Our honeymoon was ruined. Our suite was burglarized our 2nd full day there while we were out. But there was no sign of forced entry.
Joe Sylvester, the owner, admitted he was the last person in the suite. We lost laptops, wedding bands, cameras, and an iphone, in all about $6000 in valuables.
When I approached Mr. Sylvester about compensation or at least filing a claim with his insurance company, he told me to talk to his lawyer. Nowhere does it state on his site that the guest is responsible for theft and loss.
This is one of the most vulnerable places I’ve ever stayed. The locks are feeble and old. There are signs requesting that the doors be left unlocked. There is no alarm and there is no safe or other means to secure valuables.
In addition, according to the locals, it seems that Poipu Beach is a target for burglary as the unemployment rate is really high and as a result there is a meth epidemic. I was told that there are bumper stickers which read "No green harvest puts Kauai on ice". Ice is the smokable form of meth. Green harvest is pot. I guess they’re cracking down on pot so the drug dealers have turned to cooking meth.
After the break-in occurred he took two measures to ensure our safety:
1. He locked the door, which was unlocked when we moved in, connecting our unit to the adjacent unit. If we had a means to lock the door, we would have but you’re the only one who could lock the door. Why wasn’t that door secured with a bolt on both sides?
2. He gave us two bungee cords with which to secure the front door. This was the Turtle Cove security upgrade. He didn't install new locks or an alarm; he gave us.....bungee cords.
In addition, along with the costs of the lost items we have to factor in the degradation of our vacation experience: the emotional costs, the time invested changing about 40 passwords, buying and setting up new equipment, and the fact that I was not able to conduct business as planned while here because I did not have the data or spreadsheets that I needed to do my job while here.
I was victimized by the people who stole our vacation dreams and our material goods and I feel victimized by Joseph Sylvester. What if my wife was alone in the unit at the time of a break in?
We never received even an "I'm sorry this happened to you". Not any sign of sympathy or empathy. We did receive an email telling us he'd be off the island until we left, that he would not file a claim with his insurance company, and as stated, cold-hearted instructions to call his attorney.
I rated the cleanliness as average because the towels and bedding have the feel of second hand cast offs as does much of the furniture. I didn't rate the location because although it is beautiful it turned out to be too hidden which, I believe emboldened the burglars. Also, a big new building is under construction which created a lot of noise in the morning.
I rated the value low because as you can see I didn't get any value....just a lot of heartache and pain.
