We had a fantastic time!

Guest: Stevie (Hamburg, Germany)
Date of Stay: 11/05/11 Review Submitted: 12/07/11

My girlfriend and I had a fantastic time in the cottage. The property is in a very good location - upcountry air is like natural air conditioning. The cottage is in very good shape, very well maintained and clean, and cozily furnished/decorated. The kitchen is well equipped for cooking (we cooked dinner almost every night) and there is a BBQ outside as well. Marianne was also very helpful - she even lent us coats and blankets for watching the sunrise on Haleakala (it gets cold up there). Overall, I can highly recommend the cottage and will try to stay there again next time on Maui.

Owner response:We enjoyed having you as our guests, always a pleasure to see our guests enjoy themselves and vacation to the fullest here on our beautiful island. We appreciate you choosing Maui and our cottage, glad to make your stay comfortable and safe. Mahalo, Marianne and Gary

Recommended for:Age 55+, adventure seekers, sightseeing, romantic getaway.

Paradise

Guest: Judy and Preston (-)
Date of Stay: 12/19/10 Review Submitted: 09/06/11

WE have enjoyed immensely our visit to the Upcountry and our stay. We feel as though we have sampled the "real" Hawaii and we are eager to come back for more. We have met delightful people here in "Paradise". Thank you for helping to make our stay enjoyable.

Recommended for:

Upcountry is the best!

Guest: Fred (-)
Date of Stay: 02/13/11 Review Submitted: 09/06/11

Upcountry is the best, no crowds good food and a lovely cottage with fine hosts. We've enjoyed it all from here, surfing hiking and eating from the garden. Thanks so much for the best of Maui.

Recommended for:

Visit to Maui

Guest: Diane (-)
Date of Stay: 03/14/11 Review Submitted: 09/06/11

We enjoyed your cozy cottage immensely. It was everything we wanted for making our stay comfortable and relaxing. Thanks for being a great host and hostess. We will definitely come back on our next visit to Maui.

Recommended for:

3/24/11-3/28/11

Guest: Walter & Ranee (-)
Date of Stay: 03/24/11 Review Submitted: 09/06/11

Dear Marianne and Gary, This was a fantastic location close to our hearts and family. Thank you for your excellent hospitality!!! We felt so welcome as soon as we arrived. The cottage was so cozy, clean and romantic!! Thanks for the bottom of our heart.We definitely plan to return with our family next year. Mahalo, Walter and Ranee

Recommended for:

Home Away From Home

Guest: Shell (Lodi, CA)
Date of Stay: 05/28/11 Review Submitted: 06/12/11

Thank you Marianne & Gary...you are truly the best hosts in Maui and it's obvious you love providing a home away from home for your guests! The pictures of your cottage captured the feeling we got during our stay...very cozy, comfortable, and private. We loved waking to the sound of the birds every morning. After landing in Maui, windsurfing for a few hours, and a quick drive up the hill, Marianne welcomed us with her bright smile. We were cooking up a great first dinner within 20 minutes. We will definitely return to this cottage on our next trip to Maui. It had a warm, inviting feel, a comfortable bed, and a great central location. Most importantly, plenty of big fluffy towels, even for the beach. Thanks so much...Shela & John

Owner response:Aloha Shela and John, it was our pleasure having you with us, we learned so much about your area of California and the great art of growing grapes and John's passion for what he does. You also have inspired me with your knowledge of the educational system and how it could possibility offer more for the enrichment of our future generations. All our best, Gary and Marianne

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, romantic getaway.

Great Week!

Guest: Chai (Honolulu, HI)
Date of Stay: 06/06/11 Review Submitted: 06/11/11

This was a great location for those of you who want to get away from the tourist areas and really want to experience the true essence of Maui. I am not sure what the previous poster was complaining about, but this location had everything that we needed. We chose to eat most of our meals out but when we did eat at the home, it had everything that we needed. The property was very clean and Marianne and her family really went out of their way to make sure we were comfortable. The location was extremely convenient to some great eating places in Makawao and getting up to Haleakala for sunrise and ziplining. We also drove to Paia for the day and had no problem driving over from our location. This was really much better than any hotel room we could have gotten. Given the price and the amount of space we had in the residence, there is no doubt that another trip Maui will result in staying here rather than anywhere else.

