The cottage was as portrayed, except I must say I have never stayed in a place more clean. You could eat off the floors. It was simply beautiful. One really should get a car to be able to get around, but if I were much younger (early 20's) I could consider going without a vehicle, this area of Hawaii is friendly to hitchhikers, we picked up several while we were there. The drive is easy from the Hilo airport - roughly 40 minutes without traffic. The bed was comfortable, the linens clean, the surroundings lovely. The frogs sang at night, the stars were brilliant, there were cute little geckos that keep the insects down. In fact, I did not see one unwelcome critter while we were there. There was some small construction one morning from next door, which was a bit noisy, but that cannot be helped. Internet is available and we clocked it as about 2 mbps. All of the electronics worked perfectly. Our hosts were more than gracious, available for questions, but respectful of privacy. The house directions were clear and concise. Pahoa is friendly and small and everything I thought Hawaii would be, I would rate this a 5 out of 5!