Charming Tropical Hideaway, Close to Best Snorkeling, Pool, Hot Tub

• Absolutely wonderful, restful, beautiful stay...

  Absolutely wonderful, restful, beautiful stay...

  • Guest Jeff
  • Date of stay 02/19/13
  • Review Submitted 03/03/13
  My wife and I stayed for a week at the studio. It is a tough place to leave! The hot tub absolutely spoiled us (and was amazing for those slightly colder winter evenings), and the available snorkel gear was much appreciated. We fell into a routine of early morning snorkel followed by breakfast followed for a beach or downtown Kailua-Kona visit, which is a wonderful way to spend a day. Kathy was a very gracious and helpful host. The screened-in accommodations make for an immersive and wholly unique way to experience Hawaii. We highly recommend it!

  Recommended for: Adventure seekers, age 55+, romantic getaway.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 0/0

• Great getaway rental outside of downtown Kona

  Great getaway rental outside of downtown Kona

  • Guest rjnedrow
  • Date of stay 11/28/12
  • Review Submitted 02/22/13
  My lady and I stayed here for a week and it was everything that we wanted. If you're paranoid about total privacy than this may not be the spot for you as there are no closing windows, all the walls are screens instead, but they do have curtains that cover everything if you want. This place literally puts you in the middle of an authentic Hawaiian experience. It's a bit of a drive from downtown Kona, and seemingly everything else, but that's what we were looking for. The amenities were great! The BBQ gave us the option to not have to eat out every meal, plus there is a ton of fresh fruit on the property that is free for the taking. The hot tub and outdoor shower are great fun. They have snorkeling gear we used the whole week, and the owners gave us tips on the best beaches and even called to let us know which beach the dolphins were at one morning. We drove out there and got to swim with a "small" pod of about 30 dolphins at Hookena beach. What an experience! They have everything you need in the kitchen as well. I couldn't recommend this more for a couple who is looking for an exhilarating alternative to the condos in downtown Kailua-Kona.

  Recommended for: Adventure seekers, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 0/0

• A most memorable place!

  A most memorable place!

  • Guest Wide World Vancouver
  • Date of stay 01/22/13
  • Review Submitted 02/08/13
  We enjoyed our stay at Tropical Hideaway immensely. Its magical setting amidst lush jungle vegetation made for a unique experience, so much more enjoyable than a hotel or a traditional B&B. Screen windows allowed warm breezes to waft throughout and meant that we could hear wonderful birdsong in the morning & evening. The well-stocked, totally self-contained unit is both quiet and private. Kathy [the owner] offered us papayas, bananas and star fruit fresh-picked from her garden, and provided much gear to make our stay enjoyable – snorkels, masks, fins, wetsuits, beach umbrella & chairs. She even took me on an excursion where I got to swim with dolphins – hundreds of them! This was one of the most exciting experiences of my life, and Kathy documented the whole thing with her underwater camera, providing me with a priceless memento of the day. We also had nice connections with Katie & Phil, who were staying elsewhere on the property. Along with Kathy, they made us feel as if we were visiting with friends, even though they were great about respecting our privacy. Our only regret is that we weren’t able to stay longer!

  Recommended for: Adventure seekers, age 55+, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 0/0

• Perfect for informal privacy, beauty, and dolphins!

  Perfect for informal privacy, beauty, and dolphins!

