Lisa G.

March 3-31,2019 The condo building is on Maui's longest sand beach. Its amazing. The grounds are beautifully kept. Fantastic swimming, snorkeling, sunsets, WHALES, 5 min to all types of shopping in Kihei, 35 min to Lahaina and 20 min to the airport. Coffee supplied each morning to watch the sunrise, lovely owners we had the chance to meet, A9, A2, A5.
Unit A3 where we stayed is very tired and in need of an update. The pictures online are accurate but once inside its evident its a "rental". The décor is outdated, weaved leaf headboard?, old furnishings, old wall hangings, instructions for the ac framed and up on the wall. Old green paint in the bedroom and old paint throughout the rest of the unit. The cupboards were crammed with plastics of every variety which left 1 small partial cupboard for groceries. The dishwasher was a half size and did not clean the dishes properly. When we arrived the unit was not well cleaned, the microwave was dirty, fridge was not cleaned, there was a hair on the toilet seat and hair in the bathroom sink. It was as if someone used it and didn't clean before we arrived. We didn't arrive until after 5pm so I'm assuming there was time to clean before arrival. There was mildew behind the bathroom door, around the bottom of the toilet, along the shower stall, on the grout ringed around the top of the entire bathroom sink cabinet and along the floor under the bedroom window. Our first night was spent cleaning the unit and rearranging the kitchen so we could put away our groceries. Our first morning the garburator exploded spraying black goop all over us, the kitchen and part of the living room. We contacted Connie, the Guest Services Manager and Patrick (maintenance man) replaced it asap. They were efficient and lovely. We pulled the tall fan out of the closet and it fell over, it was broken. The small fan in the bedroom did not work. Little things like a broken makeup mirror and old hardware took up space in the bathroom cupboard. We tried to watch a dvd but the dvd player was broken. We offered to purchase a new one but the owner ordered one from Amazon that arrived 6 days later. The unit should not be advertised as peek a boo ocean view. To see the ocean you have to go outside on the patio and look around the side of the building to get your peek.
Is the unit itself great? Absolutely. All 1 bedrooms are the same layout and with updates and attention this could be a winner for sure. It just needs a lot of work.
Our biggest concern was the treatment we received from Michelle the General Manager of the complex. Although we have a lot of concerns to post, this is an example; there was nothing to wash the floors with. We were renting the unit for a month. When I spoke to the GM and asked if there was a Swiffer I could borrow, she was abrupt, telling me that floor cleaners were not supplied in the units and if I wanted the floors cleaned I could hire the cleaners for a mid-stay clean. I reminded her that we were staying for a month and that we would want to clean our floors more than once during that time. I did not want to purchase a Swiffer for a condo that we paid to rent. When I explained what had occurred upon arrival and that morning she could not have been more uninterested. I asked if the cleaners could be contacted for a complimentary clean and was told she would look into it. It was apparent by her tone of voice and comments that she didn't want to be bothered and had no interest in our issue. It was Connie the Guest Services Manager that followed up with all of our concerns, answered our questions and was available for the guests. While sitting out at the ocean there were other guests who shared our feelings about the General Manager and were also thankful for Connie and Patrick and only sought them out if they had questions or concerns. There were other incidents with the GM but we refrained from having contact if possible and like others sought out Connie and Patrick. We did write a letter to the condo management/board on April 8 to make them aware of ALL of our experiences with the General Manager and to date April 22, we have received no reply or even acknowledgement.
WOULD WE GO BACK TO KIHEI SANDS? ABSOLUTELY! We would just do it differently. We were so distraught with the first 2 days we were looking online at other units in the complex. We saw unit A5 online and it appeared to be rented by the owner not the condo management as A3 was. We found there were several units that were advertised and rented privately by the owners. We were fortunate in that we recognized the owner of A5 from her bio on her rental while she was on property completing renovations on her other unit, a 2 bedroom unit B4. Both her units are stunning. Absolutely gorgeous! She doesn't live on island but has a number of people that look after all aspects of her maintenance, concierge service, questions and concerns. She is also available by phone at any point in time. This is the route we have decided to take and highly recommend. We love everything she has to offer on top of the beautiful accommodations... lots of games, books and movies, all cleaning chemicals, dishwasher tabs, dish soap, hand soap, laundry detergent, shower gel, garbage bags, toilet paper, paper towels, all housekeeping items, cooking oils, olive oil, island and regular spices, are supplied for your stay. Everything you could ever want for your time outdoors, Tommy Bahama beach chairs, coolers, sunscreen, beach umbrella, beach towels and most importantly binoculars for the whales. This is a huge savings for renters and something we have not seen before. Typically we have had to buy all of our kitchen basics and cleaning/paper products when we arrive and restock as needed throughout our stay. Again there are a number of units that rent privately and allow guests to bypass any unwanted stress and poor customer service