James Erickson
Google
►Beautiful Views, But Everything Else Fell Apart◄
This was supposed to be a 3-star review, but it dropped to 2 when the host chose not to make things right. We paid a premium for the Kona Estate House and received a subpar experience riddled with issues: roaches, spiders, very little hot water, no air conditioning throughout the home, and a complete lack of labeling or organization.
The owner, Jason, was not proactive. He only responded when pressed, and even then, his “solutions” came with excuses. For example, when we complained about the heat, he said, “See if it gets cooler at night” and blamed the dryers for raising the temperature. At this price point, those responses are unacceptable. He claimed the house had passive cooling—it didn’t. I had to fix the airflow myself because the fans were all turning in different directions.
The pest situation was alarming. Screens were torn or improperly affixed, allowing bugs to enter freely. I saw a spider the size of a tennis ball—Jason laughed when I mentioned it. Roaches skittered across the counters while I tried to prepare meals for my kids. centipedes and mosquitoes as well. Pest traps were under the beds, so we couldn’t even store luggage on the floor safely even though we had to because there weren't dressers or closets for use.
The kitchen was advertised as “state of the art.” In reality, it was oversized and poorly organized. Nothing was labeled, the oven didn’t fully work, the fridge displayed filter warnings, and basic cookware for large families was missing. We had to buy our own roaster. There were Raid chemicals stored above the dishes. With 42 cabinets and 24 drawers, you'd expect some system—but there was none. It’s not designed for large families despite seating many.
Bedrooms were small and lacked dressers. Water pressure was poor. There was no hot water for dishes and barely warm for showers. Yard work was done during our stay, and the owner’s cats wandered the property freely, making us feel like intruders.
Also I must mention the bathrooms. You will get a similar experience at a local fast food joint. The bathrooms are stalls. Anybody can come in while you are using it.
Worst of all, Jason mishandled the security deposit—we had to chase him down after our stay to get it back. He made empty promises and implied that our complaints were inconveniencing him. We didn’t come on vacation to troubleshoot someone else’s property.
The views and pool were beautiful, which is the only reason this isn’t a 1-star review. But unless you’re planning to sit outside and ignore the house entirely, I cannot recommend this property at this price. It was grossly misrepresented and deeply disappointing.