We just did not want to leave!!
It’s just a beautiful place! With the tall wooden ceilings the place felt so open and spacious with almost a little cottage-like vibe. It’s well ventilated and breezy with a ton of light! The furniture, appliances, everything is of good quality and the place is so tastefully appointed that we felt at home right away. The kitchen has everything you would need and everything is top-notch quality and well maintained. The whole space is so functional and well equipped, everything we ever needed was given. Seriously, you will not want for anything. If you need something and can’t find it, just check more of the drawers and storage, or just ask Shari.
The fast dependable internet and the desk made it possible for both my husband and me to comfortably work remotely while we were here. Sometimes it was an issue when we both had meetings where we had to talk, so we couldn't both be inside the house. But we were able to work around that by one of us taking the meeting from the balcony or the spacious patio downstairs. We did bring an extra monitor and a laptop stand with us for our work set up. The desk is big enough to accommodate two monitors though.
A bunch of other reviewers have mentioned the street noise from the road outside. It is loud but it’s more like a consistent white noise - so it’s not the sort that wakes you from your sleep or alarms a child. And the doors and windows are quite noise insulating, so we would just close them when we wanted more quiet. All in all, the noise is annoying but the pros of the place really outshine that one slight con and we happily extended our stay here multiple times.
We mostly communicated with Shari, and she is the absolute sweetest. They were able to be super helpful and communicative while giving us our privacy and space. Our mail would promptly show up on our doorstep with an added reminder text message if the package looked important. The airbnb is well insulated from their place and feels really independent with your own entry and parking space. We never even crossed paths.
And oh the location! Castles beach access is literally right there! It is a quiet neighborhood beach with mostly locals who start recognizing you and waving at you. The waves are gentle enough for dips and swims, but you’ll also find plenty of surfers and boogie boarders towards the left corner. This is actually the beach that surf instructors choose to take beginners for lessons. Castles beach just extends on to Kalama beach and Kailua beach so you can be walking on for an hour and the beach just won’t end. Don’t miss the gorgeous sunrises here though the sunsets are pretty cool too! We made good use of the boogie boards provided in the airbnb and there’s also beach toys, chairs, coolers and a beach cart.
Absolutely loved our time here. The place just fills you with energy and great mood. We would get up early for our work in pacific time, be done early, head to the beach, and be so refreshed upon coming back that we could work some more and still have the energy to cook healthy homemade meals and end with some netflix. It’s just a great lifestyle.
We were also really glad we chose Kailua as the town to stay in. It’s just the sweetest small town, very residential, but the town center has everything you’d need. And even though it is on the “windward side”, it mysteriously seemed to always have better weather than other parts of the island, even in winter.
We picked this Airbnb after tons of research on stays across Hawaii, and we were constantly grateful that we did.
Thanks Shari and Tim for the wonderful stay. It will always have a special place in our memories.