Date of stay 1/16 - 1/24/12

Guest: janet (Santa Cruz, CA )
Date of Stay: 01/16/12 Review Submitted: 02/02/12

We had a wonderful time staying at the Aloha Hale vacation home. The accomodations were perfect for our family, 4 adults and 2 children. There was a port-a-crib and high chair for our one year old grand-daughter, which certainly made travel easier. The pool was also great for the kids (adults too), there were plenty of pools "toys" and floaties. They were also fully stocked for the beach. There were beach towels, boogie boards, snorkeling equipment, coolers and just about anything you needed for a day at the beach. The beautiful Magic Sands beach was a short walk from the house. The house itself was also fully equiped for a great vacation. The kitchen had everything for cooking and there is BBQ by the pool. We ate most of our meals out on the veranda which had an ocean view. I can't really think of anything we neeed that was not offered. The house was private and felt very safe, the owner Dave was nearby and very helpful, but not intrusive. If we go back to Kona I would definately rent that same house and recommend it to friends. It was a great vacation. Janet from Santa Cruz, CA

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

Great place to stay

Guest: Amie (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada)
Date of Stay: 01/15/11 Review Submitted: 06/27/11

This rental property was perfect for us. We came with 3 couples and 2 young children. The house came equipped with playpens, a high chair, pool toys and plenty of beach towels. The closets are huge so we could easily set up the playpens in them and they acted like an attached bedroom. The covered balcony was amazing. We spent most of our time hanging out and eating on the balcony and the kids could run around out there without us worrying about them accessing the pool. The pool was beautiful and was a perfect place to hang out after a day at the beach. Access to beaches, restaurants, grocery stores, and the highway was excellent. Dave was very accommodating and even provided us with a cell phone and a baby pool to use for the week. The only reason I did not give this accommodation 5 stars is that there needs to be a few upgrades: a better BBQ, working air conditioning in the 3rd bedroom, better utensils for the kitchen (especially the knives), and a faster internet connection if possible. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay here and would definitely come again. It is perfect for families, especially ones with young children.

Recommended for:Families with young children, families with teenagers.

Not a four bedroom three bath

Guest: ben (hawaii)
Date of Stay: 03/28/11 Review Submitted: 05/05/11

Not as advertised. Worst vacation rental experience ever. Recommend avoiding this one.

Owner response:Jeff D, an employee of rec solar from LA, contacted me & took a Personal Tour of this Home & property. He did NOT stay at this home. He had 5 guys, ages 25 to 30, who would be staying there. He noted that 2 of the bedrooms had an extra Bed or more, that the Den had been remodeled, with a an almost totally private bedroom arrangement, as in the New photographs posted. Giving the home a 4-bed + 3-bath layout, & a total of 8 Beds (kings, doubles, singles) to which, he approved On-Site, signed a Lease, this BEFORE, his crew arrived, so his remarks are disingenuous at the very least, and is not the reason that he has decided to post a negative review here. The main & only reason(s) is because two of his "crew" broke the House Guest Rules of (1) No Extra Guests allowed, (2) Destructive property behavior, (3) 1 week into their stay, the Home was found to be in a Unsafe, Unsanitary & Unacceptable Condition, (4) Evidence of drug use was found. Photographs were taken and sent to Jeff, since he is/was responsible. Evidence = Photographs & Video were taken in this case, and are kept on file for Law Enforcement purposes. According to the Guest Rental Agreement & Home Rules, this is a basis for an Eviction; However, after much discussion, I decided that with some changes, that included Adding a Weekly Maid Service (that both him & I would pay ourselves), & the removal of 2 of his "perpetrators", that the rest of their stay, might return to a "normal" state. While this Action, it did greatly improve the Home & Property situation, I believe that Jeff, "felt" that I, was being "over-reactive", to which I replied with ... "Well, I don't care what you Allow in your own Home, but, as an owner, I have created similar rules for all guests to follow, that All Resorts & Hotels do, and enforcement of the Rules are a part of this, as it specifically states in your Rental Agreement." Lastly, there were some items that were damaged, and an Electronic item that was taken, whether by mistake or not, that Jeff was charged for. Overall, I believe that Jeff, was unable to have any sense of control of his crew members attitudes & behaviors, but he was unable to Think of any viable solutions to every mishap or issue that seemed to become an uninvited Weekly occurrence. Perhaps, in the future, rec solar should consider hiring 'supervisors' and crews that have both Common Sense & Respect for our local Hawaiian Customs & Traditions ... Mahalo for stopping by!

Recommended for:

Quest Review for Aloha Hale! The Best place like home to come back to in Kona...

