We were lucky enough to be the very first guests at Corrine’s beautiful Kona condo. She was great to work with and before booking she answered all of our questions quickly, and was also available during our stay. She even checked on us to make sure all was ok after we arrived. The condo was nicely decorated, very clean and comfortable, and had everything we needed. There is a set of stairs outside to get up to the second floor condos, and a keypad entrance, so no need to worry about a key. There is also a keypad to get into pool areas, and they looked to be well maintained. We hadn’t realized that the small parking lot closest to the condo is supposed to be used for loading and unloading—there are no signs posted that we saw. We parked there for the first couple of days, then found a polite note on our windshield telling us the rules. The other parking lot wasn’t far, just not quite as convenient. The condo was about a 20-minute drive from the airport. From the condo you can walk to the Sheraton, where there is a snorkeling area, and a small farmer’s market on Wednesday. There is another farmer’s market at the Keauhou shopping center on Saturday morning that we enjoyed. This shopping center was close (couple minutes to drive there) and had quite a few shops and restaurants. There is a stage at the shopping center and we saw a cute grade-school class performing Hawaiian songs and dances. It is probably a 10-15 minute drive into the larger town of Kailua, but it was a pretty drive on the coast. Kailua had many great restaurants and shops, and we were lucky enough to be there on the third Sunday of the month, when there is a large street fair and the street is closed off from 1pm-6pm. Lots of fun stuff to see! Most of the beach areas are lava rock instead of white sand, but it was pretty for a change of pace. We snorkeled at Kahualu’u Beach Park (10 minute drive from condo) and enjoyed the tide pools there as well. Some people were seeing sea turtles too. We took one day and drove north to Hapuna Beach to find a beautiful white sand beach. It was probably about an hour drive and a $5 fee per car for the day, but definitely worth it. We stopped at the Hilton Waikoloa Resort on the way home and it was fun to see. It’s like a small city, with a Macy’s, Tiffany’s and lots more stores and restaurants. Living Room:The living area had a large TV with cable, and there were no issues with WiFi. The A/C worked well—it is a dual zone unit and there is a thermostat for one bedroom behind the TV in living room. It’s nice because the two bedrooms can be kept at different temps. There is a comfortable sofa and a bar height table and four stools in front of the large window, where there is a bit of a view of the golf course when blinds are open. We kept them closed much of the time to keep the condo cooler, but nice to open in morning or before sun went down. There was also a handy half-bath off living room. Kitchen: Extremely well equipped! We didn’t do any real cooking but you definitely could cook full meals if you wanted to, and don’t mind working in a cozy, condo-sized kitchen. We saw an Instant Pot, slow cooker and an air fryer in the cupboard, along with lots of pots and pans and dishes. Having the Keurig came in handy, even though we usually had incredible coffee once we made it out of the house (of course KONA coffee, the best!). Bedrooms/Bathrooms: Both bedrooms had king beds, with attached full bathrooms (combination shower/tub) and there were extra towels in the baskets located in storage units in bedrooms. Plenty of hangers in closets as well. Each bedroom had its own lanai with a table and chairs. There is a plastic storage bin on the lanai of the “Beachy” bedroom, containing useful beach items. There were two umbrellas and a great pop-up shade tent, as well as fins and a nice snorkeling mask (with an integrated air hose), and a boogie board. There were beach towels, and two beach chairs under the bed. We also left some sand toys that we bought for our two-year old. As far as dining, we found a few good places that we will pass along. We had a good dinner at Foster’s Kitchen in Kailua, (we heard Huggo’s on the Rocks was good too but was a long wait when we tried to get in). Haluokoa Gardens had a very nice brunch and the open-air garden seating was beautiful. It was a little trek up a mountain but well worth it, and the coffee at the adjoining café was good. We heard Bianelli’s Italian in the nearby Keauhou shopping center was good but didn’t get a chance to try it. We did try Tropics Tap House and didn’t have a very good breakfast there. The server was very sweet though and tried to make everything right for us. We liked Annie’s Burgers—it was a little bit of a drive but worth it for the Kona beef burgers and delicious garlic fries. And if you like pickles, they had the BEST ones I have ever tasted--house made! Killer Tacos had good fast food and if you want a true local place, we liked 808 Grindz Café. We liked the coffee at Green Flash and Kayas, and they both also had egg sandwiches on croissants or bagels. Gypsea Gelato was delicious, especially the macadamia nut and the passion fruit. Shopping was good everywhere, but believe it or not we found some Made in Hawaii items at Target. All in all, it was a lovely stay in Kona, and we would recommend Corrine’s...