Puakea Ranch — Hotel in Hawaii

I wish we never booked here. The list of issues we had during our stay was very long, and some of them were extremely concerning (I will be discussing only the major issues). To make matters worse, the owner, Christie, is terrible at communication and is extremely difficult to work when we had any issues and in turn has made our wedding memories a nightmare for us. We, along with our wedding party, stayed on-site as we figured this would be a great way to spend quality time with one another. For starters, Christie changes what is advertised and agreed upon at the time of signing/making a deposit and could not care at all to update her website even after I showed her the discrepancy. Just a few days before arrival, I was sent an email regarding check-in/check-out along with some notes regarding what is regarded as “ranch life” (scorpions, ants, etc). The check-in and check-out time listed in the email was different than what was advertised online, and she made sure to put in red bold print to be checked out promptly by 10am. Then, she then texted me asking if I wanted the twin beds to be changed to a king size bed for a charge. What charge? There was nowhere listed anywhere of there being a charge to change the beds to a king size. I was confused so I declined even though originally I had wanted to. We were also notified by our wedding planner and Christie that she has had issues with her neighbors in the past, which we can tell why now. We had major pest issues IN ALL the cottages – from ants to roaches to rodents. Also, on our wedding night, at around 10pm all the water on the property was shut off. (No warning, no explanation. We texted the owner about it and did not hear an update until the next morning.) Mind you, our wedding had finished at 9pm and we were still cleaning afterwards, so obviously hardly any of us were able to shower/clean ourselves before bed, including myself. Water was not restored until around 9am. Christie argued with me stating that there was more than enough time for all of us to have showered (4 showers and 17 of us!). When I emailed her after our stay regarding the numerous major issues that we had, she took zero responsibility/accountability for being the owner of the ranch, arguing that the water shut off was out of her control and that for us to say that there was a major pest infestation on the property simply could not be true and told me that my group and I were being dramatic and that we were coercing into getting a huge refund (we asked for about $4k back in compensation, when we paid over $11k for a three night stay). She also ignored issues she could not refute such as the safety/security issues we had – the gate to the ranch being unlocked at all hours, doors struggling to close/lock, and a smoke alarm being unplugged from the ceiling in one of the cabins. Anything I tried to bring up to her as concerns regarding the ranch, she blamed on anyone/anything other than herself, showing zero compassion for all that we had endured during our stay. ||Had she tried to work with us and been more empathetic about what we had to deal with during our stay, I would be more understanding. I tried to work things out via email but she was no help. To top it all off, in our email discourse in the following weeks after my group’s stay, she threatened to take legal action if anyone from our group writes a negative review. I am a Big Island native myself, born and raised there my entire childhood. I have never experienced such poor behavior from a business owner, and it saddens me that she seems to have no aloha and is using a Hawaiian historic property for her own profit. She blames some of the issues on the ranch being a Hawaiian historic property for refusing to fix some of the issues at the ranch, which if that is the case, then she should not be using this historic property as a vacation rental. To deny the experiences of over 15 people, stating that we must be lying/dramatizing our issues and concerns to get money back is extremely disappointing. She can never take criticism (just look at how she responds to any review that is not 5 stars) and should not be allowed to keep renting out this Hawaiian...

