A Very delightful stay! More than I expected!! And I saved $2000+ by switching to "Red Hibiscus!"
What a wonderful gem of an AirBnB this rental is. When my husband and I go to Hawaii, we always try to support the "local guy", and this includes lodging. I found this place online and decided to go for it and booked the "Red Hibiscus" for 10 days.
We were thoroughly pleased with what we encountered. The short 10 minute hop from the airport was much appreciated after a 14+ hour travel day. GPS took us to the neighbors across the street, but Greg came down the driveway and helped us get to the right place.
We were then warmly greeted by the sweetest, most down to earth people I have ever encountered via an AirBnB rental. It was as if we had known them forever. We were treated like good ol' friends, instead of some weird strangers from Oregon. I brought the hosts a special treat of Marionberry Jams. They were so excited and thankful! We wound up just chatting with them for about 10 minutes about everyday stuff before we headed for the rental.
The rental is so cute! I was VERY much surprised to find little things waiting for us like APPLE BANANAS and PAPAYAS! The fridge had a bunch of extras inside, including a loaf of bread, diet cokes, syrup for waffles, home made butter from Margie, snack apples, Peanut butter, Jelly, 3 different flavors of Lions coffees, and a Brita water pitcher.
I did not know how to cut open a papaya, so Greg helped me.
Then they showed us around, explained how things worked, and left us to unpack and relax. There was a small closet for us to hang up shirts, plus a nice big dresser to store other clothes and things in.
The nightstands with the extra sockets in the lamps were a nice surprise! I didn't have to hunt down an outlet for my phone.
We had been up 23+ hours so we were very grateful to have a nice, comfortable bed to crash in! There was no A/C, but because we were up in the hills, a nice breeze blows through at night and cools everything down. We left the windows open, let the fans run and slept like babies.
We woke up to the sounds of a bazillion birds, chirping outside. There are Cardinals!!! And a bunch of other cute colored birds. My husbands favorite part of the mornings were watching the birds through the big window while he had his morning coffee. He called it his "Bird TV."
Shower heated up QUICK, and we never ran out of hot water. The shower pressure was great! And...tall enough so that my 6'3 husband didn't bump into any showerhead. Midweek into our stay, Margie replenished our towels with a nice, clean, fluffy batch.
We felt very safe and secure at this place. Anytime we went somewhere, we just "went". We never had to worry about locking up the rental, as Greg and Margie keep a sharp eye on everything. It was nice to come back to the rental and know that our belongings were save and sound.
Anytime I needed help with something that only the locals could help me with, Greg and/or Margie were happy to help! They'd pop in on us from time to time, just to say hi and check on us. Sometimes, we'd wind up chatting for an hour or so, because, that's how cool they are. ☺ I honestly felt like I was visiting my own family, like an aunt and uncle.
It touched my heart when they were worried about my husband and I because we had been gone for 12+ hours and didn't get back in until late. You wont get THAT from some hotel!!
We saved probably over $2000 by choosing this rental. Why?
We didn't have to pay some exaggerated hotel rate and "resort fee" for a crackerjack box of a room. We had a bedroom, bathroom, kitchenette, living room, work desk, and eating area, for a much lower rate than what a hotel would charge. You also have a little outside seating area and spot for your shoes.
We didn't have to bring towels of ANY Kind, or any beach things like umbrellas, beach chairs, beach coolers, and shopping bags.
We also didn't have to bring shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and other misc. toiletries one needs while traveling. It was all there for us.
We didn't have to eat every meal out somewhere every day, because we had a place to store food, plus there was already stuff there for us! PLUS, they provide coffee, teas, AND creamer! AND dishes, glasses, silverware, a small crock pot, a toaster oven, an electric kettle and a microwave. We came up with many different combos of utilizing each appliance for meals.
We didn't have to run off somewhere to do laundry. We were able to pack less, and wash our clothes there. The clothesline was a big plus, as I do not heat dry most of my clothing. The natural Hawaiian air did it for me!
We didn't have to pay some fancy "internet fee". The internet works like a champ! My husband does a lot of his business stuff online, so fast reliable internet was MUCH appreciated! Not once did my husband whine about "slow internet".
We didn't have to pay for parking. We had our own spot!
The LOCATION! you're 15 minutes outside of KONA, but this puts you 15 minutes closer to the "Hidden Beaches", and trust me, there's some mighty fine beautiful beaches out there!! My favorite beach is a 13 minute drive from Rental to Parking Lot! (Yes, we timed it!) Costco is a 10 minute drive!
And... last but not least...The VIEW. You can see the ocean from certain parts of the rental! The sunsets were absolutely gorgeous!
I am sure I am forgetting something, but...I think I covered the