As a first-time Big Island visitor, I was torn between renting a basic place close to the water and a nicer house further up the hill. Went with the latter in Aolani House, and was thrilled with the choice. The house is well appointed and quietly luxurious throughout. We used all 4 bedrooms and baths and everyone loved their digs. Great beds, great showers. The pool/hot tub area offers a spectacular view-- we made a point of being there at sunset as many nights as we could. Hardwood floors throughout,nice furniture and beds, just a solidly built and carefully decorated place. My spouse said, and I agree, that there is nothing cheap about the house, and nothing she would change about it. It simply does not feel like a rental house-- it feels like a residence.
There's a beach within ten minutes that offers solid snorkeling, and several others within half an hour. Good restaurants similarly close. You're not walking to anything, because the small road the house is on is curvy with a narrow shoulder, but I was 100% on board with that because it's so quiet and secluded.
We were at Aolani house for a week. I used the house as a jumping off point for day trips to Volcanoes NP and the north shore, but some of our group loved the house so much they didn't leave it for a solid 48 hours! It's weird to say as someone who believes in wringing every drop of hiking/swimming/exploring out of a destination like the Big Island, but I kept thinking that it would be a completely legit vacation to just spend the whole week lounging around the house. That's what you get with this place.
Note well, for those who are light sleepers: the roosters start making their presence known at around 4 AM pretty consistently, and the coqui frogs chirp at night as well, so if you need silence in order to sleep that could be an issue. But I get the sense that the frogs are pretty pervasive on the island now, so that's less a criticism of this particular house and more a heads-up for travelers who, like me, had never been on the island before. We adjusted pretty fast, and after the first couple of nights I barely noticed the frogs. By midnight all you hear is the surf from down the hill, which is lovely.
Other random notes: the house was SPOTLESS. The kitchen's really well equipped. I appreciated the availability of not one but two high-end grills, one gas and one charcoal. the outdoor shower was the best we've ever had. Hosts were kind enough to purchase a chessboard and Yahtzee for my ten year old, who's a fan of both, and were unfailingly responsive during our stay. First class all around.