Great place, great location
Submitted: March 6, 2011
Stayed: February 2011
We have previously stayed in over a dozen vacation rentals in various countries and have never missed finding an excellent place. We attribute our success to reading reviews and taking care to check details in advance. Kai Malolo tops them all. The setting: ocean frontage with waves crashing against volcanic rocks and whales congregating near shore, to the left dense jungle, to the right a pool with infinity edge, and nearby tide pools (two owner-supplied mountain bikes and snorkeling gear make exploration fun and easy). The house: roomy, with a veranda and large windows running all across the seaward side. Equally remarkable is the quality and beauty of the furnishings and careful attention to whatever guests might need. A mixture of traditional and modern - two traditional beds with posts carved in Hawaiian themes, one modern and stylish. An antique desk, comfortable chairs throughout the house, an up-to-date kitchen and appliances. We like to cook meals using local ingredients - one of the reasons we prefer rentals to hotels. But this has always meant cooking with thin pans and dull knives. Kai Malolo has Cuisinart pans, all the other things you would need, a Weber grill, and better knives than we have at home. And for local ingredients, the Hilo farmer's market
(Wednesdays and Saturdays) is a great source of both standard and exotic produce; in nearby Pahoa there is a little store in the shopping center that has the more regular produce at farmer's market prices. (Not the supermarket, which is okay but pricey; the shop we're talking about is a few doors away from the fish store, which is also excellent). The house is all solar. In a 4-week stay we never ran out of electricity or hot water, but there are back-up systems just in case - and as a last resort there are flashlights all over the place. There is HDTV and WiFi-- great reception. So, what’s the downside? Well, there are mosquitoes, of course (but not inside; there are screens on all the windows and doors) and cell phone reception was spotty. Also, be prepared for a bumpy final mile out to the house; we understand the residents along that road have opposed paving it because it would lead to an influx of builders and destroy the area's closeness to nature.
Recommended for:
Age 55+,
Adventure Seekers,
Girls Getaway,
Families with Teenagers,
Families with Young Children,
Romantic Getaway
Helpful votes: 7/7
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