  • Guest David
  • Date of stay 01/06/13
  • Review Submitted 01/10/13
  The bay at two-step is a three minute car ride down the hill from Kathy's "Tropical Hideway," and it's one of the places where the spinner dolphins most like to hang out, play, dance on the water, and swim with the humans. The extraordinary, transformative, and sheer delight of snorkling with these amazing beings is a really unusual opportunity. Kathy has been swimming with them for years and knows both where and how to best approach them. The "tropical hideaway" is a perfect complement and base for this experience. Kathy has created a lovely, inviting, charming, and, yet non-pretentious "nest" in the midst of a beautiful and lush tropical garden. (And, if swimming with dolphins doesn't appeal, there is lots else to do in the area or just delight in relaxing!) The fresh-water pool, the outdoor, private sitting/dining area and private hot-tub, make this a place which invites deep relaxation and a spaciousness of mind and heart that is both very welcome and unusual. The blend of beauty, privacy, graciousness, and lack of pretension, makes this a wonderful place for a single person to retreat or even work or write, a couple to delight in the restfulness and spacious privacy, or a small family to feel easy and at-home. Kathy is friendly and incredibly helpful in making one's stay meet one's specific needs, knowing the area as well as she does. The relatively new Kona Cafe, a few minutes up the road, serves wonderful breakfast and lunch on their outdoor patio, and high quality dinner restaurants are also easy to find in the Kona area, IF you want a break from cooking in your own kitchen and outdoor grill! Adjoining the two-step bay is the Place of Refuge, a National Historic Park, which has its own deep Hawaiian history and amazing beauty of extensive lava rock meeting the ocean. Worth the explore! An added, and expected, delight. With no question, I would recommend Kathy's "Tropical Hideway" to anyone seeking deep relaxation, beauty, and the opportunity to experience the presence of the wild dolphins.

  Recommended for: Adventure seekers, age 55+, romantic getaway, sightseeing, families with young children.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 0/0

• A little piece of heaven

  A little piece of heaven

  • Guest Sage
  • Date of stay 12/07/12
  • Review Submitted 12/31/12
  We stayed 3 nights on this property and were in heaven. My husband and I travel quite a bit using VRBO and Airbnb. This is our best find yet! and here's why Privacy: Even though the owner's live on site they make a specific intention to keep a quiet relaxing environment. The pool & hot tub on site can be used anytime, and the owner's do not use it when they have VRBO guests. You really feel like you have the place to yourself. Environment: the grounds are filled with plants, and each morning there is fresh seasonal fruit from the property laid out for you to pick from. We enjoyed papaya's, banana's and a tropical lemon while there. Location: 30 min drive to Kona, but only 10 min to captain cook for groceries. Biggest plus is 5 mins to the best local snorkeling area where we got to swim with dolphins. We hope to return to this magical spot again. A great place to just hang out on the property all day reading by the pool, but also with easy access to activities.

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

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 0/0

• Unique Experience

  Unique Experience

  • Guest Mariana
  • Date of stay 08/31/12
  • Review Submitted 12/15/12
  We believed we will see Hawaii then, who knows if we'll ever come back. We saw the dolphins, swam with them, were impressed by the unspoken respect for nature shown by Kathy and all those lucky ones blessed to permanently live on this big island. If you go, don't forget to ask Kathy for the DVD made by her with dolphins playing under water. Great artistic value, excellent HD quality and clarity, inspired sound track. We were pleasantly surprised that over there, you don’t need a key to your home since it’s practically wrapped in a anti bug screen. And yes, we were reminded to keep the door closed, after all it’s all jungle around and small bugs can get in. We are late with our review, but everything is still fresh in our memories. We got acquainted with the sounds of the night, especially distinguishing those short ones made by ripen passion fruits falling to the ground from the rich vines surrounding Kathy's place. Those fruits became part of our breakfast in the morning, together with the bananas, mangos, guavas, papayas and a tropical plum tree with fruits they didn't know were edible. If you want to see the dolphins coming to rest and play, you need to wake up early and you can find from Kathy in which of the 3 coves they are. The locals seem to be all friends and call each other in this regard. We have talked to so many of them without even knowing their names, and we believe they also make sure tourists are following the rules to protect the wild, and they don't attempt to touch the playing dolphins. According to some new theories dolphins may be more intelligent than the humans ....... What else can you see on the island ? 7 days was not enough for us. To say that the island inhabitants, and we mean not only Kathy, are so helpful and friendly it's an understatement. We spent the next 10 days in Maui, it was great, but our hearts beat stronger for this big island where nature is manifesting its splendor and it’s expansion is unleashed. love the place, love you Kathy, Mariana and Florin

