Makana's place was just what we were looking for on our first trip to Kauai. We wanted to stay north shore but it was just my fiancee and I so it wasn't easy finding relatively affordable places to stay! If you have a large group, it's easier, of course. Makana's place checked all the boxes for us beyond affordability: full kitchen (with very nice pots/pans/blender/amenities) to cook up delicious items from the farmers markets, private balcony (lanai) with a beautiful view for coffee/breakfast each morning, comfortable bed, and air conditioning! We thought air conditioning would just be a nice bonus but not totally necessary but realized after a couple days how much better we likely slept each night because of the air conditioning. So that came up big as well. The location is very convenient for the north shore. Short drives to Hanalei and beaches/hikes in that direction and another short drive in the other direction to Anini or the shops in Kilauea. It's not even too bad to get to Kapa'a if you need to get your Wailua Shave Ice fix. :) Even better, it's walkable to the St. Regis for a happy hour drink at sunset or fancy meal, walkable to Hideaways beach for some surfer watching or sea turtle time and walkable to Queen's Bath.

Makana was very responsive and provided good advice on things to do and which vendors he'd recommend using for those activities. We hope to be back in the future.