Ali'i Beach Rentals — Local services in Honolulu

BEWARE of this company. They are very dishonest and will cancel your reservation with no notice, due to their own mistakes. The reservation I made on Airbnb several months ago (for which I paid an $8800 deposit) was cancelled with no explanation. I called Ali'i Beach and the woman I spoke with explained that it had posted 62 rentals on Airbnb at the wrong price and so had cancelled ALL of them and reposted the dates on Airbnb at a much higher cost. Airbnb allowed this and only penalized them a small amount, so it was still worth it to them to do this to 62 people who had booked and paid for rentals in good faith. I was one of those unfortunate people. On contacting Ali'i Beach, the woman I spoke with tried convincing me it was really Airbnb who had cancelled my reservation and said she would send me me "proof", which turned out to be a copy of the conversation I had on Airbnb messaging with Ali'i Beach asking why they cancelled my reservation. The message showed the little panel saying "your reservation was cancelled" and they acted as though that meant Airbnb was to blame. What a joke - Airbnb sent me the notification of cancellation because Ali'i Beach as the host cancelled it!! The woman I spoke with even told me that they tried to negotiate with Airbnb once they discovered their mistake, but that Airbnb wouldn't cover the difference in costs. Well of course they wouldn't - it was Ali'i Beach's fault for integrating their bookings with the wrong prices into Airbnb! Ali'i Beach even admitted in its message to me that it was a "mistaken software integration". For those of you who know the Ko'olina area, which is where I was booked, it is not easy to find rentals that are even remotely affordable (less than $13-14k for a month), especially during high season. I have my flights booked, this is a family reunion and despite my best efforts, Ali'i Beach could have cared less about what this did to me, when it was solely their mistake (in addition Airbnb has been awful in taking no responsibility for allowing a host to repost at a much higher price after cancelling on someone). Do not give this company your money. If they made this big of a mistake, I could see this ruining their business, so do not trust that your reservation will be safe with them. I suggest you use other companies that have not shown themselves to be so dishonest and untrustworthy. I very rarely write reviews, but I wanted to warn others so that you don't go through what I'm currently going through.

Update: I just read the response to my review. I spoke with two different people at Airbnb, both of whom told me their system showed the host initiated the cancellation. Is it possible they are lying to cover up their mistake? Sure, it's possible, I wouldn't put that past Airbnb. However, as the response notes below, if this was discovered and being negotiated "for months", you would certainly think Ali'i Beach would have reached out to all of their affected booked guests, especially being experts in Hawaii and knowing how hard it is to find rentals in high season , and advised us what was happening. This would have lent credence to their claim it was Airbnb's fault. In addition, I had communications within Airbnb messaging with Ali'i Beach prior to renting this condo, so they certainly had the opportunity to see the price before I booked it. In fact, when I reviewed the messages, I asked a question to them before I booked about whether the price included AC and they responded the price quoted is the total - interesting to think they would not be looking at the actual pricing before answering questions and approving reservations. If indeed Airbnb was at fault for this pricing "glitch", it seems Ali'i Beach would have written proof Airbnb was at fault, but I have not seen any such proof. I was told by Airbnb that the host would be penalized. Despite whether it is Ali'i Beach or Airbnb who is being dishonest, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Ali'i Beach could have taken much better care of all of...

UPDATE: After calling around and speaking to a few people we were able to get this resolved in a timely manner. Rita was able to move us to a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom condo just a few steps away from Waikiki Beach. The condo is in the Waikiki Beach Tower. They offer valet parking, excellent customer service. Eddy, the valet attendant is very friendly and has given us a lot of great travel advice and food places to try while we are here. He is a valued asset to the Waikiki Beach Tower. The Condo is walking distance to the beach, many shops and lots of restaurants along the strip. The noise from the street can’t be heard from our condo. It’s wonderful to wake up and watch the sunrise from the patio or even enjoy sunset in the evening. The condo is large and spacious. It’s been well updated and up kept. The living room is large enough for a dining table, pullout sofa couch, tv and entertainment center as well as a desk. The kitchen has a full stove, oven, microwave, refrigerator and dishwasher. It’s nice to be able to cook breakfast in the morning and enjoy it on the patio. There is a washer and dryer in the condo as well which is very nice to have when traveling to the beaches in the area. The master bedroom has a large king size bed with a closet and dresser. The master bathroom has double sinks, another closet, toilet, shower and bathtub. It’s very spacious and inviting. The second bedroom has two twin beds, a closet, dresser and a bathroom off of it as well. The bathroom has a sink, toilet and shower/bathtub combo. The only thing that I see wrong with this rental is the AC unit in the 2 bedrooms. It’s very loud and rattles. I think some TLC might remedy that since the AC unit in the living room/kitchen isn’t that way.

