Experience "Real" Hawaii! Private cleanTropical >5 min to beach10 mins to Kailua

This is a comfortable, well-maintained house with a host of amenities. The lovely deck and yard are surrounded by lush tropical trees and plants which provide a feeling of privacy. The house has a well-equipped kitchen and comfortable living and bed rooms. We were happy to stay in Waimanalo because it is close to but not in the more populated windward city of Kailua. This is a country cottage surrounded by country wildlife: beautiful songbirds, fascinating lizards and expressive roosters! We thoroughly enjoyed our nine-day stay.

The location is secluded from neighbors and pretty comfortable. The bathroom is the best one we've ever seen. Marie lives nearby and quickly answers any question.

The only issue during our stay were roosters singing unexpectedly at night and in the early morning.

It's always great when the place you choose to stay on vacation is as good as advertised. Hawaii always exceeds expectations, and the Zen Cottage does too! It was our first time at this venue, and we loved how user friendly everything was, from Marie's welcoming and casual manner to the posh, user-friendly interior, to the well-manicured, secluded feel of our own deck and yard. We had fresh pineapple and chocolate-covered macadamia nuts waiting for us on arrival. We made dinner half the nights we were there and the kitchen was FULLY stocked with all the tools we needed. It was the perfect home base for our daily forays around the island. One note about the neighborhood chickens: we'd read about their morning wakeup calls and were curious to see if we would be affected; I can honestly say they added to the charm of the natural rustic surroundings. We're definitely coming back! Thank you for everything, Marie!

Can't say enough about how great this place is! The perfect Zen Retreat for any couple. We really were pleased with the house - location was a bit more "country " than we had thought but we even got use to the rosters! They were doing construction on the road which was a pain at times but no fault of Marie's & after driving around the island no matter where you stay this will happen from time to time. Highly recommend !

Previous reviewers have summarized perfectly the allure - it really is relaxing and secluded. One caveat is that there are a lot of birds and chickens around - charming and very authentic but if you're a light sleeper use earplugs (thoughtfully provided by the owner). Many other amenities are at hand - e.g. hiking poles, boogie boards and the kitchen is well equipped - all the details are covered. There is so much to do on the windward side - whale sightings from Makapu'u Point, the Botanical Gardens in Kaneohe, The Valley of the Temples, stellar beaches, some excellent restaurants - we did not go into Honolulu the entire week we were there.