We are sorry that Big Island Retreat did not work out for you, but sometimes it is the guest's responsibility to make sure an accommodation is a good fit. You wanted an ADA-accessible room with A/C and a smoking area nearby. However, you booked a room with stairs to the entry, no A/C, and no smoking within an 1/8 of a mile. Since we do not have complete control over how third-party sites disseminate our information, we try to make sure that things are clear in our confirmation email. If you had contacted us right away after receiving the confirmation email, we would have allowed you to cancel without a fee. When you arrived, we did not know that the room did not work for you until the next day after you'd already left ... even though we'd already helped you find the property and said to call back with any other questions or concerns. At that point we offered an upgraded room without stairs (at no additional charge despite being 100 more per night) for the remainder of your stay, but you did not respond. You did not ask for a refund until now. While we try to help and make things right as much as possible, it is difficult to do if the guest does not communicate with us in a timely and appropriate manner.

Mahalo!

Mahalo nui for your review! Hope to host you again :)

Mahalo for your review! Glad you enjoyed our open-air Hawaii-style accommodations :)

Mahalo for your review :) Glad you enjoyed Bamboo's screened portch.

Mahalo for your review! Please come again :)

Mahalo for your review! We are so glad you enjoyed the location and quaintness of Big Island Retreat.

Big Island Retreat is a good choice for people looking for an authentic Hawaiian experience rather than staying in a cookie-cutter hotel that feels like you could be anywhere else in the world ... But with that experience comes some things people aren't familiar with like an open-air environment, the possibility of encountering insects (although we do regular pest control and would have done something about the ants if you had told us about that before you left), potentially having our friendly, harmless geckos as cute little roommates (who helpfully eat insects & stay away from humans), and driving up a typical Hawaiian road in the neighborhood in which we are located. Our direct website gives lots of details as does the confirmation email we send everyone, but unfortunately we have very little control over the information displayed on hotels.com & similar sites. That said, Paradise Room where you stayed has a 10/10 rating on hotels.com, and we are very sorry that your experience did not meet that standard.

Unfortunately, this is an anonymous review, so we cannot address the validity. We did recently replace a fridge in a room, so if that was your room, the situation was addressed as soon as we were aware of it. If it was a different room, then we wish you had told us. In Hawaii, if food is left out on the counter, it will typically attract ants. Our rooms are clean, and we have frequent pest control for our tropical environment. If guests tell us about concerns while they are at the property, we address them immediately.

Mahalo, glad you enjoyed your stay.

We are happy you loved our boutique vacation rental home away from home. We hope to see you again!

Thanks, we are glad you enjoyed your stay. We hope you were able to see honus and many fish snorkeling at Kahaluu Beach Park. We hope to see you again.

Aloha, At Big Island Retreat you book a specific room. You booked the Honu room and were given the Honu room. All websites show you the room pictures. Your complaint to me was that we represented ourselves to be a resort and you have traveled the world mostly staying in Sheraton type establishments. We do not claim to be a resort you were given the same room you booked. Our confirmation email explains to you we are a small private property every reservation counts. Had there been an issue with your accommodation not providing what was promised or some other failure on our part I would have worked with you. You were rude from the minute I answered the phone For anyone thinking of coming to visit us please feel free to reach out I am always happy to answer any questions and often will take pictures and text them or email them for a potential guest. It is in my nature to show everyone true hospitality.Big Island Retreat is Old Hawai'i Charm on the Kona CoastNestled in a local Hawaiian neighborhood a short walk from snorkeling, swimming, sunning, and surfing at Kahalu'u Beach Park, Big Island Retreat is a wonderful place to rest, relax, and rejuvenate.The very words used on the front page of our website. Mahalo

Mahalo for choosing Big Island Retreat for your stay and taking the time to review us.

Mahalo for staying with us and taking the time to leave a review.

Mahalo for your kind review and feedback. We work to improve when possible. Happy to see you enjoyed your stay!

Mahalo for your kindness, happy to see you enjoyed your stay. It was our pleasure to welcome you.

Sorry to see you did not enjoy your stay. We look to improve when possible could you please share what you were unhappy with?

Mahalo for staying with us, and mahalo for your review!

