Had a great time at Rich and Barbs! They were so friendly and kind, really felt like I was staying at my relatives place. They really made me feel comfortable at home and were extremely accommodating.
I also loved the dogs, they were very well behaved and cute! Super friendly pups.
The kitchen was awesome to have, well stocked, and i could cook most of my meals and drink coffee here. They also let me use laundry machine for only 1 dollar per load. This was so convenient to have access to.
The wifi internet was fast and i had no problem working here with multiple zoom calls. There are also two tvs, one inside the room and one outside with roku.
Rich also gave me a papaya and eat tangerines from the garden!
He also allows guests to use the pool which was a great perk.
The bathroom had shampoo, conditioner, and soap which was really nice! There were also a lot of towels, beach towels, and cooler to borrow. He also has umbrellas and guidebooks for his guests.
Couple of notes: The kitchen and the dining area are outside and the view of the gardens were awesome. However you also get occasional visitors like slugs and other bugs. Rich was amazing and sprayed everything (also no bugs whatsoever in the rooms). It felt like half camping which was fun. The place looks exactly like the photos.
The proximity to the main house was pretty close. if you are looking for absolute privacy and getting away from everybody this probably isnt a good fit. Rich and barb were really fun to talk to, they were such friendly folks they even invited me to christmas dinner.
If you are a scuba diver planning on diving, you cant drive back to hilo from kona because of the elevation… i found this out after arrival and had to reschedule my dive so friendly heads up.
Also eastern side of the island rains a lot especially during winter and big island is wayy bigger than other islands so it takes awhile to get around. This area is very close to volcanoes, downtown hilo, and akaka falls.
Overall i had an amazing stay here and getting to know the hosts. They are super accommodating and kind people. The bnb had everything i needed and i would definitely stay here again when im on the eastern side of the big island.