Kailua Lanikai By The Sea - 3 lits, 2 1/2 bains, 2200 pieds carrés, A / C, piscine, couchage

Although the barking of the neighbor's dog was never really a problem, they were contacted and notified of the situation as of March of 2022. The neighbor advised that their dog is a house dog and normally stays indoors most of the time, but had to have the dog outside for about a month for some reason. The neighbor was kind and considerate enough to assure us that they will address the problem by keeping the dog indoors for the most part, as well as work with a dog trainer. We are confident the dog barking is not going to be a problem. As this is a very quiet neighborhood, for the most part, the birds chirping in the morning is all you're really going to be hearing. LOL

Mahalo for yet another wonderful review. We so appreciate guests that are mindful and respectful of the house rules, etc. I appreciate the reminder of the nearby farmer's market in Kailua on Thursdays.

Wow... wow... wow Robert! Mahalo for for taking the time and providing us with such a great review. For the most part, 99% of the visitors have great experiences and feel the same way as you do regarding the home, location, etc. We know that the majority of visitors get very busy returning home from their trips and never get around to writing a review. As such, we appreciate your review and all the others that were kind enough to take the time to say "Mahalo we appreciate your home, location, and all the aloha that you shared with us."

Mahalo for another great review. In regard to having to park vehicles in the enclosed standard 2 car garage, the safety and security of our travelers and the home are paramount. Although Hawaii is a safe place, we prefer to take all precautions to protect our travelers at all times by keeping the home and all vehicles secure. We also appreciate the comment regarding how the stairs aren't any worse than the typical home stairs. Thanks again for the great review.

The traveler is mistaken as to how the air conditioning (A/C) system operates. In order for us to charge between $75 to $125 less than most comparable homes in area, we utilize and operate our A/C on what is called an Ecobee Smart Thermostat (the system is explained in the guest book at the home). In short, the Ecobee Smart Thermostat will save electricity and shut off the A/C if it senses that the travelers have left the house for over a 2 hour period. Once the A/C shuts off after 2 hours of the home being vacant, the Ecobee system stays off for a 2 hour period unless I over ride the system, which is easily accomplished by me remotely over my phone). For the most part, when travelers return back to the home after being out at the beach or driving around the island, the A/C will kick back on within a minute. As such, unlike most other vacation rentals in the area, not only do we keep the home cool during your stay, we are able to do so in an economical way to pass on the cost savings to the travelers. As mentioned, this is one of the reasons we can charge travelers between $75 to $125 less per day. We should also mentioned, that on a number of occasions, we have been asked to turn the A/C off or to raise the desired temperature because the home was too cold for some visitors. The home has a magnificent view of the ocean and majestic Mokulua islands mainly because the home sits above most of the homes in Lanikai. As you would guess, homes like our home that sits above and overlooks most other homes in the area is because the home is built on an embankment that requires stairs to get to the front door or kitchen/living room area. In order to have such a great view, which 80% of the homes in Lanikai do not have, the home had to have been built with stairs. We have had visitors here from all ages. Many of the visitors were well over 75 yrs. of age and even in their 90s. Some of them have had knee replacements, recent surgeries, etc. The stairs are your typical stairs with landings of which 95% of travelers have used. We would, however, suggest that for those that have concerns or difficulties in walking up stairs, please ask for a call back and we can discuss whether the stairs potentially might be a problem for you.

