good

Guest: Linda (Sidney, British Columbia, Canada)
Date of Stay: 01/17/11 Review Submitted: 01/08/12

My family spent three weeks here , there were 16 of us, we really enjoyed ourselves, the home accommodated us very nicely with lots of room. The back yard is very private so that was nice. The only thing would be that the pool is not heated, but we swam in it and it was fine, the ocean is close and we were at the beach the majority of the time. I would recommend this vacation home to other families, and hope they enjoyed themselves as much as we did. There were lots of toys, and even a fence to put up around the pool for safety with little ones. High chairs,cribs etc. made it so nice for us.

Recommended for:People with disabilities, girls getaway, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

good

Guest: Linda (Sidney, British Columbia, Canada)
Date of Stay: 01/17/11 Review Submitted: 01/08/12

My family spent three weeks here , there were 16 of us, we really enjoyed ourselves, the home accommodated us very nicely with lots of room. The back yard is very private so that was nice. The only thing would be that the pool is not heated, but we swam in it and it was fine, the ocean is close and we were at the beach the majority of the time. I would recommend this vacation home to other families, and hope they enjoyed themselves as much as we did.

Recommended for:People with disabilities, girls getaway, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Oahu 2011

Guest: Smithers, BC (Canada)
Date of Stay: 11/10/11 Review Submitted: 11/30/11

We rented the house for a family reunion, 21 people ranging in age from 15 to 84. The house was absolutely perfect, the layout allowed for everyone to have their own space. The fully outfitted kitchen made it easy to create meals, even for that many people.. and enough space that everybody could gather comfortably. The extra touches like beach towels, mats, boogies boards, lawn chairs, pool toys were much appreciated, ample parking, internet/long-distance and the extra fridges just made it all work! All within 2 block walk to the Beach! Thanks Becky and I have already recommended this house to several people and have had feedback that this was the best family reunion venue we have ever had! This house makes it affordable to take family groups to an exotic location and keep everyone happy!

Recommended for:People with disabilities, sightseeing, adventure seekers, girls getaway, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Fabulous house close to Beautiful Kailua Beach

Guest: Rita (Palo Alto, CA)
Date of Stay: 09/22/10 Review Submitted: 06/08/11

I rented out this wonderful house September 22nd 2010 for ten days. The house has a great layout, and was just perfect for our extended family that was coming together for a family wedding. The interior courtyard is great for kids to play around in and the pool (with safety fence which was much appreciated as we had toddlers and crawling infants) were definitely the kids favorite part! The walk to the beach was pleasant and short, and I liked that there was a stroller and a back pack for carrying the kids if they were tired or cranky. For the kids, there were great books, games and toys. The house is really well set up for kids. For the adults, the kitchen was well stocked and the grill was fabulous for outdoor grilling. The extra fridge in the garage was so helpful, since the house was brimming full of people and we hosted the rest of the wedding party many times. Kailua is probably the nicest part of Oahu and to have such a welcoming and large house to relax in makes for a perfect vacation. I highly recommend this house, and we also found the owner to be very responsive and accommodating. I am already dreaming about returning to Oahu and spending more time there with this house full of friends and family.

Recommended for:Sightseeing, girls getaway, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Simply Awesome

Guest: Marque Trosper (American Fork, UT)
Date of Stay: 02/13/10 Review Submitted: 04/19/11

I am part of the Meadowbrook Group from American Fork, UT that stayed there in Feb of last year! What a hoot! We had several couples and every bed was filled. The home is perfectly located away from the hustle and bustle of Honolulu, yet still close enough to head into the city when you need some good dining or entertainment. It was close enough to enjoy the entire island and still feel somewhat at home or away from things. The living space, including the courtyard and pool area was perfect for gathering at night to share our experiences...the birds also liked the living area as we were always chasing them out of the house! The only negative was that the pool was cold and that was mainly because some of our party blocked the pool heater mechanism and sign with their luggage! We never turned on the heat, though we still enjoyed the pool. We have some who have already booked there again and my family is looking to return in Sept of 2012.

