Hawaii's Hidden Hideaway Bed & Breakfast

We have been fortunate enough to stay in two of the suites at the delightful B&B and look forward to a third visit next fall. The owner, Janice, makes you feel so welcome and is a wealth of knowledge about the area. The home is located in a gorgeous neighborhood and is a short walk to beautiful Lanikai Beach. Each unit has a private outside space with table and chairs to enjoy your morning beverage or evening wine and listen to the birds. The tropical vegetation around the property is beautiful and well tended. One of the units has a hot tub and large patio area. The room decor reminds you of visiting a favorite relative instead of a rental. The beds are comfortable and plenty of towels are provided. You will also find a variety of books, robes, slippers, candy and snacks. She also has beach toys and beach chairs for your use as well as a washer/dryer. Janice provides a nice assortment of fruit, bagels & cream cheese and muffins. There is a toaster, microwave, fridge, hot plate and dishes if you want to prepare small meals. The town of Kailua is close and has many wonderful restaurants. The hideaway is an inviting, quiet location to stay while you explore the island.

I’ve recently returned from a glorious three-week trip to Hawaii where my husband and I had the pleasure of visiting Oahu, Kauai and Maui. We stayed at four BnBs, three of which had a welcoming feeling of aloha. Unfortunately, I can only describe the relatively expensive “Hawaii’s Hidden Hideaway” as having an anti-aloha atmosphere, for a number of reasons. Let’s start with the positives, lest it seem like I am a complainer. The BnB is located in the beautiful and upscale Lanikai section of Kailua about 30 minutes from Oahu, conveniently near what must be the most stunning beaches of any of the islands. Our suite had a large patio surrounded by lush plants and trees that attracted a wealth of bird life. A good assortment of fruit was provided for breakfast along with yogurt and some other food. Plenty of good coffee. What sort of ruined the experience was the attitude of the proprietor who was negative and among the most parsimonious hosts I’ve ever encountered. Don’t expect to be greeted by the owner – in fact she walked right past my husband and me without even muttering a hello or asking how things were. Negativity. There are many examples where the first reaction to requests was “no” but then the innkeeper quickly resolved the issue. A few of these… Me: the bedside light doesn’t work. Answer: I will look at it tomorrow (it was in the afternoon) – but then I was told where I could find light bulbs. Me: there were no teaspoons so I asked for some. Answer: we don’t provide them. But then some were quickly produced. Me: where’s the washing machine? Answer: I am on a zoom call will deal with this later. (But then she jumps off the zoom call.) Me: can you turn off the jacuzzi as it’s noisy (it was just outside the bed). Answer: most people just consider it as “white noise” – and then the jacuzzi is turned off. Focus on money was annoying. You are asked to leave a “gratuity” for using the washer/drier because of the “cost of utilities in Hawaii”. I was told not to slam the drier door because of the cost of fixing it. You are warned it will cost $125 to replace lights in driveway should you drive into one. There was a note asking for gratuities – with half going to help with “capital improvements” of the house. There’s a fee for paying with a credit card. As for the accommodation, it reminded me of a 1970s beachside cottage that had seen better days. The sheets are 100% polyester (so a bit hot), and the furnishings on the tired side. There is beach equipment, but not enough for two suites. All this for what was by far the most expensive rate among the four places we stayed at – all of which were larger, better furnished and had sea views. And with friendly proprietors who knew what aloha is all about.

I am rating 4 stars rather than 5 because the space needs some updates. It was clean and comfortable and near one of the most beautiful beaches on Oahu. We loved Lanikai beach and did the pillbox hike. Well worth the sweat! We were grateful for beach supplies and experienced some great snorkeling within a short walk from the home. I would recommend new bed, new bedding, tub / shower remodel (stained grout), and updated decor. We knew that we would only get yogurt/ muffins etc for breakfast so that was not disappointing but guests should be sure they know this is not a traditional BnB with a sit down hot meal. This is really more of an AirBnB/VRBO with some breakfast snacks provided. There may be better values in the are for what you get. I only booked this to keep up our tradition of being in a Bed and Breakfast in a different state each year.

As much as I wanted to leave a positive review, or experience prohibits it. I will simply state the facts and will leave the interpretation up to you. Short version: We were informed half way through our stay (for which we paid in full ahead of time) we would need to leave because another guest complained about our baby crying. The host would only refund us for half of the nights left on our reservation, and refused to refund us the remaining amount. Here’s the longer version of what happened: * My husband, my 10-month old, and I traveled to Hawaii for my brother-in-law’s wedding, for which my husband was the best man). The Hidden Hideaway was the only place in town that still had openings, so we booked it for four nights and paid cash in full ahead of time. Before booking and paying, I made sure with the host that it was okay for us to bring our 10-month old and she charged an extra $25/night for a third person accordingly. * We traveled from the east coast, so we had a six hour time difference to work through with our baby. The first night she had a hard time going back to sleep after she woke up in the middle of the night because of some stair lights that were on outside of our unit, but she never cried or fussed (she was just wide awake and playful). Once those went off, she slept fine. * The next day, the host gave us some old beach towels to cover the stair lights with and hopefully help our daughter sleep better - those were very helpful. When she gave us the towels, she let us know that another guest mentioned that they could hear our baby crying. The only times she cried the first day (including through the night!) were 9:30a, when she woke up from a nap, and later that afternoon (maybe at 3 or 4p?) bc she smashed her fingers. * The second night, our baby was gassy and had a tummy ache, so she woke up crying at 11:30p and cried for 10 mins or less before we were able to soothe her. She woke up at 4:30 crying again, but only cried for 3 minutes at the most. * The next morning, the day of my brother-in-law’s wedding rehearsal, the host came to our door and let us know that it wasn’t working out with our baby. The other guest said that our baby kept them up all night long and that it was the second night in a row that they weren’t able to sleep because of our baby. She told us they were very angry and that we couldn’t stay for the remaining two nights of our reservation. When I asked if we would get a refund for two nights, she said that because we caused such a great disturbance, she could only refund us for one night. * My husband tried to reason with the host, but she would not give us a full refund. * We packed up and were out of the room before noon (the rehearsal was at 12:30). During the rehearsal, I called every bed and breakfast or rental unit I could find in Kailua (that’s where the wedding was). No one had availability, so we had to stay in my brother-in-law’s one bedroom/one bathroom apartment, where seven other adults

Perfect neighbourhood cozy vibe within 8 minute walking distance to gorgeous Lanikai beaches. Loved having awesome Kailua town nearby, we are obsessed with Down To Earth Organic markets. Janice was a fabulous host and we really enjoyed the community spirit of the lush Lanikai neighbourhood.