My wife and I stayed at the Bali Cottage for two nights as part of our honeymoon. We didn't have the chance to met Karen, as she was away on a trip during our stay, but her friend Andy was there to check us in and was very inviting and helpful. The location of the cottage is incredible. You are literally steps away from Manini (Tiny) Beach on the Napo'opo'o peninsula and a short drive from the city of refuge (Pu'uhonua o Honaunau Park).

The hosts were nice enough to let us use their kayak for the bay which you can launch right at Manini beach. This is not to be taken for granted as kayak launching is heavily restricted at Kealakekua Bay and rentals are not allowed to launch here. We were able to swim with the dolphins off the kayak and snorkel by the Captain Cook monument which we heavily recommend. This is probably the best snorkeling on the big island. We recommend going early in the morning. Boats and boat tours tend to fill up the bay later in the afternoon.

The cottage is open air and therefore insects are inevitable. If you or your companion are squeamish about bugs this may not be the best place. The geckos running around though were cool. But we did have problems with two cats trying to get into the trash (we had cooked some fish).