HOST: Eliot is the perfect host...calm, friendly, available, accommodating, and responsive, yet leaves you to do your own thing. He was flexible about our check-in time, greeted us with a brief tour, and when I asked to borrow rice, he shared his freshly cooked rice (easier for us) as well as gave us dry rice.
LOCATION: The property is in the Leilani Estates where the 2018 eruption flowed through the neighborhood. This location is a great jumping off point for seeing all things "lava." Fissure 9 is a two-minute walk up the road and the big 2018 fissure 8 lava field is just a couple blocks over and absolutely fascinating. be sure to climb up to the top of the crater! It's also close to the volcano park. Note: It's far from Kailua-Kona and even Hilo close to a half hour away.
The lot is long and narrow with lava-gravel driveway up the left side that goes to the back of the property and a series of houses on the right. The guest house is closest to the road, and Eliot and other guest houses are farther back on the property.
WIFI: Fabulous. We are IT workers with high standards. I forgot to do a speed test, but we would feel comfortable doing video calls from here. Streaming video worked without a hitch.
BATHROOM: To reach the bathroom, you go out the the kitchen sliding door, turn right and it's around the corner and private. The tub/shower area is further back and is three steps up into its own separate little building. The shower is a standard tub (deep enough for a bath) and shower head. It's screened in and private, but you feel like you are outside. Plenty of hot water.
KITCHEN: Well-stocked with all the basics, including complimentary coffee and a blender. Full-size refrigerator.
CLEANLINESS: All the basics (kitchen/bath/linens) are very clean, but this isn't the place to stay if you're looking for that condo-like pristine clean that some airbnb's advertise. It's more like you're at your own house and you keep it clean, but maybe not absolutely perfect.
CHARM: The space is not hermetically sealed and you'll be sharing the space with some very cute little bright green geckos. At night, the frogs are active and can be quite loud. The Asian decor gives a zen/peaceful feel.
SECURITY: The front doors feel authentic...to the point of not having a tight fit. You can latch them closed from the inside, but when you leave for the day, they do not lock from the outside. We kept our critical things (e.g. computers) with us in the trunk of the car, but with the remote location and Eliot and others on the property, we felt fine leaving all our belongings.
ACCURACY: Some of the furniture has changed from the photos posted. In the kitchen, the flat/rectangular bench is now a futon sofa, and the dining table is a long/oval glass-topped table.
Eliot — Thank you for hosting us. We had a wonderful time and look forward to seeing you again!