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

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 0/0

• Cozy but not very private

  Cozy but not very private

  • Guest Rizzo
  • Date of stay 11/13/12
  • Review Submitted 11/27/12
  I came here with my new wife for a combination honeymoon and friend's wedding. The owner was very good with communication in her calls and emails preparing for the trip. She was not around during our stay, but the gardener was around, and she was nice and helpful. The place certainly has it's charm. The open air of the screened-in rooms is nice. The shower is outdoors and the instructions for the hot tub state no bathing suits should be worn which I suppose means going nude. All this would be very nice for a honeymoon if it were private, but unfortunately that did not often feel like the case. There were many other people living closely on the property. They parked their cars very close to where the bed was and were heard talking and walking around often. Also a man was living right above us the whole time. He was actually helpful giving us ice since we had no freezer, but it was disconcerting to hear him walking around. He also decided to run a loud vaccuum cleaner during our stay. He also had a talkative young boy who visited him for a couple days who was loud. Also the gardener lives in the same building just several feet away. She was also very nice and helpful, getting us some items we were in need of and showing us around. There are some blockades to block most of the sightlines outside of our area, however it was difficult to feel comfortable on a honeymoon in a place that has almost no walls and so many people walking around that we could hear and who could surely easily see us. Also, as is probably inevitable in such an environment there were lots of bugs and some lizards that found their way indoors. I can tell a lot of effort was spent on trying to keep them out, but I just wanted to make note of this for anyone who might feel uncomfortable waking up with some bugs crawling on you.

  Recommended for: Adventure seekers, sightseeing.

  Owner response: Brian, I am so sorry that you had the experience that you did. I was away on vacation and it seems that my house sitter was not as quiet and respectful as I am. He was not supposed to have his son visit, and normally the property and the studio are very quiet and peaceful. Most guests enjoy the geckos, which are part of the tropical life here in Hawaii. The hot tub is private and nobody can see into the patio area. There shouldn't have been anyone parking near the bed or studio, so I will investigate when I return in two days. Again, I am sorry that you experienced situations that don't normally occur at Tropical Hideaway.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/1

• A wonderful week

  A wonderful week

  • Guest Ernie
  • Date of stay 10/29/12
  • Review Submitted 11/04/12
  I was preparing to spend the week on the Big Island for a work project, and after checking the popular hotels and resorts in and around Kona, I decided to look on VRBO. When I saw the pictures and read the description of the Tropical Hideaway, I thought it would be a much more enjoyable and authentic experience than a resort, and I booked the room for the week. I arrived around dinner time on Monday and was immediately met by Kathy, who was wonderfully gracious and showed me around the property, and then let me know she would give me my privacy unless I needed anything. The pictures on this site are a good representation of what to expect, but they really don't do the place justice. The room is screened all the way around, and I loved being able to feel the breeze and listen to the wildlife outside all day and night. The garden is beautiful and the views of the sunset and the moon over the ocean were amazing. The bed was very comfortable, and the outdoor shower was a new experience for me, but very enjoyable. I took advantage of the private hot tub as often as possible! Kathy's own original art and the mood lighting everywhere really add a nice tropical feel to the studio. The permanent residents of the home were very quiet and respectful, and the few times I met them, they were very nice. She even helped me with a great recommendation to spend Halloween evening in Kona since I couldn't be home with my kids! There are lots of great restaurants nearby, and although I didn't have time to enjoy many activities outside of work, there are lots to choose from. If you're looking at one of the big resorts with the canned artificial tourist experience, forget it and stay here instead - you'll never forget it.

  Recommended for: Adventure seekers, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 0/0

• Perfect place to live the Hawaiian dream !

  Perfect place to live the Hawaiian dream !

  • Guest Sebastien
  • Date of stay 09/22/12
  • Review Submitted 10/08/12
  Our stay at Kathy's place was a dream. We spent 5 days to start a 2 weeks stay in Hawaii for our honeymoon and we couldn't have dreamt for a better place. The place is perfectly clean, Kathy provides everything you need from snorkeling gear, to foam boards, beach towels and basically everything you need to enjoy Big Island. She has a great garden and gave us many fruits including papayas, lime and avocados. She gave us great recommendations about restaurants and made herself available when needed: the perfect host ! We highly recommend this place !

