Eco Hale was amazing! My partner and I fell in love with the place immediately. There’s nothing like being in the middle of a rain forest, with just the sounds of birds, gentle rain, and the otherworldly sounds of coqui frogs chirping at night. It was so calming, relaxing, soothing. A switch goes off in your brain when being there. I wanted to spend as much time as possible there just soaking it in.
It’s definitely off the beaten path. After you leave the main highway, it’s still a long ways in. But of course this is why it’s so remote and quiet. We barely noticed the main house where Kaeo and Karl live because the property is so lush. Kaeo gave us a quick tour and some instructions on how to use the furo, stove, etc. and then left us alone to enjoy our little slice of paradise. Over the next three days we communicated by text message and handwritten notes, and Kaeo would leave us the most ono (delicious) homemade goodies every day. This was on top of a well-stocked mini fridge and a full water dispenser, and many other amenities. Kaeo and Karl thought of everything, and then some.
I am a Hawaii resident and have been to the Big Island dozens of times. My main advice is, don’t try to see all of Hawaii Island in one trip. Eco Hale is a great location from which to see the volcano area, the small towns in Puna, Hilo, and on up to the middle of the Hamakua Coast. We also did Mauna Kea as a day trip (staying until sunset). The driving distances on the Big Island are so great that you do not want to cram too much into a few days, since you would just spend most of your time driving and not nearly enough time enjoying the island lifestyle.
At Eco Hale the temperature at night was cool, and between the cool air and the coqui frogs, I slept like a baby. Coqui frogs are controversial in Hawaii. They were introduced and they spread quickly on Hawaii Island. Some people are bothered by their chirping, but I’m not one of them. It just made it feel more like were in some exotic place in a rainforest. The feeling reminded me of my travels years ago, when I stayed in off-the-beaten-path places in Bali and Thailand, where the pace of life is so much slower.
In short, this has been our favorite AirBnb!