Our family of 5 (three adults and two kids, aged six and two) stayed at Nani's cottage for 9 days. We found the house to be true to the pictures, but for the size of the party it ended up being on the small side. The property seemed like it was partially updated and some things needed attention: wooden floor in the sand rinse area was broken, broken fence boards, some old furniture, doors that stick, etc. There was no dining table or chairs, so we made do on the front porch with a folding table and chairs that the owner provided, though a couple times we were rained off the porch. While the kitchen was well equipped, the lack of a dedicated eating area might be something to consider if you want to cook almost all your meals and not eat out. The downstairs was a bit dim, because the windows were all privacy fogged, but the upstairs with its 360 degree windows and views of the sky and beach was beautiful. The downstairs bathroom is right off of the living room (not tucked away) and the shower shares a floor with the rest of the bathroom (separated by a curtain) so the main bathroom floor tends to get wet. The upstairs shower is on the small side. The laundry closet is on the outside of the house, accessible from a door in the master bedroom downstairs.

The neighborhood was not creepy at all and there were a bunch of families with kids around. The walk to the beach was under a minute and we enjoyed Kailua beach everyday. I would note for those with little kids that this beach is not calm and the sand tends to have lots of little bits of plastic. The bogey boarding is great though! For a really great beach experience with little kids, drive the 5 minutes to Lanikai beach which is calmed by a distant shorebreak and even has some snorkeling. The house provided beach chairs, beach toys, and bogeyboards which we used almost every day.

You have to drive or bike to get anywhere in town, but if you want to be right on Kailua beach you're pretty much going to have to do that almost anywhere you stay.