Guestbook Comment

Guest: Bill McGovern (Los Angeles, CA)
Date of Stay: 09/01/07 Review Submitted: 09/22/07

What a great escape! If you love to be near the water and love to snorkel and explore, come on and stay at this wonderful house. The best snorkeling on the Big Island is here with the Champagne Pond two blocks away and a view from the deck like nothing other in the early morning and at night. Stars for days and days to be a star in this great retreat. If you like remote, this is for you. Pahoa, which is about 20 mins away has some great restaurants and a cash only market and a great natural foods store. This place is changing like crazy, so get there before the natural life is all lost. Last 'real' Hawaii is here. The conservation area, which is a short walk or drive, is spectacular with snorkeling pools of splendor. Coral and sealife everywhere. Watch the tides so you know when to see the sea turtles in the Champagne Pond. They come and go with the high tide. You'll sleep like a baby here, with the winds and rain that happen to pass in the evening and early morning. Too splendid for your get away. Enjoy.

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A comfortable relaxing vacation spot

Guest: lakeside family (Lakeside CA)
Date of Stay: 09/19/11 Review Submitted: 10/12/11

Three generations of my family just returned from a stay in Hawaii. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay here. The house was comfortable and its location in walking distance to the warm pond was great. The neighborhood is quiet and pleasant, a great place for a walk. The kids enjoyed chasing the geckos, toads and anoles, and we all enjoyed the chorus of frogs and toads to sing us to sleep. The occasional rain squall passing through was just right, long enough to provide a change of mood and cool things down but not so long as to ruin any plans. We all hope to return.

Recommended for:Families with teenagers, adventure seekers, sightseeing, families with young children.

Great place - the lush & quite area of Kapoho-Hilo

Guest: vvv (Bay Area, CA)
Date of Stay: 03/28/09 Review Submitted: 10/11/09

We stayed at the Cedar home in March 2009 during my kids spring break and enjoy the lush, not crowd side of Kapoho-Hilo area. Definitely need a car to get around because of the remoteness, but very near the ocean. Cooked meals mostly at the house. Champagne pond is a great place for 1st time snorkelers and kids. Not a sandy pond area, but walking distance from the house. Even got to see a turtle there. The conservation marine area a short 10 minutes drive was magnificent and going there during low tide is much different than going during high tide. Within ~40 minutes from the volcano and not too far to watch the volcano erupt in the evening into the ocean. Explored the Hilo area waterfalls, town and restaurants. Great place to relax and enjoy the lush tropical area. Paula was very helpful too & very responsive.

Recommended for:Families with teenagers, families with young children.

Guest: Mark & Kelly Richard (Spokane, Wa)
Date of Stay: 08/30/09 Review Submitted: 08/30/09

Our stay at the Cedar House for the windward portion of our visit to the Big Island exceeded our expectations. A very nice house, uniquely located, we were able to experience much of the windward side with ease, including Wiapi'o Valley and Volcanoes Ntl Park. The Champagne Pond was so unique, and made for great swimming a short walk from the house. We did swim with turtles there. It's close proximity to the lava flows allowed us to hike to them outside of the official viewing times, which provided for an up-close and memorable experience. The Kopoho tidal pools nearby are great for any age. If a unique Hawaiian experience is one's desire I would highly recommend a stay here.

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Tropical Retreat

Guest: R68 (Warner Robins, GA)
Date of Stay: 12/26/08 Review Submitted: 01/08/09

A wonderful, quiet location - waking up and going to sleep to the sound of the birds, the wind rustling the palm leaves and the waves lapping on the nearby beach was just what we needed to fully relax us. The scenery in the local area is like nothing we have ever seen before. The children enjoyed snorkelling in the local ponds, especially as they saw a good variety of marine life including turtles. Our three children did not miss their play station, computer games or TV, and we liked the fact that our cell phones rarely got a signal. The property is as described and is well maintained. The kitchen was well equipped and there is a good variety of books in the 'library'. A car is essential as the nearest town is about a 20 minute drive away, and Hilo is about a 40 minute drive. We made two trips to the Volcano National Park and the drive across Saddle Road between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa is well worth doing if only to experience the different climates between the East and West coasts. We also drove around the entire island, stopping off at various beaches along the way. Paula is a very friendly, caring person. She made us feel very welcome when we met her. All in all, if you are looking for a holiday where relaxation and a slow pace of life is the order of the day, then you can't go wrong with this place. We would wholeheartedly recommed this property. Our only regrets are that we were only here for 5 days, and that it is too far away from us when we return to England. Having said that, this Island is only holiday destination that we have been to that we were truly sorry to leave. We will be back at some point in the future.

Recommended for:Families with teenagers, romantic getaway, age 55+, sightseeing, families with young children.

Guest: Rick18 (Kalaheo, HI)
Date of Stay: 04/15/08 Review Submitted: 04/15/08

Fanstastic location with great access to the volcano, lava flows, black sand beach, wonderful Champaigne pond and geothermal tide pools. Kids really enjoyed staying here. Facility is clean and lots of accessories. Property has fruit trees and its own tide pool. Paula, our hostess, was very very helpful. We had 8 in our party and it worked out very well. Very fair price. Strongly recommended

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Guestbook Comment

Guest: Paul_HAC96362 (McLean, VA)
Date of Stay: 07/01/07 Review Submitted: 07/19/07

A nice quiet home with lots to do nearby either at the Volcano or Hilo. Paula gives first rate service to make sure your stay is enjoyable.

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Guestbook Comment

Guest: Susan Hearn (New Mexico)
Date of Stay: 05/01/06 Review Submitted: 05/24/06

We stayed at the Carefree Kapoho the last week of March 2006. We so much enjoyed the quiet, privacy, open space and cost of this rental. With two kids, we had privacy for us, and the two teenage boys had plenty of room to themselves as well. Would recommend to others, wholeheartedly. If you want to see the lava flows, do it at night. Is much nicer and probably cooler.

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Guestbook Comment

Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 03/01/06 Review Submitted: 03/10/06

Paula's house in Kapoho is wonderful. The house is a very comfortable and spacious spot to relax after exploring the tide pools, swimming in Champagne Pond and soaking up the lush scenery of the Puna area. The house was clean as a whistle with gleaming windows and floors. There were lots of books to read and water play toys for kids. Paula is very friendly and exemplifies the Aloha spirit. We would definitly return to this house!

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Guestbook Comment

Guest: Pete Towle (Hayward,California)
Date of Stay: 03/01/05 Review Submitted: 03/15/05

This house was perfect in every way (location, view, amenities); but mostly because of coming to know both Paula and Vivian with their warmth and TRUE show of "Aloha". In short I will come back to this beautiful lovely home when I return to the Big and wonderful island of Hawai'i. Mahalo, Pete

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