Brian and Gay Lena were great hosts! We mostly spoke with Brian and he was always punctual with responses, and made sure any questions were answered before we booked and before we arrived. I was glad he was there to greet us because he helped us with parking (our spot was a little strange, but we got used to it), showed us the grounds, and little tips and tricks for our room. He also made sure we knew of good places to eat, and different beaches to visit. This is a one bed condo and yes...you can close off the bedroom for privacy, but the ceiling is still open for airflow. My 5 year old slept in the comfy king bed with me, and my 11 year old slept on the cot (single folding bed). He thought it was an adventure and loved it!
There is a front lanai (porch) that faces the beach and a back lanai that faces the jungle. Each morning I would step out onto the back lanai and listen to the symphony of birds as a I gazed at the plant life and lava rock. Then, when the birds quieted down, we'd go to the front lanai and watch people surfing. There are surfing classes right outside the room and we could hear the occasional cheering when someone in class was able to ride a wave!
My 5 year old and 11 year old loved the room, partially because of all the sliding doors, but also because of the view and the close proximity to the pool. We walked to the beach several times, and there is even a little shop on the short walk that provides surfing lessons! On this trip we explored the Big Island using the Shaka app (a self-guided driving tour that I HIGHLY recommend). Some of our fave spots were the black sand beach where we saw a sea turtle, the green sand beach (most southern point in the U.S.), the Volcano National Park, Rainbow and Akaka waterfalls, and the amazing Kuamana Cave! We used TripAdvisor to book the Island Breeze Luau (highly recommend) and a dolphin watch & snorkeling tour where we saw spinner dolphins jumping and spinning with glee!
This was a great location for us! It is a 2 hour drive if you wanted to explore the other side of the island, but with views along the drive (and, let's be honest...an iPad for the 5 year old) we didn't mind!