We are currently waiting to see if we can extend our stay for one more night since our flights for today were canceled. Overall what started as a disaster has turned out to be a much better experience. Thank you Rita and Ali’i Beach rentals.

What we booked online and what we got are two different things! The photos they show online make you think you are getting a nice place to stay, however it's in DIRE need of paint, repairs and updates. The lampshade was off one of the lamps. The beds were not made like in the photos. The bedroom is muggy and hot because the air conditioning is really only for the living area and it doesn't work. The toiletries they show online are pretty large but what you get are actually mini. The rental also showed beach accessories and what you actually get is 1 booth board. The kitchen is very worn and outdated. The appliances and supplies are limited too. The furniture is very worn and outdated. It was so wobbly that it makes you afraid to Even sit on it.

We were so upset that the condo we were told and what we got were two different things. I immediately tried contacting the management. No luck. Then our AC wasn't working so I called the numbers provided and couldn't reach anyone since they were closed. I emailed and sent a message through the "virtual chat" and got no response. I finally was able to get their emergency line and spoke to someone who said he would tell maintenance. I waited until 11pm which meant I had been up over 24 hours with the time change. NO ONE called or showed up. We just want what we were promised and what we paid for. If not, then we need our money back! I would also love for them to do maintenance on the condo. And for them to post recent photos of what you are actually getting which they are OVERCHARGING for. After traveling 11 + hours today and trying to reach someone with the company for over 5 hours, the last thing we wanted to do was come to paradise and be greatly disappointed and frustrated with being mislead and taken...

Five stars is not enough for this property! If you are looking for a place to stay in Waikiki, look no further; this place will blow you away. I've stayed at the Hale Koa (ex-military) and the Outrigger Reef (two properties closest to this one) and they don't even come close to staying here. Before going into the wonderful specifics of property, I'd like to recognize two employees of Ali'i Beach Rentals who went far and above that expected to ensure our stay was outstanding. Gabby and Rita made sure all our needs were met, made us feel very welcomed, and definitely made our stay more enjoyable. When staying in Waikiki, here's the things I look for: Closeness to the beach: You would have to be sitting on a surf board to be closer. No kidding, the ride down the elevator to the first floor and your halfway to the beach from your room. View: In a word, AWESOME. On the west lanai, you overlook Ft De Russy in all it's splendor. From the north lanai, you have a wonderful view of the city. Did I mention this condo is on the north end of the building where you view the park to the west and the city to the north. The condo is surrounded by floor to ceiling windows -- probably 50 feet of view (25 feet looking west in the living room and dining room; and 25 feet looking north in the dining room and second bedroom). All this while sitting INSIDE the condo. No more walking out onto a small lanai to admire the view (although there two lanai's if that's your pleasure). Amenities: Trust me, this place has more that 90% of the homes in America. Oh, it has the a refrigerator (spacious and new); it has a stove (Wolf) and microwave (new); but it also has a brand new full size washer and dryer with the most settings I've ever seen. Did I mention fully functional remote control vertical blinds in every room. With a push of a button, they rotate open, closed, or move fully out of the way for the perfect view of Waikiki. Every light has a dimmer. The showers are the best (no more running around in the shower to get wet). For those of you looking for downsides to this place, here they are: Finding the place. It has such a small entrance, you will miss it if you are not careful -- I drove by it twice before I found it. Once you pass Fort Derussy, look for a one-car up-ramp that has green trim. Go up that ramp where you'll find two 15-minute parking spots for loading and unloading. The second item was the TV remote batteries had to be replaced halfway through our stay. That's the only downsides to our stay. Bottomline: I would definitely plan my next trip to Oahu based on the availability of this condo; if it's not available during my planned dates, I'm changing my dates to one's where this...