Recommended for:People with disabilities, sightseeing, girls getaway, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Guest: Glen (-)
Date of Stay: 08/14/08 Review Submitted: 04/08/11

If you want the “real” Hawaii and not the Orange County version of Hawaii, stay out of Waikiki or one of the other fancy resorts and go to Kailua/Lanikai. We stayed at a beautiful estate house called “Paradise-found Retreat” (http://kailua-hawaii-vacation- rental-home.com/ ) in Kailua just a couple blocks from the beach. The location was great and the house is absolutely splendid. It has such an open island feel and the amenities are top notch and the house is in wonderful condition with big rooms and comfortable beds. The owners are wonderful easy going people. We lucked out even more because the owners happened to be there at the time. One may think that having the owners there would make it stressful, but not the case here. Becky is so friendly and helpful. Her children played with our children, and it was just very laid back and cool. She left us alone to do our own thing – we probably just didn’t leave them alone enough. If you want to know about anything on Oahu ask Becky. She knows all the hikes and places to go, things to see. Like having a personal guide book right there with you. Kailua has great restaurants (Buzz’s, Pinky’s to name just two) and a couple pretty cool pubs. It has a great small town feel, but everything you would need is just minutes away. Try a great coffee shop called “Muddy Waters” next to Safeway. But most of all the area has one of the best beaches in the world and just steps away from the house. Words can’t describe the color and beauty of the turquoise ocean and surrounding beaches. We also experienced the Lagoons at Ko Olina, the North Shore and Waikiki, but we ended up coming back to Kailua for the best beach experience. The water temperature is perfect. It is quite easy and inexpensive to rent kayaks or snorkels and boogey boards. I didn’t try the wind surfing or kite surfing, but will next time as Kailua is the capital of the world for those things. Overall I give the experience there a 10 out of 10. You won’t be disappointed staying at Paradise-found Retreat.

Recommended for:

The Perfect Property for a Multi-Family Vacation

Guest: kimi (San Francisco, California)
Date of Stay: 06/02/10 Review Submitted: 04/08/11

Our family selected this property because of its size and amenities. We were impressed at the number of parking stalls available on property therefore as soon as we got there we were all able to start enjoying our stay. The pool was the main attraction for everyone. While the children played in the pool, we were always close by lounging and relaxing on numerous outdoor seating areas. In fact the open pool deck area seemed to be the gathering place most of the time. We barbequed out there almost every evening and utilized both kitchens which was nice since we had to cook for 21 of us. Everyone loved the books, toys, games, televisions and Wifi becuase it offered indoor family fun time as well. Bedrooms were spacious and everyone slept comfortably. The walk to the beach was always nice and we loved the chairs and beach toys available to us. Our entire family enjoyed all that this vacation rental had to offer, we made lots of great memories and would definately recommend this property to others. We hope that we can stay there the next time we visit Hawaii.

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, tourists without a car, people with disabilities, sightseeing, adventure seekers, girls getaway, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Gem of Kailua!

Guest: Becca (Boulder)
Date of Stay: 01/01/11 Review Submitted: 04/07/11

What a great vacation! We needed a large house for our family/extended family for my sister's wedding. The house and location were excellent! There was lots of space for the family to hang out and socialize and plenty to get away from it all if needed. There were relaxing shaded areas and the kids loved the pool. There were tons of toys and books for the kids. The roll-in shower was great for my Mother. Walked to the beach everyday! Kailua was great! Great shops and restaurants! I can see why the Obama's go there every year! There was a really informative book with activities and events that really helped plan our vacation. Becky was incredibly responsive. We had a lot of questions before we came out and she was great! What personal service! We can't wait to come back!!

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, people with disabilities, sightseeing, adventure seekers, girls getaway, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Awesome!! Best vacation rental value in Oahu!

Guest: B (Ohio)
Date of Stay: 03/01/11 Review Submitted: 03/23/11

My experience was exceptional and the owner was personable and friendly throughout our stay. The house itself was ideal, with spacious bedrooms and a great deal of privacy. The pool was perfectly clean and the house was stocked with all kinds of baby gear, which made our stay MUCH more enjoyable. The house was exactly what we were looking for. The open air and nightly tradewinds were pleasant and I never felt overheated or cold--just right! The beach was close enough to walk to, but I felt like I was living in a quiet community away from the beaten path....just what I wanted--away from the hectic runaround of my usual...but close enough to enjoy all the 'hawaiiana' !! Aloha and thanks again for a truly memorable AND AFFORDABLE group vacation!

