Aston Paki Maui — Hotel in Maui

Full review of Paki Maui unit 207, continued from VRBO, which only allowed me to submit the first half.||Overall, this is a 2-star unit in a 2-star hotel. The best, and unfortunately, only good thing about this unit is the view, which is spectacular. By far, the best part of staying here was being able to sit on the lanai and watch whales and sunsets. The view is so nice that we'd planned on going whale-watching a second time (we went once our first week, when we were staying at another resort), but because whale-watching|from the lanai was so great, there was no need to go on a boat again.||Having said that, there are many downsides to this unit. Before listing them off for future potential renters, I have to say that the property management group (Maui Paradise Properties) was excellent. Everything that I list as being missing from the unit, they brought over to us the next day. I also feel bad saying anything negative about the unit because it's clear the owner has fixed / replaced some things. The kitchen, for instance, has decent appliances and black granite countertops. But the unit needs a good thorough cleaning, not the hotel-style wipe-down that rental properties get.||Now, the many downsides:|- This unit needs MUCH more frequent bug spraying - the ant problem was severe. I know that everyone will say that ants are everywhere in Maui, and we know that, we've been there many times. But this was terrible. There were ants everywhere - in the kitchen, in the beds, shower, crawling on our dinner plates while we were eating (indoors), etc. We asked for and were brought ant spray, and we used almost the whole large can over the 3 weeks we were there; we had to spray once or twice a week to keep things bearable.||We also had to ask for:|- dish towels: we were only left 1 dish towel and 2 face cloths (in the kitchen) for a 3 week stay|- bath towels: we were only left 2 (i.e. 1 each), 2 face cloths and 2 hand towels. I mean I know we're expected to do laundry, but that's ridiculous|- oven mitts: there were none provided|- placemats: none provided; we ate our first hot meal on magazines||- We bought and installed a mattress cover from Amazon because we couldn't get through the night without being bitten. I also woke up every morning with a strange rash on my legs. There were also a million little flies dive-bombing us while in bed. Can't blame the unit for that, I think it was just the time of year.|- Don't be fooled by the pictures. The unit is tiny, cramped and very dark. The shower is disgusting, it appears to still have the original taps and shower head from the 1970s and the caulking is more sand than anything|- There's only a very small amount of hot water, not enough to 2 people to have quick showers back to back without giving the hot water heater a break in between|- The lack of air conditioning, which I expected to be a big problem, oddly wasn't an issue because of the cross-ventilation provided by the breeze coming off the water. And as others have said, there are plenty of fans all around the unit. It did get warm in the "living room" in the afternoon|- The wifi information provided to us was entirely wrong, but luckily the correct info was on a sticker on the router|- The wifi router is at the very rear of the unit (by the lanai), and doesn't reach to the bedroom at the front of the unit|- The power went off in the nearby neighbourhoods, and so as a precaution I tested the 2 emergency flashlights.... Neither worked, one had water in it.||The hotel itself is gross:|- The very first day (actually night) we arrived, I loaded our luggage onto a luggage cart. On the way to the unit the cart literally shook itself apart. I stopped and picked| up the pieces and screwed it all back together. You're welcome.|- One of the 2 washing machines was out of order for the entire 3 weeks of our stay|- The pool is ice cold (not heated), and as a result never saw anyone in it. The hot tub also didn't appear to work|- Only 1 resident (i.e. none of the guests) were able to start one of the 2 BBQ's. When starting, the gas only came out of one grill burner, the only working sparker was on another burner, and so the trick, we were told was to gently blow the gas over to the working sparker. wth.|- The hallways are covered in the old green indoor/outdoor carpeting, with many spots that never seemed to dry|- The only way to get up and down from/to the water level from the back lawn was via stairs that were badly damaged and surrounded by construction fencing. I cringed every time I saw someone attempting to get up or down|- The entire place is incredibly noisy. There are signs posted everywhere indicating that "quiet hours" are 10pm - 8am but I'm sure I didn't make it through a single night|without being woken up at least 2-3 times by ignorant noisy people - drunk teenagers hooting and howling at all hours of the night, car alarms, families with children heading out at 6 am, allowing their kids to run and scream at the top of their lungs, oblivious to the fact that others might be trying to sleep. One morning I was awakened by the groundskeeping staff, trimming hedges with an electric saw at 6:30 am| - One of the 2 elevators shook so badly that my wife wouldn't ride in it| - This may be minor to many people, but a big deal for me: the hotel only has garbage collection, no recycling. Garbage is put into chutes (which of course are incredibly noisy) on each floor. The tap water had an odd taste/smell to it, and so we drank nothing but bottled water. I'm ashamed of the amount of plastic water bottles I threw in the garbage. If I'd had a car I would have taken them to a better hotel to recycle.| - The whole place has very thin walls. I got very tired of hearing my neighbours using the washroom.| - The unit doors are all on very strong springs to work with the strong breeze. The unfortunate result is that all the units' doors have to be slammed to get...

