Vacation Rentals by Owner

Who needs elevators and lobbies to keep you from the beach?

Guest: Vinny T (Sacramento Area, CA)
Date of Stay: 01/04/12 Review Submitted: 01/20/12

The pictures are great, but it's nothing like the experience! I researched a lot of options for my trip and will save you some time with my review. If you've always stayed at resorts and are curious about a private home rental, let me say this, forget going to a resort. No more lobbies, elevators, crowded pools, time share solicitations, etc. Prepare dinner in the house and eat on the lanai or the beach while watching the sunset, or on a "chilly" Maui night, private hot tubbing under the stars looking out at the moonlit ocean, listening to the sounds of the waves (all while the kids are sleeping in the room within sight from the hot tub!)... Yeah it's like that. As for the property, everything was as described. As for the beach, all beaches in Maui are public, so you will share the beach with others, but to the left and right of the property are homes, so you practically have the beach to yourself. Although you'll find some locals on the beach from time to time, or significant others watching the surf lessons from shore. The ocean in front of the beach is reef protected, so our 2.5yr old twins felt comfortable going into the ocean (supervised and with life jackets of course!). If you're a beginner swimmer, the water barely gets above waste high for at least a hundred yards. And this description is for a Hawaii winter, where the ocean kicks up during this time (see Jaws in Peahi). However, the bottom gets rocky as you go further out so bring water shoes. There were locals surfing out beyond the reef and surfing lessons given a little closer, so there's surfing for all abilities. The location of the property is perfect. You're walking distance to great food, shopping, art galleries, and the harbor for your fishing or ocean trips. With this property, you're not dealing with the home owner who may or may not actually own the home by the time your trip arrives. Ryan is a great property manager (manages other properties in Maui as well). Every question was answered quickly. Ryan is a local, and was able to answer any questions about the island that I had (but the fun is still exploring for yourself). Need a house keeper, personal chef, or a crib for your stay? Ryan can help set you up with those. Overall experience with Ryan was excellent. I highly recommend you book this (or one of Ryan's other properties) for your stay in Maui!

Recommended for:Age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

best place to stay on the island

Guest: JG (California)
Date of Stay: 11/01/11 Review Submitted: 11/12/11

This is an awesome home in an amazing location. The new management has turned this property around (we stayed there previously with the prior management). Great yard, gated driveway, wifi / cable tv, the list goes on and on. Highly highly recommend this place

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

Action packed vacation getaway

Guest: CaliforniaSurfers (Orange County, California)
Date of Stay: 10/12/11 Review Submitted: 10/26/11

This house was perfect for our family of 4 and 1 guest (2 young adult men and one young adult female). We stayed here for 10 days and enjoyed many hours of water sports. We rented surfboards, a kayak and snorkel equipment for the entire time from near by rental shops and left it on the back lawn so it was ready to go when we were. The surf break is ideal for beginners and longboarders, but there were also several times that we were able to get some intermediate shortboarding in as well - particularly at sunset. There is another surfbreak about 1/4 mile down the beach that worked well for shortboarding. There is a break in the reef at that point and it is possible to easily kayak out into the open ocean at any time of the day. We saw sea turtles out past the break on every kayak trip and monk seals on one trip. We were able to float right over coral reef and view the marine life below. We visited Honolua Bay and Kapalua Bay for snorkelling but saw snorkellers on our beach as well. There was also a lot of paddleboarding. There are plenty of good restaurants and shops in walking distance. Foodland, Safeway and Foodland Farms (upscale) are a longer walk or short drive away. When you stay at this property, there is plenty to do within walking distance (rental shops, water sport activities, harbor with various cruises, etc.) and you really don't need a rental car unless you want to visit other parts of the island. We fell asleep every night to the sound of waves (all of the bedrooms are oceanfront) and enjoyed many meals on the large lanai. The kitchen was large and well furnished and the house was nicely decorated and very comfortable. We hope to visit this property again.

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

Surfer's paradise!

