Disreputable and even worse: crooks. We made plane reservations and condo reservations with MauiResortRentals.com (Sullivan Properties) about 6 months in advance of our October 2021 25th wedding anniversary. We chose a luxury low-rise ~1,000-square-foot Kapalua villa on the ocean because we spent our honeymoon in Kapalua and were excited about snorkeling in Kapalua Bay, which was only a short walk from the condo (a must for us). This place was exactly what we were looking for! Here's the listing: https://www.mauiresorts.com/maui-vacation-rentals/bay-villa-30g1
We were so excited about this trip and literally a few days after we paid the final contractual payment (only a few weeks before the trip), Sullivan Properties "informed" us that the condo was being sold and the owner was not honoring the rental contract we signed. They seemed proud to offer the only other property in their roster left unrented, a tiny 431-square-foot high rise studio condo in a DIFFERENT city with NO acceptable snorkeling within walking distance, NO in-unit laundry and for the SAME price as the 1,000 square foot villa. Here's the listing for comparison: https://www.mauiresorts.com/maui-vacation-rentals/royal-kahana-602
By this time, Maui rental properties were approximately 97% rented across the island and there was nothing left even slightly comparable to the villa vacation we'd contracted to purchase, including all the other properties we had originally considered months prior to signing the rental contract. The owner of the villa was supposed to be closing on the sale a couple weeks before our vacation and I learned through a third party that the rental contracts were trying to be dissolved but it wasn't guaranteed to happen.
No matter. We were left with no good alternative to celebrate the most momentous anniversary of our marriage, even though we planned it six months in advance. We begged MauiResortRentals.com to honor the contract, something the owner and new buyer should have expected to be required to do, but they did not budge. They said they were sorry but could not help us, and they insisted the alternative studio condo was a great place! When we explained it had NONE of the attributes we were looking for (walking distance of Kapalua Bay, or at least SOME good snorkeling area, ground floor property so we didn't have to ride up an elevator in dripping snorkel gear, an in-unit laundry, ample square footage, etc.), they remained unmoved and insisted we would NOT be staying in the place for which we signed the agreement. Our only choices were to accept the unacceptably inferior unit, which we despised, or get our money back, with which we could not find another similar place. We ended up getting our money back and now we have had to cancel our dream Kapalua vacation.
We will never have another 25th anniversary and Maui Resort Rentals took it from us. The said their hands were tied, but here is the real story: they could have told the owner that the contracts HAD to be honored, but instead they just gave us (their trusting customers) the shaft. If they were unable to get the owner to honor the contract, that proves that they don't require their participating owners to promise to honor any contracts in case they sell.
What does that mean for future customers? It means that no matter how early you plan or how much you pay ahead of time, MauiResorts.com can rip your vacation out from under you. No trip insurance covers what happened to us. When cancellations happen only a few weeks before your trip, there's not going to be anything left to rent that's acceptable for even a similar price, much less the same price. Know that the contract you sign isn't worth the (digital) paper it's printed on. These crooks are unethical, uncaring, customer UN-friendly, and despicable. Beware. read more