First off, LOCATION! This luxury beach house is situated just *steps* from the most beautiful bay on the Kona side of the Big Island, where in the morning, we saw spinner dolphins jumping in the bay, and from the balcony of the master suite, we could watch the sun setting, orange and amazing, ensconced by leaning palms. The Kaleakekua Bay has reportedly the best snorkeling on the island, and is where Captain Cook first landed. The black sand on the small beach and the lava rocks there make the most peaceful morning sitting spot to watch the waves, and this beach house was steps from the bay. It’s a quiet street, away from the hubbub of Kona, and the perfect romantic place to just escape all your worries and your strife. It’s a mere couple of miles to Place of Refuge (a Big Island must see) and the adjacent Two Steps, where snorkeling is delightful as well.

Second, AMENITIES! This beach house had everything our family needed, and more. There was a full kitchen upstairs, plus a second small kitchen downstairs. Two full baths with plenty of fluffy towels made our family of seven happy. Four nice bedrooms (which our kids loved the fact that they were themed and nicely decorated) slept everyone, and there were couches and sleeping spots to spare. Our California king sized bed in the master suite had one of the most comfortable mattresses I’ve ever slept on.

There were movies to watch during down time, and board games for a lazy afternoon. Our daughters painted coconuts gleaned from the incredibly lush back yard. The full kitchen let me to cook our family’s meals, and we had dinner on the patio, with tiki torches lit—something our kids will never forget. Cooking also saved us a lot on dining-out money, so we were able to do more adventures with our family, like rent kayaks from the guy next door and paddle to the Captain Cook Monument.

It was so handy to have laundry facilities on site—a thing that made our packing so much lighter, since we could do wash halfway through our trip. Saved us a bundle on checked bags.

With the master suite segregated from the kids’ area downstairs, it made the family vacation into a couples’ retreat for the evenings, and everyone was able to relax in their own space after a day traveling around the island. We also loved the breeze coming through all the windows, and I loved hearing the waves’ roar as I fell asleep at night. It was just magical.

It’s the perfect place to take a large family for your island getaway.