I’ve been to Hawaii a bunch of times, this is the 2nd time at a Kealakekua Bay rental house, and this one is my favorite.
It was important for us to be on the water, and Manini Beach House is about 75 feet from the water where we were able to wade into the water and snorkel from there; or walk about 300 feet to the Manini Beach Park where there is a sandy open spot that was very safe for kids to play at. This beach is what my wife calls her “happiest place in the world.”
The house is beautiful – tiled floor throughout, beautiful wood trim, all the kitchen appliances and accessories (even an ice cream maker), granite counter tops, a large back yard deck where you have your big meals at.
There are two floors in the main part of the house with 3 bedrooms, and 3 bathrooms, and a small apartment style place in the bottom basement area. There are plenty of showers in the house, but there is also one outside under the stairs – great to wash off from snorkeling/swimming.
The view from the patio is wonderful as you can see 90% of the bay from there – we watched a baby humpback that looked like it had just been born that night or early morning with its mother (this is early Feb ’13 btw).
The house was nicely decorated. You could tell the owner liked fishing, but was certainly not over the top – as my wife would put it.
If you are into fishing, then you must ask the owner for references. He referred us to a local who took us out fishing for a very reasonable price. The fishing season hadn’t quite started, but we caught a few Skip Jack’s and saw a ton of sea life – big pod of pilot whales, about 50+ dolphins, and a saw two sets of humpback whales – the guy who took us out said we were very lucky to see all of that. We did a lot on this trip, but the fishing was the highlight.
I can’t recommend this house enough. My wife and I, as well as the couple we went with, all said we must bring other family and friends back to this house if we can ever get folks to come to Hawaii with us.
I’ve never met the owner, but he was very prompt in returning calls and/or emailing us back.
Only draw back of this place is there are from time to time people that slow down on the street to take pictures of the place or write down the phone number for their next visit – i don’t blame them.
I highly recommend his house.