Kaimana Beach Surf Shop — Local services in Honolulu

Scam...? My friend and I booked a surf lesson with these guys. The instructions on the confirmation email were "Check in will be 15 minutes before your scheduled time, no earlier," which we heeded -- we arrived a few minutes before 8am. The doors were locked and there was no one there. The hotel staff said to wait. At 8:03am, I called the number provided on the confirmation. No one picked up so I left a message. I then called again at 8:05am, and 8:09am with no response. I woman finally opened the shop doors at 8:15am and I went up to her to ask about the surf lessons. She was instantly combative and said we were supposed to have been there between 7:30-7:45am, which was NOT on the directions in the confirmation email. When we asked if we could reschedule, she said no. I think this place is a scam, and if it's not, it shouldn't be in business anyways. Go with another...

PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE. This was a total scam. We booked an 8am lesson, showed up a couple minutes early as the reservation indicated "no earlier than 15 minutes before," and the shop was closed. We asked everyone in the hotel lobby whether they have seen the shop open or a group come out and they all said no. We called the provided number on the confirmation multiple times and no one answered. 20 minutes later, a lady opened the shop and said we were late. She said she doesn't know where the group had gone and that she was too busy helping them to answer the phone (mind you this is supposed to be a small-group lesson, so without us 2 it would have been 3-4 other people maximum). She refused to help us reschedule or pay us back. Not helpful at all and...

As beginners with little ocean experience, my family was frightened but excited to try surfing, but our instructor made the lesson very comfortable and we all improved and ended up catching multiple waves by the end of the lesson,...