My husband and I stayed at Honu Kai Hale for 3 weeks and had a fantastic time. From the moment we opened the front door of the house we were in love with the place. You could not be closer to the ocean unless you had an over-water hut. The house is super bright with a lovely tiled backyard (there is a small grass area also) that includes a pool and ample space to eat and relax. We spent most of our time outside and had all our meals there.
Your backyard is the ocean and the surf (one of the best surf spots in that area, as the pool guy confirmed) - you can watch surfers very closely and see nothing but beauty while chilling in a chaise lounge. Next door is a very good snorkel beach where we saw many turtles; also good for paddle boarding. It's the right mix of having peace and quiet but being close to things happening in the area.
The house has anything you can think off(ok, a blender would have been good), but they have excellent knives, pots, cutting boards, bowls, table wear...we love to cook and this place made it very very fun and easy. Definitely top notch. The kitchen appliances are all top end, although the dish washer did not dry very well.
The bed was very comfortable (good mattress) and roomy. The whole house is decorated in Hawaiian style with tons of memorabilia, pictures and other fun items that make it very cosy. Perfect for the location. There is a guest room (more of a kids room) with two separate beds that can be pushed together.
There are plenty of towels for the bathroom, beach and kitchen.
We brought our yoga mats and practiced in the back facing the ocean every morning, which was heaven. A snorkel gear rental shop is close by ($20 for the week!), as well as a KTA supermarket and little mall with a coffee shop, movie theatre etc (3 min in the car; 15 on foot).
There is a car port, which is very convenient. Washer and dryer and a super gas BBQ with gas provided (thank you!). For kids, we saw boogie boards etc. for the pool available. The pool is great and super to cool down and do some water aerobics; not for labs.
For us, this place was heaven. Hearing the waves crash at night, waking up to sunshine every day, being able to cook and having responsive owners; just amazing.
It's a short drive to Kailua-Kona and there is so much to explore from this location, including the City of Refuge, Greenwell Coffee Tour or Yoga at Big Island Yoga. Hapuna and Mauna Kea beaches are only 45 minutes up the road. This is it!
