Why this place... When Marc is ready to sell, I'm ready to make him an offer.
Location: It's at 1500 ft. above sea level, so it cools off at night, but is still mid 70s during the day. You are 15 minutes from the best beaches on the island (Mauna Kea and Hapuna), but not captive to a particular resort. Your are 15 minutes from great places to eat in Waimea. You are 15 minutes from the best mountain biking/hiking road you will ever encounter in your life (Mana Rd.). You can get to the Botanical Gardens, Waipio Valley, or Pololu Valley and back in half a day. You can make a trip to Volcano National Park in a full day trip, and still have time to enjoy hiking the Park. It's also less than an hour from the airport.
View Day/Night: You can see the milky way like you've never seen it before. I mean knock your socks off stars and a total absence of other lights on the landscape. If you like astro-photography just book this place now. In the morning you look out over the pastures of Parker Ranch without a neighbor in site covering thousands of acres of grassland. Sunrise to the left and sunset over the ocean to the right.
Inside: Clean, well kept, nicely appointed, and very spacious. The beds were very comfortable. This is a suite originally intended to house grandparents to live on their own but close to family and attached to the main house. The only odd spot is that currently the only full shower is on the lower level, but there is a bath with shower handle on the second floor where the two main bedrooms are located. The shower is great though, with multiple nozzles. I think Marc is also thinking about making the shower on the second floor a full shower in the future.
Ever look at photos online and then see something in person and feel it did not live up to expectations? Not a problem here :-) You really can't do better to enjoy this island, and the photos don't do the place full justice.
Bottom Line: Now if you are looking for a cookie-cutter small room with bunch of neighbors, steep prices, and you want to eat at the Macaroni Grill, you should go book a room at a resort. There are a thousand rooms for you along the coast, but frankly you should have just gone to Florida if that's what you want.
If you want a one of a kind view, in a fantastic location where the locals live - you can't do any better than this. Indeed, if you still want to go to the 5 star resort and beach Mauna Kea, you can still visit without being guest. The Mauna Kea charges $20 to valet for the day and you get access to the best beach on the island, the restaurant bar on the beach, along with their other activities without paying thousands and feeling captive to their location for your whole trip. When I told the valet I'd dropped $150 on food and drink over the day and showed my receipt they even comped my valet :-)