The house was a wonderful place to stay. We used it mostly as a home base to come back to after spending the day traveling the island.
If you spend more time at the house, it is definitely a quiet, peaceful setting that allows just sitting and enjoying the view, playing in the yard, or walking up the hill beyond. The house has everything you need. There is no AC, but it cooled quickly each night with the breeze when we returned.
We live in a rural area, so we are used to driving. This location allows you to get most anywhere on the island in 1-2 hours and the scenery makes it very enjoyable. Hilo and Waimea grocery stores are about 20-30 minutes away. There are many scenic walks, state parks, and zipline tours nearby. Hawaii Zipline was very nice and just 10 minutes away.
Our favorite food finds were Tex in Honoka’a (food and malasadas) , Kula Shave Ice in Hilo. Aloha Kayak Manta Ray snorkel was great- the group was small and personable with concern for the Mantas a priority for the owner. Hilo farmers market had amazing fruits and veggies, along with crafts Wednesday and Saturday.
We had to take the garbage 1x as we cooked each day and had purchases with packaging. If you mostly eat out you likely won’t have to bother. The transfer stations are very close and super easy to use-drive in and dump. Don’t let the garbage removal stop you from enjoying this house.
One word of caution- follow the arrival instructions and use Google maps to find the house. Google will get you right to the house. Apple maps will not.
