What we loved:
- Awesome balcony - Having dinner outside while watching the sunset was unbeatable
- Very well equipped - The unit had all sorts of accessories like binoculars (brought them on our hikes), flash lights and lamps (brought them for our cave exploration), beach chairs and umbrellas. It is obvious that the owners are very thoughtful and want to make sure their guests have everything they need to enjoy the island.
- Abundance of fans - It's true, you do not need AC in this place. With the windows open and all the fans (ceiling and floor), it's very comfortable.
- Early check in - We were able to check in the property a few hours early since there was no booking before us. Our flight landed pretty early and it was so nice to be able to settle in and get a nice start to our vacation
- Well stocked kitchen and pantry - With a combination of what the owner provides and stuff that was donated/left by previous renters, the kitchen has everything you need. It even has a portable backpack cooler that we were able to use to pack in 2 meals for our all-day trip to the volcano national park. They really thought of everything!
What could have been better:
- Floor cleanliness - The flooring through out the unit is very nice, though wish it was a bit more thoroughly cleaned. The bottom of my kids' feet turned grey/black within an hour of walking around the condo barefoot so I ended up having them wear slippers.
- Laundry machine cleanliness - It was great having full size washing machine and dryer in unit! However there were some pretty yucky gunk around the rubber seal of the washer that I cleaned before using it as I didn't feel comfortable washing our clothes with it there. It's probably due to the machine not getting air dried enough after each use (owner put note on the machine to leave the door open after each use to let it dry but probably not everyone followed). Perhaps owner can have the cleaning crew check this area more closely going forward.
- The parking lot is right under the windows of both bedrooms, and since you kind of have to leave the windows open for air/breeze, it does get a bit noisy from people/cars going in and out (loud talking, slamming car doors, car honking, etc, so a bit of an issue as we have young kids that needed to nap in the afternoon). But the quiet hours starting at 9pm are indeed enforced so sleeping at night was fine.
Overall we had a very pleasant stay and would book this again when we visit Big Island again!