Margaret was a great host. Very accommodating. It's doubtful you can find a place that is closer to the water in Hilo - out the back gate and in the blue Pacific in seconds. First day there and 2 green sea turtles were in the lagoon. Also spotted some ferrets. There's public showers right there and the building has another near the pool. The pool was really warm, nice place to relax after a swim. There's several other great oceanside public parks nearby - our first day there we went to KTA to get poke and ate it in Keaukaha Beach Park sitting under some shady trees at the water.
I started several days sitting at the table watching & listening to the ocean. She is extremely close to both the port if you arrive by cruise ship and the airport. Takes all of 10 minutes to drive into downtown (be sure to hit the Saturday market, which is 4 times the size of daily one). Volcanoes Nat'l Park is about 40mins away. The best part of Hilo is that it has far fewer tourists than the Kona side, so mostly what you see are the locals.