Let us first state that all throughout this traveler’s stay (up until the point in which this traveler should have vacated the property), she described the home as “beautiful” and her trip as “amazing.” Everything was fantastic up until the point when this traveler was advised that it was past the checkout time and that our cleaners were being delayed. It is quite unfortunate this traveler here had difficulties following what 100% of our travelers have expressed as “simple house rules.” Prior to accepting all traveler’s bookings, as well as before travelers arrive at our home, all travelers are advised and reminded of the house rules on at least 4 occasions (both verbally and in writing). Prior to accepting this traveler’s booking, the traveler agreed to all of the rules and most certainly did not express any anxiety or angst regarding said house rules. Had the traveler been honest and expressed the fact that she struggles emotionally with rules, we most certainly would not have accepted her booking and would have suggested another lodging place where they do not have any house rules to concern herself with (had we also seen a review of this nature from this traveler prior to the booking, we would have not accepted her booking). Although the traveler knew the checkout time was no later than 10 a.m. prior to her stay, the traveler was again reminded that the checkout time was at 10 a.m. The traveler was also advised the cleaners would be pulling up in their vehicles promptly at 10 a.m. and that it would be appreciated if she vacated the house and premises to allow the cleaners to pull into the garage. To our disappointment, this traveler ignored our requests and obviously had no intention of leaving on time (we are confident this traveler would not have left until the cleaners showed up regardless of what time it was). After finally answering our repeated calls to advise the traveler that our cleaners were waiting outside and driving around the block, the traveler said, “Oh… it’s okay…. they can come in and clean while we are here.” We politely advised her that because of Covid the cleaners will not enter the house until she vacated the premises. After raising her voice and saying, “We’re leaving,” the traveler abruptly hung up on us. It was only then that this traveler and family members even began to carry down all their luggage to their vehicle while my cleaners sat in their car and waited (the traveler less than truthfully states the cleaners did not arrive until 10:10 a.m, when in fact she was told that the cleaners arrived just before 10 a.m. and were driving around the block waiting for her to leave). Somehow this traveler did not feel that our cleaners are hard working people that deserve to be treated with the very kind of consideration and respect that any other persons deserve. What also is interesting is how this traveler subsequently contacted us and instead of apologizing for not checking out on time wrote the following, “You may want to rethink your scheduling of your cleaners to 10:15am for the occasional person who needs a few extra minutes leaving your home.” We are confident that the majority of readers would agree that for people that struggle with following a simple rule as a checkout time, asking them to checkout at 10:15 a.m. would only mean they will not leave until 10:30 a.m., or even worse, not until the cleaners or someone eventually showed up. I would have expected better, but realize there are a minority of people out there that are incapable of accepting responsibility for their own shortcomings and instead misdirects the blame on other factors. We really tried to understand just how this traveler believes that our scheduling, house rules, etc. all should evolve around her, but we are still at a lost. What this traveler does not realize is that at some places there is a late checkout fee even if it’s just 5 minutes late (something we unfortunately now have to consider, as we are sure had we had a late checkout fee we are sure this traveler would have been out on time). As our multitude of 5 star reviews speak for themselves, we have met quite a number of outstanding travelers that live aloha and treat others with the respect, kindness, and a wonderful consideration of others. We always try to do our best and welcome those that embrace the same values that we have. Our rules are quite simple (take a look before booking please). We understand that they may not sit well with a small few. We will be the first to suggest that if our rules causes any type of emotional stress please continue to search for another wonderful location for your booking and enjoy your stay there. We always look for a win/win situation and unfortunately with travelers like this one….. nobody wins.

Nice to hear this traveler and their family had a great time and enjoyed their stay. We actually do have cell phone coverage at the house. Unfortunately, the traveler does not have a regular smart cell phone and uses a Tracfone whenever they travel. We are not familiar with that type of phone, but know that no other traveler has ever not been able to use their smart phones at the home. Although all of the homes in Lanikai have bad reception, the home is set up with a Wifi connection so that all smart cell phones do get reception. We once had a company from out of state with 4 employees working out of the house. They all had no problems working with their cell phones and laptops all at the same time with no reception problems. It would be my guess the Tracfones are limited. Also, we have found that on occasion a traveler can not get their cell phones to work. However, on all of those occasions the problem was user error and those travelers eventually were able to enable their wifi setting and get phone reception.

In response to the traveler's review, we feel compelled to correct a number of inaccuracies, exaggerations, or comments that are not absolutely true. Then again, as we all know, sometimes reviews reveal more about the reviewer than what is actually intended to be reviewed. We understand that sometimes people go through life with their cups half empty, as opposed to half full. Most importantly, although Hawaii is a tropical island with insects including roaches, we have never had roaches in the house, nor have we had any other traveler complain of such. Although is recommended and successful to have pest control treatments once every 2 months, we instead treat the home once every 3 weeks. Yes, from time to time, in the outside garage area, there will be a dead roach that succumbs to the ongoing and frequent pest control treatments that we do. The closest beach access to the home is 1/10th of a mile away (literally a 3 minute walk). Although a small less crowded beach area to layout at, it can accommodate about 10 people (see photos 30 thru 36). If one prefers to go to the longer stretch of beach area on Lanikai Beach, it is a half mile walk or a 1 minute drive away. We have a collapsible wagon for the beach available. As of May 2018, the home has been 66% completely renovated with new flooring, new guest shower with glass mosaic type tile, new windows, etc. (see photos 12-19 and 27-29). The guest bathroom is completely new and was done with turquoise glass tile. I blocked calendar for two weeks in Nov. as final renovations of top floor and kitchen will be completed at that time. The traveler's comment about the Formica counters in the kitchen, although rather inconsequential to most visiting for the sole purpose of having a great vacation, is simply inaccurate. The counter top is actually Corian. We would have hoped that while standing in the kitchen and trying to decipher the type of counter top we have, the traveler would have instead tilted his head up about 30 degrees and noticed the magnificent and most magical view of the Mokulua islands. Then again, and sadly enough, we know that sometimes people go through life with their cups half empty, as opposed to half full. We welcome all to come and visit this magical place of aloha. Bring your family, loved ones, passion, and open hearts to our home. We hope that when you leave you will have made memories of a life-time.

Mahalo for such a comprehensive and wonderful response Cheryl. I had to laugh when reading your response, as I couldn't have written a better and complete response that really depicts the home, location, proximity to the beaches, etc. as you have and as it really is. One of the great things about sharing my home with guests is it provides me an opportunity to meet amazingly wonderful people like you and your guests. The spirit of aloha is never more alive when it comes full circle as it did with you and your guests. Mahalo for being great guests and I hope to see you again. If you decide to return, the ;home as of today, as Iwe speak, will be totally renovated with new flooring, kitchen cabinets, and granite counter tops. I look forward to having back again.