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, tourists without a car, people with disabilities, sightseeing, adventure seekers, girls getaway, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Great Possibilities, but.....

Guest: bon voyagers (California)
Date of Stay: 11/22/09 Review Submitted: 12/01/09

The layout & location of this home is good and worked well for our extended family of 17. Toys for the beach and children were a nice touch. The home is substantially as pictured. However, maintenance of the property was not up to the standards of the Home Away rentals that we have stayed at previously. The list of problems is lengthy: The hot tub didn't work and the pool maintenance worker said it hadn't for some time. The toilet in the master bedroom/bath was plugged on arrival & the whole week of our visit despite numerous phone calls to the property managers and promises to get it fixed. There were also visible hairs on the back of the toilet seat upon our arrival. The entire house could have been cleaner. The refrigerator in the main kitchen maintained an unsafe 54 degrees but this was fixed after two days. The disposal in the kitchen didn't work, but was repaired. The stove/oven in the bungalow kitchen did not work. Many of the ceiling fans and lights were inoperable and at least one smoke detector was hanging from the ceiling with no batteries. There was a major leak in one of the showers that had to be secured with a towel to keep it from spraying everything. Other shower heads were jerry rigged in an unprofessional manner. The home could not be secured as there were no locks on doors at the back of the property and while the child security fence around the pool was an important feature for our family, there was access to the pool from a door in the bungalow that could not be bolted to keep children from exiting to the area. A safe was provided to secure valuables, however, large items like laptop computers would not fit in the safe and as the property was not secure, this was a problem. Also the last day of our trip the safe quit working and the only way to retreive the property which was locked inside was to call a locksmith at a cost of $100. The dishwasher only worked intermittently, after turning it on it would shut off for no apparent reason and upon our return the dishes would not be clean. Finally, three outside trash cans were provided but two of them were full upon our arrival. The property managers were for the most part unavailable or made promises they did not keep. While this property could be lovely and provide great accomodations for a large family of variable ages, it needs some TLC to bring it up to the standards we expect when we pay for a tropical getaway. On our next visit to Hawaii,we will look elsewhere!

Owner response:Aloha, I want to respond to this review to help alleviate any concerns. The tenant complained about the hot tub, but we don’t advertise one. We'd left an old one for people to enjoy, and when it died we temporarily had an “out of order” sign on it until it was removed just after his stay. He was upset because 2 of 3 140 gallon trash bins were full. My property manager immediately brought 3 more cans, and the next day was trash day He said the fridge wasn't cool enough & the dishwasher and disposal were working intermittently. We sent an appliance man who said all were working perfectly, but the fridge wasn't able to keep up with the traffic of 18 people. The other problem was that the electricity to the dishwasher & disposal was controlled by a switch that was covered with duct tape & had a sign that said, “please do not use switch”. That was foolish on our part, and we have since had an electrician disable the switch. He also said the master toilet was “running” & had “hair” on it. What the client thought was hair was actually fibers of a root that had grown in the sewer lines. Unfortunately, we had to put that bathroom out of order for his stay. I felt bad, but all we could do was offer a partial refund for the loss of use of 1of the 5 toilets. 1 of the stoves wasn't working because someone in their party had disconnected the propane line. One of the ceiling fan motors did break while he was there, and we have since replaced the fan. We have battery operated smoke detectors, and there are no wire issues. The client never complained about any shower heads while he was there, and no one has complained since. The house can be secured, but there are a couple of sliding glass doors that have peg locks at the base of the door rather than locks at the handle.There was a section of removable pool fence that was taken down, but it takes 2 seconds to re-secure them. The safe worked fine, he just messed up the code. But, we have upgraded to a huge 1 to fit many laptops. I hope that rather than focusing on this one review that you will see that in all of these years we've previously only had 5 star reviews. There were a couple of things that went wrong, but I’m not sure we could have responded in any way that would have pleased him. He stayed for a week and my property manager was there every day to try to make him happy. Mahalo (thank you) for taking the time to read my response. I hope you will still consider staying with us.

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