Short 2-night say in early October for last-minute trip. If you want to be a short walk (1 block) from one of the access points to Hanalei Bay, this fits the bill. It's in a pretty quiet residential area away from major roads, amongst what mostly appeared to be other vacation rentals. You are paying a premium for the location/convenience. Personally, next time I'd rather for a similar price point stay at a place a short drive away to the beaches that is nicer/newer, but this is a solid option if walking distance to beach and to lesser extent the town is most important. It is fairly rustic/dated though and in need of an upgrade in my opinion, especially since it's not cheap.
Liked:
- Host was friendly, responsive, and generally accommodating.
- Location
- A/C (in all 3 rooms, and worked well, plus ceiling and floor fans)
- Outdoor shower was very nice and a cool touch, and convenient when you're sandy (unfortunately, both times I used it I had bad luck, once during noisy/polluting landscaping across the street, and the other time when someone was poking around just feet from me to pick up the garbage -- ideally this should be after checkout time)
- Beds/bedding were good
- Good washer/dryer set
Areas for Improvement:
- Quite dated (as generally reflected in the photos) -- i.e. some kitchen cabinets falling apart, old style fridge & kitchen table, old windows that don't fully shut, 2nd bedroom smelled musty, old-style bathroom sinks
- Beach gear, while plentiful, could have been in better shape (note: the large sized wagon was very helpful, but a longer handle would be better for adults)
- There was a large (~2 inch) live cockroach on the 2nd bedroom wall one day, and a gecko inside as well (not ideal in terms of gecko poop), although neither are uncommon in Hawaii
- No cooking oil (host offered to reimburse though)
- Expensive