  Recommended for: Families with teenagers, adventure seekers, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 0/0

• Beautiful, tranquil & great location

  Beautiful, tranquil & great location

  • Guest Eden
  • Date of stay 09/19/12
  • Review Submitted 09/26/12
  We loved our stay at Tropical Hideaway! Kathy is wonderful and the space is nicely decorated, very clean, and we loved that it was open to the outdoors (but with screens). Hearing the wind and birds and all the wonderful sounds of nature was a beautiful way to fall asleep and wake up. And the flowers on the property are gorgeous! We especially loved the hot tub and outdoor shower, and the privacy of it all. Not to mention all the fresh fruit (mangoes, bananas, papayas) from the surrounding trees she left out for us to eat. Its a wonderful, simple and down to earth place to stay in a good location near the beaches.

  Recommended for: Adventure seekers, age 55+, romantic getaway, girls getaway, sightseeing.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 0/0

Additional information about rental rates

For a 3rd person, add $15/night plus 13.42% tax.

Fees:

• Cleaning fee: $80
• Tax Rate 13.42%

Cancellation policy:

Thank you for inquiring about our unique vacation rental property here on the Big Island of Hawaii, at http://www.tropicalhideawayhawaii.com.  A deposit of 50% is due in order to secure your reservation. The balance will be due 30 days before your stay. We have a policy of no children under 10. A 3rd person is an additional $15/night. The downstairs Studio has an ocean view (we are 2.5 miles above the shoreline) as well as lovely garden views. It features a covered outdoor patio with private hot tub, dining area, and gas fired BBQ. There is a queen bed, double futon couch, fully equipped kitchenette (toaster oven, 2 burner hot plate, microwave, coffee maker, coffee grinder, utensils, dishes, etc.) with filtered drinking water, plus an indoor dining area, cable TV/DVD, DSL with wireless and Ethernet cable, and CD player. Cell service is available. A half bath and dressing area are inside, and a private outdoor shower (hot and cold water) is adjacent to the hot tub. There is also a washer and dryer near the Studio. There is a private yard with herb garden, and guests share access to the remaining gardens and pool area with the two permanent residents. The Studio is screened in the Hawaiian style (no glass), so as to be open to the tropical outdoor setting, pleasant breezes and nature's wonders. We also supply beach chairs, boogie boards, coolers, some snorkel gear, beach towels and straw mats. We are conveniently located close to the best snorkeling spots in West Hawaii. Two Step and the beautiful Pu'uhonua O' Honaunau National Historic Park (Place of Refuge) are just a three minute drive down the hill. Kealakekua Bay and Hookena Bay, known for dolphin encounters are only 6 miles away. There are several quality restaurants, organic produce stands, grocery and health food stores nearby. There are also a variety of convenience stores within a short driving distance, and you are only 30 minutes away from the heart of Kailua-Kona. If you are looking for privacy and serenity to renew body and spirit, you won't be disappointed with our "tropical hideaway." In addition, we can provide guided snorkel and dolphin swims from the shore, kayak tours and rentals, massage and other healing modalities, photo tours around the island, and other services (additional charges apply). Inquire for details. Please read the cancellation policy included below, and let me know which payment method you have chosen. Cancellation Policy: If you give written cancellation notice at least 60 days before your scheduled arrival, your deposit will be returned minus a $50 administration fee. With less notice, refunds will be based solely on the ability to rebook all or part of the reserved dates. This applies also to changes in the length of your stay, either before or after your arrival in Hawaii. Upon receipt of your payment, you'll receive a confirmation email and additional information, as well as directions. If you have any other questions, please ask. I look forward to hearing from you, and thank you for your consideration. With Warm Aloha, Kathy Carr Tropical Hideaway tropicalhideaway@mcn.org. 808 328-2162  phone and fax www.tropicalhideawayhawaii.com

If you have any questions please contact the owner.