We had a wonderful week at the villa. The view of Oneloa Bay is indeed remarkable. It's in a well-maintained, vibrant-green sort of "golf village" surrounding the Kapalua Bay golf course, with all the houses built of similar low-slung design, though this house is on the Ridge, at the top of a series of switchback roads (thus the nice panoramic view).
We did not use the sofa bed; our 8-yr-old son slept on an inflatable in our room. But I should note that if someone were sleeping on the downstairs pullout couch, there is a separate downstairs shower they could use. The designers of these houses expended a lot of space on the big upstairs bathroom, which has a Jacuzzi and a glass-walled shower in the corner, a double sink and a walk-in closet. If they had kept the bathroom a bit more modest, I think there would have been room for a small 2nd bedroom upstairs -- but as it is, there's a very nice upstairs bedroom with a balcony and a big TV that we never turned on, and then the pullout couch in the living room. It's probably not a good idea for, say, two couples. We made breakfasts and lunches in the kitchen. The house was in great shape with granite surfaces in the kitchen. The view is impeccable.
The managers of the house were very responsive to our questions from their Frontdesk email account and by phone, though I think the AVV office managing this house was actually over on Kauai. A very nice gentleman named Hans served as a sort of superintendent for their houses, came to fix a shower door and was otherwise super helpful, with lots of good suggestions for things to do and restaurants. We had no complaints at all about the support surrounding the rental.
The steps down the hill to Oneloa were a pretty easy walk down the hill, never more than 9-10 minutes, and a nice workout going back up :) We didn't use the community pool that was available; instead we walked down to Oneloa for the waves and to D.T. Fleming and Kapalua Bay beaches via the coastal trail. (Warning: do not try to walk the Kapalua Coastal Trail from Oneloa to Kapalua Bay beach in flip-flops! It is sometimes quite bumpy and rocky over the cliffs.) On a day that we were swimming at Fleming beach, a sea turtle grazed my leg and proceeded to motor down the beach. I also snorkeled not far from a big sea turtle on the edge of Kapalua Bay for several minutes, as he nibbled algae off the rocks and waves pushed us around. We snorkeled and dived at Honolua Bay, and while diving there I saw a big, beautiful speckled moray eel.
There's plenty to do in this part of Maui, from whale watching to diving, snorkeling, surfing, hiking. Right in the Kapalua golf village a short drive from the villa, there is a Honolua Store that serves breakfast and lunch, as well as a very good sushi place we tried called Sansei. We did the Hula Girl catamaran trip (great chefs!) and got carryout from the food trucks in the big lot in Honokowai. Kimo's in Lahaina. Shopping at Whaler's Village in Kaanapali. Joey's Kitchen and Maui Tacos in the Napili shopping center. The restaurant at the Plantation golf course, where they play the PGA Tournament of Champions, is good -- if a bit on the haole side. This house is perfectly situated for a golf-type vacation if you're into that, but we don't play golf.
All in all we had a great stay and while the flights from DC are a marathon, we'd certainly come here again.