I stayed at the Mikahala house for a little family reunion trip with my husband, parents and brother this winter. The house was really wonderful. It is spacious, sunny and well designed to benefit from the breeziness of it's hillside location. The location is a little removed from the beach scene, but really only a 10 minute drive, and the spectacular views are worth the trip up the hill (especially the sunset!). I thought it would just be a good location as a launch-point for day trips (which it is, not far from the highway), but the location was even better than I expected, letting us access both nature and the city with ease.
It's a pretty and quiet residential neighborhood, but the garden around the house gives you the feel of being on a tropical island. And just a 5 minute drive to the top of the hill, we were able to start hiking along a ridge trail that feels like it's taking you into the remote interior of the island. I think you can make a full day hike out of it, but we were less ambitious and turned around after an hour, which was enough to enjoy great views, and the peace and quiet of the landscape. At the bottom of the hill are nice restaurants, cafes, a bakery and little shops where you don't have to feel like a tourist. It's a walkable distance, and the walk back up the hill is great if you want a workout after pastries from Pipeline Bakeshop.
We enjoyed a couple of the local restaurants, but since we like to cook as a family, we mostly enjoyed using the well-equipped kitchen and grill, and dining on the balcony overlooking the twinkly night-lights of the city, and the dark ocean beyond.
The house was very clean, tastefully furnished and seemed well cared for. It felt comfortably homey and it was easy to pretend like we lived there. The photos are accurate, if not an understatement. I would definitely recommend this to friends. The layout allowed our family enough privacy. The TV is in the 3rd bedroom, which is a convertible den/bedroom. We're not big TV-watchers (especially when there's Hawaii to explore!), so it didn't matter to us, but for a different group of adults, that might be a little inconvenient. We preferred watching ocean and rainbows.
Cristin was a kind host- she lives across the street and was available and generous with information. Writing this review has been on my to-do list for a while. I wish I could be writing it from the balcony of the Mikahala house! Hope to be back soon!