I wish we never booked here. The list of issues we had during our stay was very long, and some of them were extremely concerning (I will be discussing only the major issues). To make matters worse, the owner, Christie, is terrible at communication and is extremely difficult to work when we had any issues and in turn has made our wedding memories a nightmare for us. We, along with our wedding party, stayed on-site as we figured this would be a great way to spend quality time with one another. For starters, Christie changes what is advertised and agreed upon at the time of signing/making a deposit and could not care at all to update her website even after I showed her the discrepancy. Just a few days before arrival, I was sent an email regarding check-in/check-out along with some notes regarding what is regarded as “ranch life” (scorpions, ants, etc). The check-in and check-out time listed in the email was different than what was advertised online, and she made sure to put in red bold print to be checked out promptly by 10am. Then, she then texted me asking if I wanted the twin beds to be changed to a king size bed for a charge. What charge? There was nowhere listed anywhere of there being a charge to change the beds to a king size. I was confused so I declined even though originally I had wanted to. We were also notified by our wedding planner and Christie that she has had issues with her neighbors in the past, which we can tell why now. We had major pest issues IN ALL the cottages – from ants to roaches to rodents. Also, on our wedding night, at around 10pm all the water on the property was shut off. (No warning, no explanation. We texted the owner about it and did not hear an update until the next morning.) Mind you, our wedding had finished at 9pm and we were still cleaning afterwards, so obviously hardly any of us were able to shower/clean ourselves before bed, including myself. Water was not restored until around 9am. Christie argued with me stating that there was more than enough time for all of us to have showered (4 showers and 17 of us!). When I emailed her after our stay regarding the numerous major issues that we had, she took zero responsibility/accountability for being the owner of the ranch, arguing that the water shut off was out of her control and that for us to say that there was a major pest infestation on the property simply could not be true and told me that my group and I were being dramatic and that we were coercing into getting a huge refund (we asked for about $4k back in compensation, when we paid over $11k for a three night stay). She also ignored issues she could not refute such as the safety/security issues we had – the gate to the ranch being unlocked at all hours, doors struggling to close/lock, and a smoke alarm being unplugged from the ceiling in one of the cabins. Anything I tried to bring up to her as concerns regarding the ranch, she blamed on anyone/anything other than herself, showing zero compassion for all that we had endured during our stay. ||Had she tried to work with us and been more empathetic about what we had to deal with during our stay, I would be more understanding. I tried to work things out via email but she was no help. To top it all off, in our email discourse in the following weeks after my group’s stay, she threatened to take legal action if anyone from our group writes a negative review. I am a Big Island native myself, born and raised there my entire childhood. I have never experienced such poor behavior from a business owner, and it saddens me that she seems to have no aloha and is using a Hawaiian historic property for her own profit. She blames some of the issues on the ranch being a Hawaiian historic property for refusing to fix some of the issues at the ranch, which if that is the case, then she should not be using this historic property as a vacation rental. To deny the experiences of over 15 people, stating that we must be lying/dramatizing our issues and concerns to get money back is extremely disappointing. She can never take criticism (just look at how she responds to any review that is not 5 stars) and should not be allowed to keep renting out this Hawaiian...

This could be heaven! "Puakea Ranch" must've been an amazing place a few years ago. It seems like it needs someone to really love and live it again... (we learned it has been bought by a lady from the mainland / L.A. and she is not there at the moment) We enjoyed our stay but there are things to mention before others feel like we did. There's no one at the ranch that greets you when you arrive.(Like most airbnb's) You'll receive a random text message (what's funny because there's NO Cell reception , only Wifi) from an automated check in Servicebot called "Lani" (Heaven) and it feels super unwelcoming. It even sends a follow up message the next day . (we booked this place BECAUSE we wanted the experience of being guests on a working farm and feeling welcomed and maybe invited to help) We met one worker , he was really nice. He excused the gardens not looking so hot since the Gardener just quit. The Farmstand was empty with some shriveled Avocados and Macadamia nuts left over from a longer time ago. This place could be the most magical place on this island. The views and sunsets are breathtaking. The pool so nice we would love to have one like this, even if extremely shallow. I loved the design of James' Cottage on the pictures. But it looks meanwhile totally different inside. Most of the beautiful furniture and decorations in the advertised pictures are not at the place anymore. There must have been a water issue in the kitchen, the wood has expanded and is looks broken (not recently remodeled , as stated on the homepage). The fridge was standing on a random marble table in the middle of the room instead of in its designated space under the kitchen counter. We enjoyed the animals around , and loved the Geckos inside our place, which were eating plenty of existing bugs, since the screens have gaps and don't fit 100% (There was Mosquito spray, it was not as necessary as for example in Puna but still nice to have) When we decided to use the hot tub we found a huge drowned cockroach and other bugs in it inclusive tons of hair and other things. So we decided to let it be (bummer , because it was the reason why I booked the place) . The hot tub cover is a home remedy and has a big hole where everything can just fall inside. On top of the nightly price there was a 150$cleaning fee. James' Cottage was not cleaned recently. There were spiderwebs, sand, dust, dead insects etc. The Kitchen had yellow stains on the top of the doors that came off easy. The bathroom was designed nice and it seemed clean. This would be a fair offer for a way lower price per night and updated pictures on the homepage, if that was the case it would have gotten more points. It would also be nice if there's a safe or at least a way to Lock the door when you leave. We felt safe. But it was still weird. We really hope that Aloha will find its way back to Puakea Ranch , it well deserves it and we will definitely come back if that's the case because it surely could be Paradise if someone would truly love and...