Quiet, rustic, charming, relaxing. This hidden gem is on the rural east shores of Oahu.
Our group had 6 of the 9 cottages, each with its own unique style and theme. It turned out that this was a good "base" for our party, within steps of the miles-long coast of an open, white sandy beach and minutes from the nightlife of downtown and Waikiki.
The manager on property was a nice surprise as most vacation rentals are without staff; he was knowledgeable & helpful, always available to assist with a question or request. When we arrived, he was there to greet us & give us a short tour of the property and to our cottages. He also told us of the few good eateries within walking distance. Ono Steaks, 1 minute walk, the BEST Ahi plate I’ve ever had & the “Hawaiian Style Café”s “Gorgonzola” breakfast sandwich & fresh brewed Kona coffee was a great start to our mornings.
Our second day we met the owner Tommy, who like the manager, made it a point to ask how we were doing and if we needed anything. A “local” and surfer, he turned us on to Roy’s restaurant and set us up with a deep sea fishing charter which allowed us to keep a large portion of our catch.
The cottages also has a large patio area with tables and bbq for our nightly "luaus" & our fellow guests from Canada and Germany were always a welcome addition to our evening social hours.
The grounds are secure with a keypad, locked gate and fence, and the grounds well lit in the evenings. The property is in the middle of a neighborhood so this is not a location for wild, crazy parties (although they did assist in arranging a "party bus" for our group one night to take us to Waikiki)
The description and photos on VRBO and their website are accurate and fair. This is not a high-end luxury property, but we enjoyed the comfortable, relaxed atmosphere of our cottage & the grounds. The cottages themselves are clean and well maintained, being near the ocean, there was some rust around a couple of the appliances, but that’s to be expected.
Lastly, Waimanalo Beach. This is what we came to Hawaii for! We practically had the entire beach to ourselves! In fact, the only time we found any amount of people was on the weekends. Most mornings, we took a walk along the shores and were lucky if we passed one or two people.
Overall, we had a wonderful experience at the Waimanalo Beach Cottages & highly recommend them for any traveler looking for a relaxing vacation at a reasonable cost.