Many Mahalo's for the review. Looking forward to having you stay with us again sometime!

Mahalo!

Sorry to hear that you had issues with noise from the room above you. It is true that Big Island Retreat is more like a house or b&b than a more sound-proof hotel, and we encourage quiet hours and indicate that guests can contact us at any time with concerns or questions. Unfortunately, we have little control over 3rd party listings, so while the words "detached private bathroom" are on Expedia, it often gets missed. Same with no A/C -- there is no good way to communicate that in third-party listings other than we will not appear in results if A/C is used as a required search term for people who prefer to have it. We have a small, solar-lit sign at the turn-off to the road leading to our property (which is not a terribly unusual road for Hawaii), and we have small, solar-lit signs on both sides of our driveway from that road ... and yes, parking is tight with one spot for each room. We wish you had enjoyed your stay more, and thank you for communicating your concerns.

Mahalo for staying with us, and mahalo for your review.

We'll see what we can do ;) Thanks for staying with us, and thanks for your review :)

Mahalo nui loa!

Mahalo for your review! Glad you enjoyed Pineapple Room and our cool "winter" nighttime temps :)

We are so happy you enjoyed your stay - mahalo for staying at Big Island Retreat, and mahalo nui loa for for your review!

Mahalo for your review! As well as your recommendations & comments ... we do appreciate your feedback. We are happy you enjoyed your room ... aloha!

Mahalo for staying with us!

So glad you enjoyed your stay and our chatty birds - they do make you feel like you are in a tropical paradise! Many mahalos for your review :)

So glad you enjoyed Big Island Retreat (and our chatty birds :) Mahalo for your review!

To be clear, Expedia does not write reviews, our guests do -- and hundreds of them have given us the positive reviews leading to our high rating on Expedia. We are sorry and surprised to hear of your disappointment (& 'interesting' description :) since you gave no indication of any issues during your 2 night stay when we could have tried to address your concerns. But it is true that BIR is not a good fit for everyone... we hope you enjoyed the rest of your time on the island.

Mahalo!

Mahalo for your review!

Many mahalos for your review! So glad you enjoyed your get-away. Aloha & a hui hou ...

Mahalo for staying with us & for your review!

We're glad that you found the bedroom & kitchenette to be clean, and sorry that we missed a couple things in the bathroom ... If you had let us know during your stay, we would have been happy to touch things up :) We do have excellent cleaners, and I must have also missed seeing something since we do always try to double-check the rooms. Sorry about that!

So glad you enjoyed our cozy retreat - mahalo for your review!

Thank you for letting us know about the screen before you left ... that is resolved. We are happy you enjoyed our location and your room! Mahalo for your review.

Mahalo for your descriptive review! You caught the vibe of this funky little place that is both off the beaten path and close to everything. Glad you enjoyed it ... we'll see about a step stool for your next visit ;)

Mahalo for your review! We are glad you enjoyed the location and comfort of Big Island Retreat. A hui ho :)

Mahalo for your descriptive review :) We are happy you enjoyed your stay at Big Island Retreat. A hui hou!

Thank you for your 10/10 review - we appreciate it! As the manager who helped you a few times during your stay, I'll just note that the owner is not directly involved in the day-to-day operations of Big Island Retreat when staying onsite ... and he is often on the phone (with an earpiece) and may have been distracted or didn't hear you. He did not intend to appear rude, and we are sorry that you did not experience his helpfulness or light-hearted jokes as other guests have. Very glad you enjoyed the rest of your stay, though - mahalo!

As we explained upon check-in, the room you booked (Surfer) is the only room with a private, detached bathroom (which is about 6 steps away from the main room and larger than our en suite bathrooms) -- that it is "detached" is stated on third-party booking sites although how the sites display the information is outside of our control. Since we were full and unable to move you to a different room, we offered to refund your two-night stay. When you found alternative accommodations, we promptly refunded your payment. We hope you enjoyed the rest of your stay in Hawaii.

Mahalo for your review! We hope to see you back for a longer stay :)

Mahalo for your review! We are so happy you enjoyed Big Island Retreat and appreciate your description and recommendation. A hui hou :)

Thanks for choosing Big Island Retreat -- glad you enjoyed your stay. Aloha!