This little cottage is in a nice quiet cul de sac with its own parking stall in a driveway (or can fit 2 small cars). The beach is the main reason to stay here, as it is a gorgeous beach with super powder sand and mostly gentle waves. It's a nice 5 minute/2 block walk to a small convenience store and a good, simple take out pizza place and mini liqor store, but for more great shopping and restaurants you'll need to drive (but plenty of choices within 5 to 10 min drive around Kailua town). The cottage is comfortable for two adults and 2 children (this was our family count), but could work for one couple and two singles (one queen bed and in another room there's two very small single/twin beds). The bedrooms are right next to each-other but the walls are cement we believe, so noise wasn't an issue for us. The A/C worked well in both bedrooms as well. The layout is a ground-level stand alone unit, however the cottage yard is not completely private as it is nestled on the side of another house and the grass lawn for both houses are open to each-other (no fence). The lawn is about 20 yards/meters and then you enter the beach sand. It was great having the beach chairs (about 4 were provided) as well as sand toys for small kids and about 3 foam skimboards. We'd recommend, bringing for the beach, some insulated drinking cups/mugs with lids, as there weren't any in the rental. Also, there wasn't a great selection of beach or patio dishes or tupperware for packing a picnic, so something to think about bringing. For those who want shade, there was no beach umbrella and no umbrella for the picnic table in-front of the cottage (however we didn't need these as there was always a nice light breeze). We enjoyed the cable TV in the evenings however the TV is not very big at all. Internet worked fast and easy. The property manager was fantastic with fast response and assisted with questions.
To sum up. This cottage is not modern, but crystal clean and fresh. The location is what you are paying for. Beach, beach, beach! If you want a place with an ocean view patio or an ocean view from in the home then this is not the place for you, but if you want the ease of walking 30 steps to the sand without having to get in a car, then this is a great choice!
Personally, we find Hawaii too expensive compared to other tropical destinations (especially with the current Canadian dollar) and we are people who love to enjoy expensive/culinary food and high end travel. We have travelled to Hawaii twice (both times for 2 weeks) and visited Maui, Kauai, Big Island and Oahu. It was lovely to explore Hawaii and to meet all the lovely, friendly Hawaiians, but we probably won't return to Hawaii for many years as we feel there are so many other wonderful places to travel that offer more culinary restaurants for less expensive and more modern accommodations for less expensive, as well as warmer ocean water and warmer winter month temperatures (we also have been unlucky with the weather, as we had stormy weather on both Hawaii trips, both trips taken in the months Dec/Jan & Feb).