Charles and Kathy were exemplary hosts. They answered our emailed questions promptly from the start, and welcomed us to their home with bananas and papayas from the garden, as well as a detailed talk on where everything is and how it all works.
The house is lovely: spacious, comfortable and well-appointed, full of good quality furnishings, gadgets, gizmos, and pretty much everything we could need, right down to shampoo. It is separate enough from the main house to feel completely private, and the two covered lanais, surrounded by the peaceful well-tended tropical garden and incessant birdsong, are ideal for relaxing. There is no AC, but the fans and openable windows are enough to cool cool it down nicely in the evening. The nights are filled with the usual Hawaiian cacophony of crickets, coqui frogs and over-achieving roosters, but there is little traffic noise.
Bear in mind that Hawaiian Paradise Park is essentially an extensive tract of suburbia, with no real centre or services to speak of. It is a half-hour drive, with traffic, into Hilo for dinner, although there are also a handful.of restautrants in the smaller towns of Pahoa and Keeau, which are much closer. However, all in all, Charles' and Kathy's place makes a great base for exploring Hilo, the volcanoes, and the Puna region.