Steve and Noko have a gorgeous home that is about a 19 min drive from downtown Hilo--just far enough to feel like a blessed retreat from city life. Beautiful landscaping, manicured grass and foliage surrounding the house--you feel like you're out in the country, but in a private suite. It seems very secure with a gate in front, enclosed garage and special lock on the front door. There was enough room for the 10 of us in 4 bedrooms. There is 2 full baths and 1 half bath. One of the full baths is in the master and it has a jacuzzi tub. There's a propane grill and ofuro (Japanese hot tub) in the back on a small deck.
The home seems very custom-built with thoughtful features like an open kitchen, the guest bedroom in a separate wing, of the house, and the fireplace in the middle. The kitchen was well stocked with dishes, pots and pans, etc. It was great to have a blendtec blender, hot pot, coffee maker, french press, toaster oven and small rice cooker as well. We had everything we needed. It was also really great to have a fullsize front loading washer and dryer.
Check-in was easy. Steve and Noko live in a ohana unit at the top of the driveway, so they were always available if we needed anything (extra sheets, etc) or had questions. They visited us at check in and check out but gave us privacy the rest of the time, which was very nice and respectful of them.
We visited Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (40 min drive) one full day, another day we went to Pana‘ewa Zoo (18 min drive), Sweet Cane Cafe (highly recommend for lunch), Lili‘uokalani Gardens, Coconut Island. Another day we went to Akaka Falls (40 min drive), Rainbow Falls, Honoli‘i black sand beach, OK Farms for lychee, Onekahakaha Beach Park (good swimming / family beach). We had so much fun and there's so much to do, all about 20 mins away.
The weather was overcast and misty the first 3 days, sun shiny the next 2 days. It was perfect. More chilly in the slightly higher elevation, but not extreme. Volcano is cold though. Steve and Noko were thoughtful enough to remind us of this so we brought jackets. They were outstanding hosts. Mahalo nui!