Ocean View One Bedroom w/ Full Kitchen & WiFi

Nicely located near but not in Waikiki, the apartment is small and in need of a serious upgrade --furniture is shabby, mattress is comfy but too big for its platform, water damage on the bathroom ceiling, threadbare floor mats/carpeting, paint-damaged wood floors,1960's style noisy in-window AC units etc. The "ocean view" is exactly as shown - through surrounding hi rise buildings and directly over the roof of a low-rise building that is illuminated most of the night-- and there is no balcony for the unit. Downstairs there is access to a shared lanai and narrow seawall, but no direct beach access. The building has no real amenities (pay laundry!) and I rarely saw anyone present at the lobby management desk. I would say best use of this place is for a couple or individual who plan to be out and about all day and cook at home every meal, as the kitchen is well equipped and the location is good for walking into Waikiki, hiking Diamond Head and driving out of town. If you are looking for a place to chill, read, daydream and lose yourself in the sound/smell/ feeling of the ocean during the day, this space is not for you. I love Hawaii and have had lots of great visits to the islands, but this isn't an accommodation I'd return to. A hotel room in the same price range would probably have been a smarter move.

I also note that the guest experience was simply not up to the usual great experience I've come to expect from my other stays in VRBOs around the world. Maybe it's because this one is run by a mgmt company rather than an actual owner. The company's "guest host" met me on the street (after a 15 minute wait outside the locked gate, even though I followed the instructions to call when I landed and when I was halfway there), let me in and handed me a welcome notebook. He was perfectly pleasant, but anxious to get finished and hit the road, so when i called the property mgr Mark to ask some follow-up questions (after my very long travel day, I needed to clarify a couple of things that I had missed during the whirlwind intro), he made it abundantly clear that he was annoyed that I called him, and that I was interrupting his busy evening. Maybe he was having a bad night, but that was my only contact with him or anyone else at the property during my week-long stay.