Guest: M, B, A and C (Half Moon Bay, CA)
Date of Stay: 07/30/11 Review Submitted: 08/17/11

Our family of four rented this home and we will return again and again! It had everything we needed - ample room, well-stocked kitchen, spectacular views from the large lanai, and it was nicely decorated and very comfortable. But the most spectacular thing about this house is the location! Having the luxury of walking out the back door and into the water was amazing! We are surfers and SUP boarders (which we rented nearby for the week), and it was awesome to be able to paddle out anytime we wanted into a nice break on our surfboards, or take the SUP boards out past the surf and watch the turtles swim. We also rented four cruisers nearby, which we rode to town everyday. In fact, we rarely used our car. We loved sitting on the back wall or in the jacuzzi and watching the sunset every evening - it was the perfect ending to each perfect day in our surfer's paradise! We will be back!!

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, families with teenagers, families with young children, tourists without a car.

Location is everything

Guest: tb (Fairbanks, Alaska)
Date of Stay: 04/02/11 Review Submitted: 07/19/11

Truly the best location in Lahaina. Limited beachfront homes in Lahaina, so this is a a real find. Walk the beach one block for restaurants, spa or surf lessons or walk a few blocks to downtown. House is not luxury home, but nice and clean. Had a few issues with appliances, one quick phone call and someone was there to repair. The back patio and backyard are perfect, and the hammock and the hot tub are wonderful perks. We had the toddlers building sand castles while we watched the teenagers take their surf lessons - while we sat on steps to beach with beer in hand. Everyone was happy! Thanks Ryan!

Owner response:Mahalo TB! Look forward to you and your family coming out again! Aloha!

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, families with teenagers, families with young children, tourists without a car.

Disappointing w/no contact from owner

Guest: Julia R. (Maple Grove, Minnesota)
Date of Stay: 02/19/11 Review Submitted: 02/27/11

I stayed at this property with my husband and his family for my sister-in-law's wedding. While the house was very nice inside and slept 6ppl comfortably there were several things that weren't functioning properly. My husband's family originally chose this house over a few others in the area for the hot tub on site. When we got there, however, it wasn't even close to functional, a detail we weren't made aware of until we got there. There was no attempt made to have it fixed the entire time we were there either. We received a call from someone at the property mgmt company and I told the woman we had several issues, the main one being the hot tub. She told me she'd have someone call me back. We didn't receive any other phone call for our entire stay. We were very busy with wedding details (and generally enjoying our vacation) during our stay and didn't have time to chase down the owner so the phone call back would have been appreciated. The hot tub wasn't the only thing that didn't work. The dishwasher was not functional, the sink disposal didn't work, the hammock was missing and one lounge chair was broken (tough when there's only 3 for 6ppl). We also had to replace the battery for the gate remote ourselves. Overall the house is beautiful, although as mentioned below, people do use the yard as their "public access" to the beach. Also, this house is a very convenient walk to Front Street. Unfortunately, our experience was tainted by the poor service and the misleadings given to us by the owner. I wouldn't recommend this property to anyone unless they had a written guarantee that everything was in working order.

Owner response:Aloha, All items have been fixed on the property, including the installation of a new hot tub in March of 2011. Items will tend to break and come up, if you have any problems with our home, please feel free to contact us anytime and we will make our best efforts to fix or replace anything in our home. Mahalo Nui for staying in our home

Recommended for:

Poor maintenance, no contact from owners

Guest: JG (California)
Date of Stay: 12/31/10 Review Submitted: 07/19/11

We had similar experience. Great location, nice home, love the beach. Hot tub wasn't working and no one tried to fix it. Several other things broken.

Owner response:Aloha, We have a new hot tub installed on the property as of March, 2011. Here on the Island, many repairs are often slow as it is hard to come by parts on a short term notice. All items have been fixed on the property and everything works perfectly. Mahalo Nui for staying with us.

