Summary:
A modern unit with many amenities in a great location is marred by bug infestation

Pros:
The Hale O'Neita Cottage was a very modern accommodation, with a fully equipped kitchen, an outdoor shower (for rinsing off after the beach) and a laundry room. Beach supplies such as snorkel gear and beach chairs were also available in the closet. The unit has a beautiful view from the 2nd story balcony. Eating breakfast out on the balcony is a treat.

Paula is not the type of host who lives next to or in the unit, useful if you desire privacy. She leaves detailed instructions for how to work everything in the unit, as well as some local recommendations for food and things to do. She is also responsive when messaging through Airbnb chat.

Cons:
First, the air conditioning unit broke before we arrived, and the repairman couldn't get to it before the end of our stay on account of the holiday during the week. Though the unit can be cooled by just opening the windows, doing that exacerbated our second issue, which was that quite a few small flies infested the unit during our stay.

We couldn't tell if they were coming from the cracks in the walls or through small holes in the window screens. We had to close our windows and duct tape some cracks in the wall to try to stem the tide. This made the unit quite warm since we didn't have AC and made it difficult to sleep.

Furthermore, we had ants everywhere in the unit. An ant every once in a while in the kitchen is understandable, but when you go to blow your nose and the entire tissue box is crawling with ants, it becomes a bit troubling. Paula later told us that the ants regularly come out in Nov/Dec and is a fact of life in Kauai. It would have been nice to know this ahead of time. Paula was able to get an exterminator to do a sweep near the end of our stay.

These could have been freak, one-time occurrences, and you may have better luck. However, because of our negative experiences, we cannot give our wholehearted recommendation for this unit.