The house is somewhat unique architecturally and very nice to live in. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t co-operate so the views weren’t as spectacular as I suspect they would be if there hadn’t been mist and fog.
Although Eric wasn’t on the island when we were there he kept in touch through email and offered advice on where to visit and nearby amenities. He also offered the use of boogie boards, beach chairs and other paraphernalia that wasn’t practical for us to bring to the island.
The kitchen was well stocked, the furniture very nice and the lighting in the house, along with a unique skylight, made evenings very pleasant. Coffee on the deck was nice even if the weather was not.
The beds were very comfortable but the early morning light on the east side crept through the blinds.
Although it would have been nice to have a barbecue, Eric explained his concern splatter from the barbecue could cause a fire. We cooked on the stove, which worked well.
Although the house met or exceeded expectations, the beauty of the booking was its location. Eric’s house, while in a rural-suburban neighborhood, was far enough from development we had the feeling we were on the island alone at night. We picked up a week’s worth of groceries on our way to Ocean View so had little need to make forays into town.
Since Kilauea was putting on a rare – once in 30-year – show, Eric’s house put us in a good position to drive out to see it. It was also well located to get to Kona for the manta dives and the beaches as well to get to the Hilo region for snorkeling. It is also just a few minutes drive from the south end of the island – the southernmost part of the United States – where we did cliff diving.
While the island isn’t so big this can’t be done from anywhere on it, being centrally located between Kona and the Volcano National Park made it easy to decide what activity we wanted to do based on the changing weather.
All in all I give the house and the island a two thumbs up.