In May of 2006 I booked a 45 day vacation on the island of Maui through Condominium Rental Hawaii. The dates of our vacation were to be from December 18th, 2006 to January 30th, 2007. A down payment of $350 was required to secure our reservation. We paid this amount on my Visa account and I was advised via email confirmation on the same day that the balance would be required to paid 30 days in advance of our arrival. On November 1st, 2006, a full 48 days before our arrival my Visa was charged the full remaining balance without my authorization or advance notification. This infraction in and of itself should have immediately alerted me to the nature of that company's attention to detail and general lack of concern for their customers.
Upon arrival in Maui on December 18th we checked-in to the Island Sand Resort. The condominium was in a completely uninhabitable state of filth and obvious lack of house-keeping of any sort. The bedding was completely soiled, dirty dishes were in the dishwasher, someone's personal laundry was in the dryer, and the closets were full of old clothes and garbage. The room was completely unacceptable and in no conceivable manner, even remotely close to what had been advertised in the photographs supplied by their company. Because we had not arrived until after midnight, we had no choice but to spend the night, although we certainly did not unpack or plan on staying one second longer than necessary.
Immediately the following morning, we reported to their local offices to report the condition of the accommodation and lodge a complaint. Arrangements were made to move us to the Kamaole Sands for the subsequent seven days, upon which time we would be forced to move yet again and again, even though we had booked a 45 day vacation well in advance of our arrival. After the first four or five days of dealing with their office, the agency did in fact admit to us that the Island Sand Resort was wrongly advertised by their photographs. After our initial seven day stay, we were moved to the Mana Kai Maui Resort in a 6th floor room for two days, and them moved again to the 5th floor. Finally, on December 31st, well into what was supposed to be a relaxing 45 day vacation, we were moved to the Maui Kamaole Resort for the remainder of our vacation.
The net result of this ordeal is that I was forced to pay an additional 50% over the original cost of our stay. During this time, in our daily visits to their offices, not once was there even the slightest concern about compensating us for the inconvenience of any of the additional costs. The agent we dealt with promised us over and over again that we would be able to speak to the manager to address the issue of compensation. Conveniently, it appeared that he was simply never available. He was either on a day off, in a meeting, or just otherwise unavailable to deal with our concerns. In other words, we were given a completely disrespectful run-around and absolutely nothing was done about it. In fact, we couldn't even get anyone to speak with us about it. Not so much as a free show ticket, an apology, or any indication of sympathy. Nothing. That company proved to be as brutally uncaring of their tourist customers as sharks in a feeding frenzy.
The net result: I am a very unhappy customer and will do anything within my power to dissuade others from using the services of their company. I will certainly never spend any more of my tourist dollars on them. My advice, certainly book a room in beautiful Hawaii, but use absolutely anyone but Condominium Rental Hawaii.