Guest: Randal (San Diego, Ca)
Date of Stay: 04/15/11 Review Submitted: 05/01/11

Aloha Hale Vacation Home, was the best accommodation we have had in a while, in Kona. Aloha Hale is a 5 minute walk to Magic-White Sands Beach & Park. It was very well-equipped, immaculate, and Private. The property location was excellent in a very secluded, very quiet, private Cul-de-sac, just minutes from town and major grocery stores. The home & property overall, was spotless and in excellent condition, well-maintained, very upscale, and fully-stocked including beach cooler, beach balls, beach towels, and some snorkeling gear and boogie boards. The large whole floor plan has vaulted ceilings throughout and the bedrooms have A/C. We appreciated the generous supply of towels and other ammenties to make us feel we were almost at home! The kitchen was upgraded, open and wide, it has all the "stuff" you need and some. The Pool was wonderful, very clean, and just delighrful, with a lighted Gazebow that included a beverage refrigerator and CD/Radio Player. To Stay in somewhere as modern and clean (a great value compared to a condo or hotel). And that wouldn't have included a private pool, full kitchen,private parking or comfortable accomodating 6 guests! Now, this is Important to Note- We could still see and hear the ocean, but could hear very little street traffic noise, which can make a huge difference, since when we were at Magic -White Sands Beach one day, the local fire dept was conducting a practice drill and Man was it LOUD. We can not imagine ever staying so close to Alii Drive. We were barely ever inside, instead choosing to live on the lanai that faces directly out over the Pacific Ocean, and in the pool, when not traveling around and sight seeing. The Owner, Dave, is a friendly coach and local guide and has lived on 3 islands, so when we left for the Island of Maui, for a four night stay, we were already clued-in, as to all the great places. We did one of the paid snorkeling trips, but found that the Best snorkeling was just 5 min walk. Overall it was an Excellent Value, especially since most vacation rental home rates haved dropped in Kona. It was a pleasure renting from Dave, since he makes it so easy and guides you so well through the rental process. We really enjoyed our stay and look forward to returning again soon. All in all, a perfect getaway! --Margie & Randal, San Diego, CA, April 2011

Owner response:Randall & Margie were an absolute delight to have as Guests, and fellow travelers. They used to frequent the island of Maui, but, have fallen in love with the Big Island's, "old-style" Hawaiian vibe, it's active Volcano and a fantastic Hula community. Sometimes, you meet kindred travelers and they certainly fall into this category. Mahalo nui loa for your most kind remarks and I'm sure that we will see you again. Looking forward to having more Guests like their group stay here. Update - Their stay was in March, but it seems that it was just yesterday.

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

My Best Ever Hawaii Holiday yet! In Kona, Big Island of Hawaii.

Guest: Dorie (Palos Verdes Estates, California/USA)
Date of Stay: 02/20/11 Review Submitted: 04/02/11

February 20, 2011 - I just returned from 2 glorious weeks at Aloha Hale Vacation Home, located at Magic-White Sands Beach, a 5-minute walk. This is my second time that I have stayed at Aloha Hale. The peacefulness of the home was only surpassed by the surreal experience of swimming with the turtles at White Sands Beach. My favorite part of staying at Aloha Hale was watching the little birds sunbath at the edge of the pool each afternoon. The house was so clean and organized and I truely felt like I was at a home away from home. For me, that is as good as it gets! I have been to Kona many times and this was the first time I decided to try a vacation rental instead of a hotel. It was the best decision ever. I not only saved alot of money, but since it felt like home, I slept great. The quietness and privacy is something you just cannot get at a hotel. Well, I am already starting to think about when I will be going back to Kona and staying again at Aloha Hale...can't wait...and as the locals would say...aloha. Doris Dana, Palos Verdes Estates, California.

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

Best Kona Early Christmas Ever!

Guest: Jim (Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada)
Date of Stay: 12/06/10 Review Submitted: 03/21/11

Aloha Hale Vacation Home was just perfect for our family vacation. It was nice to relax in a quiet neighborhood surrounded by a tropical landscape. The 3 spacious bedrooms were just right for our family: 2 couples, 1 single, and 2 children. Having the AC option in the bedrooms was great. It’s was very clean and there are virtually no bugs (maybe the house gecko looks after those). There’s a TV in every bedroom and main living areas. There’s no shortage of kitchen supplies with more pots, pans and dishes you could possibly need. A 5-minute walk to the busy Magic-White Sands beach which is small but offers reefs on either side for great snorkeling and fine white sand in between. We really appreciated having an outdoor lighted gazebo by the pool, with patio furniture, snorkel gear, boogie boards, an outdoor shower and lots of towels available to take to the beach with us. Our favorite part was swimming in the large pool, surrounded by umbrellas. The barbecue worked great for everything from burgers to steaks! It was nice to have laundry facilities too. The KTA grocery store is only a 5-10 minute drive to the South as Kailua Village is to the North. Dave is friendly and anxious to make his guests feel at home. He’s happy to stay and chat or leave you alone.

