beach was truly a plus and the layout of the house worked like a charm for all 10 of us even though initially we had a tough time finding the 5th bedroom. Five out of the 10 of us had lived in Kailua for 21 years -- 1968 -1989....and two of the ten currently live in Waialua, I know we would all recommend this vacation rental in a heart beat. It truly deserves a 5***** rating.

Fay D., Lodi, CA, 7.27.11

Lovely place. Good quality. Pleasant open "great room". Many extras: Beach chairs, snorkels, boogie boards, excellent electronics. Kailua is a great place to stay, and this lovely home is one minute from the beach. Good service for getting in and out.

Lee S., Salt Lake City, Utah, 6.19.11

The house was fantastic! Lots of space for the whole family (6 adults & 4 children) with excellent location. Close enough to the beach you could hear the waves at night and walk to it was very short. The fenced in back yard provided some privacy for relaxing on the back patio in the evening or for morning coffee. Aside form one day of heavy rain, the entire trip was wonderful. The beach by the house was by far the best part. It was never crowded, even on the nice sunny weekends, and the water and sand were perfect. The North Shore was fun, especially stopping by Pipeline to see the surfers take on the big waves there. The Aquarium and the Zoo were good for something to do with the kids, although we did not particularly care for Waikiki (too crowded and commercial). I would highly recommend this house to my friends, and am already thinking about next year.

Steven B., Fairbanks, AK, 1.18.11

This house is well equipped, especially with kitchen and beach equipment, and it has plenty of space. It is also superbly located, literally a few yards from Kailua beach, which is a beautiful clean, sandy beach with gently sloping sea bed. Usually in our trips to Hawaii we drive around from beach to beach. Not this year - we appreciated being able to pick up a couple of boogie boards and chairs from the house supply and stroll down to the beach in two minutes. The house has a nice big back yard with a lawn that my kids enjoyed using for cartwheels and kicking a ball around. The house needs some routine maintenance. The bedroom doors don't fit very well. While we were there, we experienced heavy rain and the roof leaked in two places - not a problem for us, but for the owner! Also, despite a visit from the Terminix guy while we were there, we found a couple of cockroaches in the kitchen, and the ants were everywhere. We rapidly became well trained in picking up every tiny crumb, or there would be an "ant party" (as my younger daughter put it) when we got up in the morning. I guess the poor weather may have driven them indoors in larger numbers than usual. Suggestions for Kailua: Crepes at the Crepes No Ki Ha (I think it was called) downtown. New beach reading material from Book Ends, also downtown, which you can combine with good coffee at Morning Brew (though the food was nothing to write home about). We did our grocery shopping mainly at the Foodland downtown, which is higher end than Safeway but not as high as Whole Foods (one is currently being build in Kailua - I can only imagine how much their food will cost!!). We also enjoyed multiple trips to the Orange Tree Frozen Yoghurt store on Hekili Street. Try the taro flavored yoghurt, it goes well with coconut... A big hit with our kids.

Michelle C., Palo Alto, CA, 12.30.10

Comment by Owner/Manager:

As all beach house owners know, bugs are a regular problem if not taken care of immediately. We have been very diligent in our pest treatments so as to prevent any problems. Terminix is part of our proactive effort, and many times after a visit from Terminix, there will be an occasional bug that does turn up dead. The ants are also a very common pest near the beach and will quickly find their way onto any food that is left out. Unfortunately leaving food out overnight as you mention will infest any house in Hawaii. Cleanliness is an important tool in keeping the house bug free. The only solution to this is to clean up after yourself and not to leave any food out to attract the ants. We are in the process of putting a roof deck on the house for or visitors to enjoy the sun and the amazing views of the ocean and the mountains. Our roofer has done some work in preparation for the future construction and the interim work has left some small places that allowed a bit of rain in during the heaviest rainfall. This has since been addressed. Unfortunately swelling and sticking doors comes with the territory at the beach. All of the bedrooms and hallways have a fresh coat of paint and are regularly maintained and updated. We have also just added a brand new living room set that will accommodate a very large group inside. The indoor living room will seat up to 12 people, and the outdoor lanai will sit 12 as well. Thank you for taking the time to post comments. This is one of the only ways that we hear feedback and comments on our home. We try very hard to make this the best vacation spot that it can be, and these comments help us to improve.

The location of this house was ideal. We had a wonderful time. The kitchen was beautiful. I have to say that the mattresses and pillows were pretty worn and ratty. The backyard was great for the kids. We would definitely stay here again.

Pam C., , , 8.31.10

Comment by Owner/Manager:

Thank you very much for you comments. We will address the concerns immediately. We strive for 5 stars and hope that you will find it up to your standard on your next stay.