Recommended for:

Good house, Great Location

Guest: 5ireland (BC Canada)
Date of Stay: 11/07/10 Review Submitted: 07/21/11

Good: - right on the ocean, beautiful sunsets - surfing area, basically straight out from the property - 5 min walk to downtown Lahaina - 5 min walk to any type of ocean tour your looking for - very nice updates in the home (granite throughout) - yard is well taken care of Bad: - house stereo doesn't work - hot tub needs work or replacement - master bedroom bed is not comfortable, should probably be replaced Great place to stay. Highly recommended.

Owner response:Mahalo 5ireland! Yes, we did replace our hot tub and stereo! Thank you again and look forward to you coming back! Aloha!

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, tourists without a car, romantic getaway.

Amazing Rental Property!!!

Guest: EK (Honolulu, HI)
Date of Stay: 08/18/10 Review Submitted: 08/27/10

This is the most incredible place! We just spent 5 days here, and it was the time of our lives! We got married in a small ceremony on the gorgeous front lawn. Everyone said it was the most beautiful ceremony they had ever been to. We had guests stay at the Lahiana Shores just a few 100 ft away...and we met up for surfing at the great surf spot just out front of the house. I was in heaven! We also all met over at the harbor, 100 ft in the other direction, one day for a sailing trip. Most people never got in a car the whole time! The weather is almost always clear and sunny in Lahiana, and looking out over the ocean to Lanai is the best backdrop to a vacation. We could walk to town very easily to dinner, and the beach was right there in our front yard. I wish I never had to leave. We are already planning our return trip to this house. LOVED IT!!!! The owners were great to work with. Very friendly and accommodating. Thank you!!!

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, tourists without a car, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Eager to Go Back! Splendid Location & More

Guest: Jeannie (California)
Date of Stay: 04/02/10 Review Submitted: 08/03/10

This place was EXACTLY what we hoped for: right on the end of a beautiful beach, and just a few steps to the Front Street scene, but still quiet and relaxed. Safe swimming right in front. More sand at low tide, but access anytime. Spectacular views, including aspiring surfers taking lessons. Our 3-generation group was glad to be able to send the grandchildren out to explore on their own, while parent and grandparents caught up on reading and enjoyed the hammock and lanai. Well equipped kitchen made this much more flexible and less expensive than trying to corral the teens and get the whole group out to restaurant meals every day. Abundant restaurant choices within easy walk when we wanted. Attractive furnishings and lovely lanai & open air spa. Definitely ready to go back whenever we can.

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, tourists without a car, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Family vacation

Guest: Tree (Eugene Oregon)
Date of Stay: 03/22/10 Review Submitted: 08/03/10

5 kids, aged 9 - 23, two parents, a bunch of snorkels & swim fins...that's all we really needed to get started on our Spring vacation. The rest of anything we needed or wanted was nearby &/or within walking distance. We rented two small cars for varying interests and they stayed parked in the driveway all week. Management was friendly, welcoming and promptly attentive to our settling-in bits & pieces. It was hard, I confess, to get good with the general public wanting to use 'our' yard as their throughway and park land. The snorkeling off shore there was excellent, the kids learned to surf, the weather was perfect and the neighbors were friendly too. Thanks!

Recommended for:Age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, tourists without a car, sightseeing.

Epic Adventures at Lahaina

Guest: M & M (San Diego, CA)
Date of Stay: 01/19/10 Review Submitted: 11/12/10

Ryan, Thank so much for all of your help in setting up the Sand and Surf Villa for our EPIC stay and wedding! Lahaina was unbelievable for all of our family and friends' adventures! So great to take the quick walk down front street for eats and entertainment every night! So close for our snorkeling, whale watching, hiking, and cliff jumping adventures! It was an unbelievable setup for our wedding. Couldn't have had a more perfect stay and day without your help. We greatly appreciated all of the quick and timely emails back with recommendations, descriptions, etc. We look forward to our next stay with you. On Maui in Lahaina is where it is at. Thanks for a great time! We can't think of a more perfect place to spend our time doing anything. Amazing! Thanks!

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, tourists without a car, romantic getaway, sightseeing.