If you are lucky enough to find the Koki Kottage available during your stay on the east side of Hawaii, book it! We were looking forward to our stay here and it did not disappoint.
Lori and Ken were excellent hosts. Even before we got to the front door of the Koki Kottage they received us like family. They even obliged to give us a tour of the plants and fruit trees in their backyard. They picked some Meyer lemons for us which we used to make lemonade as well as fresh and sweet guavas from their tree. During this time they also gave us plenty of local tips and were so knowledgable about topics on the island from Mauna Kea to the recent lava flows.
The Koki Kottage itself has everything you need and is sparkling clean. The windows provided plenty of natural light during the day and views of the green trees made us feel immersed and peaceful in this special place. We appreciated the small touches too like the soft close drawers. The place was well thought out and pleasant to stay in. There was a storm going through Kurtistown during our stay but at night we were able to glimpse the Milky Way through breaks in the clouds.
Our stay here focused mainly on visiting Volcanoes National Park and the Koki Kottage was an excellent location for this. We especially liked the 7-11 that was nearby, which was similar to the ones you would find in Japan. They had musubis and bento boxes which we grabbed for quick and tasty meals.
Throughout our stay Lori and Ken were so friendly and hospitable. We wish we spent more time on the east side with them and definitely will book the Koki Kottage next time we are in Hawaii!