'Koi Palms Luxury Cottage' Short Walk to Kailua Beach

In April we spent 12 days on Oahu. It was our first visit to Hawaii, and what we can say now, it wasn’t our last. We don’t like big hotels, so we were looking for a nice holiday home. We choose the Koi Palms Cottage in Kailua, and it was absolutely the right decision. The cottage is located in a very peaceful area of Kailua, just a 5 minutes walk to the wonderful Kailua beach. The cottage is exactly like it is shown on the photos. It is very tastefully furnished and extremely clean. The sleeping room has a very comfortable king-size bed and a lot of space for all things. The kitchen is well equipped and we found all things to prepare our breakfast, what we always had on our terrace. We liked it so much, to be surrounded by the little green geckos (Phelsuma laticauda) and the Anolis (Anolis sagrei) at the terrace. The equipment for the beach is also very practical. So we found all we needed to spend a lovely time at the beach. Especially the boogie boards are great fun in the waves.
On our arrival we found fresh flowers and a welcome basket with fruits and other lovely goodies in the kitchen, and we felt like coming home to our own house. Our hosts Tricia and Eric were very friendly and whenever we would have had a problem they are just next door. The town of Kailua is very nice and there are some good restaurants just in walking distance. What we can highly recommend is “Buzz’s steakhouse”, “Champa Thai”, “Saeng’s Thai” and the Italian “Buena Sera”.
The time went much too fast, so we were sad when we had to leave this wonderful place. When we come back to Oahu one day, we surely choose Koi Palms cottage again.

My husband Franck & I had a marvelous stay with Tricia at Koi Palms in October 2010. We were on Oahu for my good friend's wedding in Waimanalo, so we spent a handful of days in Turtle Bay (Kahuku), at Koi Palms near Kailua Beach, and then in Honolulu. To say the least, we wished we had chosen to stay in Kailua longer.

The cottage is in a peaceful neigbhorhood that is near the action of the beach & commercial area of Kailua. The home is beautifully furnished and has amazing landscaping (including a Koi pond) outside--so you constantly hear running water & you look out the windows to see all sorts of lush, exotic, green palm trees... with various fish & turtles swimming in the pond. The kitchen & bathroom are remodeled with high-end finishes... and the linens and color schemes & general interior design is extremely tasteful. Also the bed is super comfy! We felt like we were staying in a 5-star hotel, but it was even better. We just drove up, parked our car right in front, walked in and had a warm, welcoming home away from home. It was a private, boutiquey experience when compared to staying in a high-rise hotel or condo complex.

This was BY FAR the best VRBO we stayed in while on the island & I know that we will return. Atop all of this, Tricia is also extremely sweet, professional, accomodating & kind. If you stay with them, you will be in great hands! And you will thank yourself later for paying a bit of a premium to stay at the nicest VRBO cottage on the island!

When you go to Kailua/Lanikai, eat at Buzz's steakhouse, try acai with granola/banana at Lanikai juice, and have lunch or dinner at Formaggio Grill. Also go snorkeling at Hanauma Bay (only during lower, calmer tide!) and go eat at one of the shrip trucks (we tried Giovanni's it was DELISH!) just north of Kailua. We also had the treat of going out on a catamaran from Heeia Pier to a sandbar. It was not far from Koi Palms & it was an amazing experience. What a memorable vacation! Enjoy yourselves when you go!! Learn from my experience & spend more time in Kailua and less (or zero-) time in Honolulu. Drive to Honolulu for a day for the shopping, but don't expect much if you stay there... it feels like Vegas on the beach, but not even as nice.

Kailua/Lanikai and Koi Palms Luxury Cottage are where it is at! :o) Have a great time!

My wife and I hadn't taken a real vacation since our honeymoon. Kailua and Koi Palms exceeded our expectations. The town is lovely, and our hosts, Tricia and Eric, made sure the cottage was comfortable (the pictures are all accurate), with several amenities and sundry items conveniently available. The cottage had an easy-to-follow map to the beach, which was 5 minutes away. We pretty much spent all our time at the beach. The water was warm and pleasant. Tricia and Eric also had several recommendations for restaurants in the cottage. We found it easy to walk into town and enjoy Italian, Mexican, and vegetarian offerings (Baci Bistro, Assagio, and Maui Taco were all great). If you're looking for an affordable getaway in quiet area of Oahu, Koi Palms should top your list.