My boyfriend and I had a fantastic 10-day stay at Sydney's cottage over the Thanksgiving week. Having read all the gushing reviews beforehand we definitely had big expectations, and it turns out we loved it even more than we'd imagined! The cottage is on a large property, and feels very private (even though you're less than 10 minutes' drive from three great towns -- Paia, Haiku and Makawao). The house looks out over beautiful rainforest / jungle and also the ocean, and you hear the calm sounds of the breeze and the birds. We loved relaxing and eating out on the deck, and watching the birds come and eat from the feeder off of the kitchen. There are avocado, lilikoi, and christmas berry (pepper) trees all around the property and you can pick and eat these during your stay -- we made many great salads, sauces and desserts with our harvest, delicious :) The cottage itself is incredibly comfortable (nice towels and sheets, soft bed, cozy couch, shower and clawfoot tub if you want a relaxing soak) and spacious (2 levels, tons of windows and natural light), and has pretty much everything a person on vacation in Maui might need or want (beach chairs and umbrella, a cooler, shampoo and body wash, basic cooking supplies like olive oil and spices, a guitar, a yoga mat, current guide books, coffee table books with beautiful pictures of Maui and its history ... the list is endless). Sydney has literally thought of everything in furnishing and equipping the cottage. In fact when we left she asked us if there'd been anything we missed while there and after a long pause we came up with nothing! A final but important thing to mention are all Sydney's beautiful and practical finishing touches that are pervasive throughout the cottage -- a large vase of fresh bird of paradise flowers on our arrival, a basket of clean extra towels and face cloths in the bathroom, tiki torches out on the porch, a sound system with iPod dock and many CDs with local music ... and the list goes on. Best of all, however, is what a gracious hostess Sydney was to us. Although our flight arrived very late (we didn't make it to the cottage until almost minight), she was there to meet us and gave us a quick practical tour of the cottage. She even offered to stock the kitchen with a few snack and breakfast items so we wouldn't need to grocery shop first thing the next morning. Later in the week she gave us an amazing tour of the large property, where she and her husband also grow and pick coffee (which is delicious, we left with 3 bags!). The story of how they transformed the property is awe-inspiring, We loved all the time we spent with Sydney, and felt she found the perfect balance between being incredibly helpful and giving us privacy. We hope to be back at Maliko estate soon -- thanks...