My wife and I stayed here in February of 2004 and the following is a letter I wrote to Ms. Deweiss:
The purpose of this letter is to inform you why my wife and I decided not stay the second night at your facility, which we had prepaid in full for two nights (see attached receipt). When we arrived on Sunday, February 8th, we soon discovered that to get our luggage to the cottage, we had to use a wheelbarrow up and down hilly terrain and over a small bridge. The distance from our auto to the cottage was approximately 50 yards. This surprise was never disclosed to us in your brochure, website or directions. It's not until you actually enter the facility and find a suggestion list that reads: "you may transport your luggage in the wheelbarrow at the foot of the stairs". Such a barrier would make it impossible for an elderly or disabled person to stay at your cottage. For tired travelers like us visiting Hawaii for the first time, it was quite unpleasant.
Upon entering you facility we noticed two things. It was infested with bugs and smelled like mold. The bedroom was especially pungent and had the odor of urine. Although we did not expect air conditioning, we were again surprised that you provided no fans of any kind. In fact, while you do disclose in your brochure that "an alternative energy system provides utilities without electric poles", you don't bother telling us until we get there that we should only use the lights in the room that we are in. In fact your suggestion list reads: "to save energy please turn out lights in one area as you move to the next area". This left us pretty much in the dark, hot, tired, swatting the mosquitoes and fighting the ants.
Our next surprise was the bathroom located in a separate facility about 15 feet away. One of the windowpanes in the entrance door was completely broken out allowing bugs, rodents and any other creature from the wild to enter. The "potable water crock" located next to the sink had only a plate as a lid and did not appear to be sanitary to say the least. The faucet in the sink was broken; when you turned it on the whole fixture moved with it. The tiles were broken around it. Finally, the First Aid Kit had animal/rodent droppings in it.
When we left on Monday, February 9th at approximately 9:30 am, I informed you that we were leaving and I explained to you one of the reasons why (mold/urine smells). I also told you that your brochure, website and directions were deceptive at best and quite misleading. I requested a refund for the second night, including tax, which you have denied. In fact you resorted to calling me names saying that I was not sophisticated enough for your facility. You also said you "didn't buy the urine/mold thing". Well Ms. DeWeese you don't have to 'buy' it because it comes with the accommodations you provide at the "Tea House Cottage".
My wife and I spent two weeks in Hawaii staying at Bed & Breakfast type facilities throughout. On the "Big Island" we stayed at the Volcano Rainforest Retreat just outside of the Volcano National Park and at the Lion's Gate Bed & Breakfast south of Kona. In Maui we finished our vacation at the Plantation Inn in Lahaina. All facilities (except yours) exceeded our expectations and in every case told the truth about what they offered their guests. In fact, you claim no one has ever done this before in all the years you've been in business. However, one only has to look in the guest comment book to read complaints by other guest who have stayed there.
Truthfulness is what this all about Ms. DeWeese, honesty that you most certainly lack. You owe it to your potential customers who travel thousands of miles to visit Hawaii and spend a great deal of money to fairly disclose what your lodging is all about. Maybe you don't want people to know until it's too late. I hope other parties reading this letter will take action to ensure future visitors to your beautiful Islands are not disappointed like we were. read more