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

Great Location in a Nice Neighbourhood

Guest: Jeanette (Calgary)
Date of Stay: 12/21/10 Review Submitted: 03/21/11

My family consisting of 2 adults, 2 young adults and one teenager found the house to be spacious and well laid out. The large covered lanai overlooking the pool is conveniently locacted off the kitchen. The three bedsrooms are large with comfortable beds. The house temperature remained comfortable and we only occasionally needed to turn on the air conditioning in the master bedroom. It was clean and did require a minor repair to the bathtub drain which the owner dealt with immediately. The house is on a quiet residential street within a short drive to town and beaches. The pool is small but adequate with a barbacue and seating nearby. The owner lives nearby and was available to answer any house related or vacation queries. When our daughter suffered a trauma that required medical care the owner was most helpful. We stayed for an extra night for which he did not charge us and returned our entire damage deposit despite us being unable to fulfill the house cleaning requirements. We would stay again.

Recommended for:Families with young children, families with teenagers.

White Sands just right and the Sunset Views are awesome! 5 stars

Guest: Dee (Prescott, AZ, USA)
Date of Stay: 11/06/10 Review Submitted: 03/19/11

We really enjoyed the property and the care provided by the property owners. The house is located in a relatively quiet cul-de-sac and very safe neighborhood, just a couple of blocks, if that many, from the White Sands beach and about a 5- min walk. The living room, giant lanai, all 3 master bedrooms and the den with a queen sleeper are very comfortable, with the open kitchen is great great for cooking. The bedrooms can get a little warm during the late afternoons, with so much sun streaming in, but this was likely more because we were there when the Trade winds were light. The Pool area, grounds and lawn are well kept and the giant Lanai facing the ocean has a very nice patio table and chairs, along with other high quality patio tropical furniture for large groups, and the size of it can be seen in the photographs, this is perfect for evening dinners. The owner are very nice, helpful and tended to all of our questions and needs. I look forward to staying here again. Ted & Sarah

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, adventure seekers, families with young children, families with teenagers, girls getaway.

Not as described in the ad

Guest: Unhappy (CA+NJ, USA)
Date of Stay: 10/02/10 Review Submitted: 11/24/10

This is a nice place in a quiet neighborhood with a great lanai overlooking the sea and the small pool. It has 3 bedrooms, not 3.5 or "4 + convertible beds" as claimed and 2.5 bathrooms, not 3 as claimed. The pull-out sofa in the corner of the living room doesn't constitute half or a full bedroom. The owner made false accusations for which we were charged extra from our deposit, e.g. claiming we had extra guests one night (we can prove we didn't, and so can the owner by looking at the security camera+mic' footage from the lanai). It was claimed we wore shoes in the house and that the place was left in a mess when we left it in good shape, with hi-res photos to prove it. The house had sidewalk chalk, and with our daughter we used it to draw on the house driveway. OK, we should have spent 20 seconds using the hose by the driveway to wash it off, but we didn't expect to loose a large chunk of our deposit for that. Likewise our one smoker left some cigarette butts on the street, we apologize, but taking another large chunk from the deposit for that is over the top. Actually the owner refused to return any of our deposit, and charged a lot extra because we increased our party size from 6 to 7 (the advertised capacity is 9). In accordance with the contract we didn't launder bedding and towels but did remove them from the rooms. We were charged extra from the deposit for laundry. We were told we had to pay through paypal's personal payment scheme, which is contravention of paypal's rules: https://cms.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/marketingweb?cmd=_render-content&content_ID=ua/UserAgreement_full&locale.x=en_US#4.%20Receiving%20Money. The owner kept dropping by uninvited. During one post-vacation email the owner moaned about us having asked for a toilet seat (broken prior to our arrival) to be fixed, and about one of us asking where the broom was so we could clean up the bathroom floor which hadn't been cleaned properly. We emailed and called a couple of times before we left to discuss things, the owner ignored the email for 3 days and accused us of not calling but we have the call history to prove it. We are good people and were good guests but the emails made us out to be disrespectful and uncaring. We've done 17 such rentals in the last 10 years. All had been good experiences and we'd always had our full deposit returned. This is the only one for which we've ever left any form of negative response. Not a good experience.

Owner response:OCTOBER 2010 - Owners response to Jean K, was about their intentional breaking of our Guest Property Rules & Policies, as well as, additional UNPAID extra charges, that Jean & her friends have never paid. * An important note is that this whole fiasco started when I subsequently declined Jean's offer to Re-Book this same property, for IronMan 2011. Also, I attempted on several occasions to mediate a fair solution, to which Jean declined. BTW, they mention my friend's name, but she does not manage this property, nor did she have any contact with them. * The initial complaints about this Home, by Jean K.’s friend, Doug, were dealt with both promptly and professionally, and after her arrival, there were No further complaints, from her or her group, after that. * Jean K. was the Primary Guest on the agreement, and as stated on the rental agreement, responsible for ALL of her Guests or partners conduct and actions on the property. You should be blaming Doug and your father-in-law, not anyone else. * Jean K. & her husband, Egor, failed to ensure that her Guests abided by the Home & Property Policies, that included: - our Hawaiian tradition of Not Wearing of Shoes inside the home, and, - No large Equipment &/or, Bike Policy (inside), and, - Non-Smoking Policy (her father-in-law & extra person never paid for), and, - The Deplorable general house condition that was left upon departure, and, - Their display of Contempt & Apathy towards any Guest Policy's. This Letter Continues ... by Owner.

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