It's really nerve-wracking to book an airbnb so far away from home, but don't second guess booking this one for a second -- it was way more magical than expected. Honestly, I feel like the photos and the description don't do it justice at all! We stayed at this house for exactly a month. Here's why you should stay here:
Internet - Many of the places we looked at on the big Island said that they had mediocre internet. I reached out to Richard to ask about the internet and he said he was paying for a better plan than the cheapest one, and you could definitely tell that was the case. We had four adults working the entire time on Zoom calls, compiling code, you name it. We also had the kids streaming tv or on their tablets. No one had a single internet issue. I couldn't have asked for anything better in that regard.
Location - ok, you can somewhat see from the photos that it's across the street from the beach, but you can't tell that you can literally see if there are turtles on the beach around noon every day from looking out on the deck. The black sand beach was minutes away walking. The super kid-friendly beach was a 5 minute drive. The beach where the turtles swim next to you is a 3 minute drive or a 15 minute walk (and across from a stellar restaurant Seaside). Downtown Hilo was less than 15 minutes driving so it was super easy to go to and from town whenever. Express Waiters is the delivery service in Hilo and they were super fast because of this location. Oh, and sometimes you can see a rainbow straight from the deck at the beach across the street. Magic.
The house - 5 bedrooms and a bajillion beds all over the place. There was a spare room where we had the kids have a playroom. All of the bathrooms were clean and functional. The kitchen was fully stocked, so much so, that we were able to make birthday cakes and bake casseroles and other similar things. Btw, there are two kitchens! All of the bedrooms had fans. There was tons of extra bedding and a million towels. The washing machine was the largest washing machine I have ever seen and if you're short like me, you won't be able to reach the bottom! There was tons of parking under the house. There is a large glass wall that retracts and lets you have beautiful breezes in the main hangout room. That was my favorite part of the house.
Amenities - There were kayaks and kid beach toys and floaties and water shoes and snorkel gear and beach blankets and all sorts of stuff you need for a beach trip! We saved so much money by using all of this stuff.
Kid friendly - High chair, pack and play, and everything was toddler-proof. Honestly, this was the best airbnb to have two toddlers running around in all day. They had a blast and had so much to play with in a safe way (the deck was super safe for the toddlers, thank goodness!). None of the bedroom doors have locks for better or worse. The stairs have little lights at the bottom so you can walk upstairs in the middle of the night without having to turn on all the lights.
So what didn't we like? Obviously, having to go home! We felt so fortunate that we picked a place for an entire month and it worked out way better than expected. Don't hesitate and book this house!