This property contains apartment units which are privately owned, therefore, each unit is different. We stayed in 405, a two-bed, two-bath top floor ocean view unit. No washer/dryer in unit, but they do have coin-laundry on every floor. We did not use the laundry as they lock the doors when quiet hours begin, and who has time to sit around doing laundry while in Hawaii? There is also only one set of elevators for the entire property, located centrally. The floors are confusing, some garden rooms are actually located on the floor below where you think they are. Signage is terrible, you have to get out of your car to find the room number signs. We arrived after the office closed and we were not provided instructions on how to find our room, so we took a good time locating it before hauling all our luggage up several sets of stairs because we couldn't find an elevator.

I've heard some units have A/C, 405 does not. If you're booking an ocean view room, remember that the big glass windows to your lanai are west facing and your unit will get very hot. We had to have all windows open, all the time with fans going full blast to get somewhat comfortable. It was great to hear the ocean every night; however, leaving windows open meant that the windows to our bedrooms were open. These windows face the hallway and the "blinds" can be opened from the outside with no way to lock them from the inside. We chose to sleep hot rather than allow people a free view into our room. Further, when it's not quiet hours, because everyone has their windows/doors open, and all the garden lanais open into an interior opening in the building, the noise could be decently loud during the day.

There is not really "beach" but there are lounge chairs lined up at the edge of the sea wall and a public park right next door that has more of a beach if you want to sit in the sand. Otherwise, the lounge chairs are wonderful. There are two sets of stairs down to the water (small beach at low tide, no beach at high tide), but both are closed due to erosion, requiring you to scale the sea wall or walk to the park. The two reefs right off shore make for very, very calm and clear waters during low tide, perfect for those who just want to float or snorkel. We saw turtles almost every day. If this isn't for you, there is a decent sized pool/hot tub that they keep very clean. Two grills with sinks right by the pool make for perfect lunches/grilled dinners.

Unit 405 specifically was good not great. Other than the heat, it was very outdated. The kitchen was remodeled, with a microwave/convection oven combo. The furniture was very outdated, and the beds were just OK. Each room had its own ceiling fan, but to combat the heat, more fans were needed. The unit came with one small rotating fan and one small box fan. The box fan barely worked, leaving us with only one little fan to give extra air flow. A few things in the unit were in disrepair when we arrived - broken lanai chairs, broken curtain holders, etc. The WIFI also sucked. I ran several speed tests over several days. When standing right next to the router, max was 40 mbps. In the bedrooms, however, 1 mpbs. ONE mbps. The units are not that big, the WIFI should not be so piss poor in the bedrooms. The owner of the unit should really consider doing some upgrades.

As for My Perfect Stays, the property managers, they were pretty darn good. Very responsive, very helpful were they could be. Unfortunately, because the units are privately owned, we heard a lot of "sorry, we can't do that, the owner has to do that." Such was the case with the Wifi, heat issue, and disrepairs. We originally booked through Air BnB, but My Perfect Stays cancelled our booking because Air BnB supposedly failed to collect taxes. When I contacted them about it, and about booking through them, they refused to give any sort of inconvenience discount because "the owners don't allow us to." Everyone knows management takes a cut, but refused to give up a small portion of their profit to make...

We have stayed in a number of units in this complex several times over the past 20 years, as we like the location,and ocean front setting, We understand the property is nearly 50 years old, and rental units are subject to normal wear and tear over time. However, the units marketed were in poor repair, not clean, and sorely in need a basic maintenance, if not an overall makeover.

The two units we rented from 23-30 Dec, one unit (#108) had kitchen cabinet doors that didn't close, inoperable dish washer (that was noted as such, indicating it had been out of service for some time), vanity faucet handles that were decaying, with the hot tap inoperable (just spun around), ceiling fans that hadn't been dusted, the lanai screens with holes allowing wasps to enter the unit. Unit # 325 was also noted with dirty floors and fans, closet mirror that was scratched or had silvering missing, and double sofa bed padding completely worn through making it impossible for use. The "entertainment center" remotes were not functional, and use of the system difficult at best. The kitchen kits were basic, and usable, but one would have expected a bit higher quality considering the pricing charged.

Having reserved these units in Sept for December stays, and having twice asked the property manager - Kory, to assure they were in good repair ahead of our visit with no response, warrants this negative review.

While we like this property for its location and views, unit maintenance and upkeep sorely need some attention. Avoid the misleading offer by VRBO for these poorly maintained units; which seem to ignore...