Owner response:Aloha, Your visit with us was short, but packed full of adventure, we love visitors from our neighboring islands and appreciate your understanding of the island way of life. Hope to see you again neighbor! All our best, Gary and Marianne

Recommended for:Age 55+, adventure seekers, sightseeing, tourists without a car, people with disabilities, romantic getaway.

disappointed

Guest: disappointed (santa ynez, ca)
Date of Stay: 05/13/11 Review Submitted: 05/27/11

Very disappointed. Would never stay there again. No way. Bar refrigerator only, had to demand an outdoor barbecue, no views, teeny lot, close to road (road noise). Window dressings poor, hence little privacy. Owners unplugged washer/dryer to save electricity. Small kitchen, no clothes closet in bedroom, etc. Whole property looks ramshackle.

Owner response:We work very hard to accommodate out guests and respond to there needs and concerns,. If something-is not working we fix or replace it immediately. Since we live here on the property we have chores to do, at times the weather isn't always cooperative or our full time jobs take us away from a timely completion of that chore. We do our best to complete our obligations here on the property with little disturbance to our guests. We are an environmentally conscious property, we encourage our guest to shop locally, to visit our farmers markets offered twice a week here in the upcountry area of Maui. Get to know whose growing your food and providing you with the freshest produce and local delicacies available. We ask our guess to kindly conserve the utilities whenever possible if your not here on the property to be aware and turn lights off. We offer a courtesy of a washer and dryer here on the property for our guests to use, we do ask they be respectful and conscious about conserving energy not doing laundry everyday and limiting the use to a full load.. We are available to answer all your questions before you make a decision to choose our property. Most of our guests comment on the fact that our property looks like the pictures provided. If you have concerns about the description or the photos that you view we are happy to clarify. Our property sits on one third of an acre and is surrounded by the green lushness of the east side of the island. Little to no neighbors is around the property allowing a more private feeling from the outside all around. VRBO listing is an owner based vacation rental, We offer an affordable alternative to resorts at incredible rates here in paradise; our property is offered as a home away from home not necessarily a full time residence. Make sure your requirements for your stay is addressed before you make that commitment to the owner. We truly pride ourselves on being involved with making Maui the model for sustainability and living a recycle, reuse, conserve whenever possible lifestyle. We are moving forward with renewable energy here on Maui and we have installed solar panels here at home to take advantage of the sun as much as possible. Always growing always in service, Gary and Marianne Callari

Recommended for:Pet owners.

Great Honeymoon

Guest: WaltD (Maryland)
Date of Stay: 03/24/11 Review Submitted: 04/06/11

This was an awesome choice. I'm originally from Molokai so when my wife and I decided to get married on Maui we wanted to find a great location upcountry near to family. This was an awesome choice! Marianne and Gary was the perfect host. There was an unfortunate scheduling problem and was over booked on our first night there. Marianne and Gary opened their home to us and placed us in their guest bedroom and treated us like family. When we got back the second day we were already moved into the cottage and there was a chilled bottle champagne waiting for us. The location looked just like the photos. Cool in the evening and warm during the days and close to everything. Thanks Marianne and Gary for a great Honeymoon! See you in six months!

Recommended for:Age 55+, adventure seekers, sightseeing, romantic getaway.

Thank You Mariane and Gary!!

Guest: Wayne and Claudia (Hoodsport, WA)
Date of Stay: 05/01/10 Review Submitted: 05/10/10

Claudia and I had such a good stay. I don't think you can compare this to a hotel. We did not say we were going back to the room, we would say we were going home after a day of fun. You guys made it feel like home to us. Your suggestions and ideas of things to do and places to go were spot on. We would recommend your Ohana to anyone and everyone. We will stay with you every trip we may make to Maui. The Craft Fair/ Farmers Market was great. Ozzie was the best!

Recommended for:Age 55+, adventure seekers, sightseeing, girls getaway, people with disabilities, romantic getaway, families with teenagers, families with young children.