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Reviews of Enormous, vaulted ceilings, huge deck, top of line appliances ~ Hale Ke Alaula

Enormous, vaulted ceilings, huge deck, top of line appliances ~ Hale Ke Alaula
Waimea, HI

Reviews

9.8

Exceptional

Rating 10 - Excellent. 18 out of 21 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 2 out of 21 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 1 out of 21 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 0 out of 21 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 0 out of 21 reviews" "

9.8/10

Cleanliness

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

Andrew D.

Liked: Cleanliness
Tranquility in the tropics
Ideal location - walk to multiple beaches, short bike or drive to more. House is very well provisioned - it’s outfitted thoughtfully and fully with everything to live here. Listen to the waves at night, wake up to the symphony of birds, grill freshly caught ahi and chill under the stars. If you are looking to get away from the resort experience, ride bikes, run, do yoga on the deck, or simply relax, this is the place.
Stayed 9 nights in Apr 2024

10/10 Excellent

Alan L.

Liked: Cleanliness
Third visit to this home
Private
Stayed 14 nights in Jan 2024

10/10 Excellent

Alan L.

Liked: Cleanliness
Great location
Clean comfortable and prompt managment
Stayed 16 nights in Dec 2022

10/10 Excellent

charlotte s.

Liked: Cleanliness
Treehouse vibe in private setting
Unique house with a very private “ Swiss Family Robinson” vibe. View of ocean from upper deck. Great space for entertaining. Well stocked, spacious kitchen. Responsive property management.
Stayed 7 nights in Apr 2022

8/10 Good

Alan L.

Liked: Cleanliness
Long Term January Hawaii visitors
Private with natural plants and trees Spacious. Open setting. Could use a good overall cleaning on walls. But not bad in general
Stayed 17 nights in Dec 2021

10/10 Excellent

Tim M.

Liked: Cleanliness
As Advertised
Everything was as advertised. Property manager was helpful and responsive.
Stayed 7 nights in Jul 2021

10/10 Excellent

Jim C., San Jose, CA USA

Liked: Cleanliness
Puako Gem
My wife and i had a great time here. The location being ~1/2 way down Puako road made it nice for easy walks to all the shoreline access points. It was also close to Kawaihae harbor making it easy to go scuba diving out of Kohala Divers.
Stayed 10 nights in Dec 2019
Response from VrboOwner on 24 Mar 2020
Mahalo for staying with us at Hale Ke Alaula! We loved having as our guests. We keep looking to improve the home and if you come back it will be even better. Mahalo! Jay

6/10 Okay

lisa g.

Great unique house for nature lovers!
Overall, we liked the place. Fun and interesting house with 'treehouse' feel, cool bamboo ceilings, and an open floorplan. Only the bathrooms have ceilings, bedrooms are open-air (no ceiling) and have only pocket doors. Very nice bathrooms and kitchen with nice new appliances and great outdoor bbq grill. House comes with some beach gear - several beach chairs, swimming noodles, boogie boards, and a couple pairs of fins for snorkeling (bring your own mask/snorkel). Nearby (walking distance) beach access takes you to pretty rocky beaches great for standing and watching sunsets. Nice sandy beaches are just a 2 minute drive North (Hapuna Rec Area and also Hapuna State Park). General store is within walking distance and has many necessities including Keurig coffee if that's for you. You will share the indoors with a few geckos (essentially harmless). But you'll need to use the provided mosquito nets around the bed (leave them up day and night) - as described in another recent review, they do poop. A fair amount. Mostly in the bedrooms. Owners do do pest control (annually I think) so the gecko count probably fluctuates a bit throughout the year. It's the price you pay for the unique treehouse feel. :-)
Stayed 7 nights in Oct 2018

8/10 Good

Tom & Krissy W., Sonoma, CA

Great house in a great location; some appliances didn't work; expect gecko feces everywhere
Pros: Well laid out 2 bed/2 bath in a classic Kohala Coast beachfront community across the street from many shoreline access points to Puako Bay with rock beaches, sand beaches and many tidepools to see sea turtles land or snorkel out across the reef. We liked utility pole #120 the best for wading around and 115 for a quick nightly sunset session. It is situated between the Mauna Lani and Mauna Kea resorts and close to several beaches (Waialea Beach was our favorite) within a few minutes drive. There is a general store nearby for any sundries you forgot to pick up in Kona (though expensive). Poke day was a nice touch (look for the sign). It is a raised home with a walk-up wrap around deck (well-lit carport below) and open floor plan hosting main living areas. The home was pretty well appointed and had most of what we needed in the kitchen and living areas, including good quality cutlery and cook pans. Beach gear did the job, including the supplied cooler. Ceiling fans, A/C, Laundry, Induction Stove, TV and other appliances were easy to operate and kept us comfortable (see exception below). The Bose speaker was a nice touch. The outside patio is spacious with oversize umbrella and newer grill. The multitude of light switches are all labeled for ease. Cons: We unfortunately ran into issues with the home, mainly the dishwasher was not operational for the duration of our stay. Management company was quick to respond and inspect in person, as well as bring a new coffee maker that also died, but the problem was never resolved. A credit was offered, but washing dishes by hand cut into vacation time. The most annoying issue that travelers should expect is the gecko activity. This is not clear from the listing and was bothersome. We realize the biodynamic area the home is in and why they are prevalent, but we've never experienced this level of gecko activity (read: feces) inside a home in Hawaii (have stayed many times on all islands including the Big Island). We had to sweep constantly in order to walk around and no area was spared (tables, countertops and furniture) from gecko droppings. The worst was waking up to a gecko dropping on your head. We appreciate the significance of geckos in the ecosystem, but this is unacceptable. The sign in the home and in the guidebook (which we did not receive in advance) did not allude to this level of fecal matter.
Stayed 7 nights in Aug 2018

10/10 Excellent

Rob G., MANITOU SPRINGS

Lovely Stay in a Lovely Home!
We thoroughly enjoyed our 6 days in what we came to know as our "tree house." The home had everything we could possibly need to be comfortable, and if not Kristi from the property management service promptly helped us with any thing we needed. The location of the home is fantastic. We love snorkeling and birds, and this house is lovely for both. The home has wonderfully big and mature trees surrounding it so that you literally feel like you are in the trees, and we had coffee and enjoyed the multitudes of birds each morning. There is wonderful snorkeling right across the street and down the road.....the water by telephone pole #120 is wonderful and we also watched the sunset there most evenings. There is also awesome snorkeling just a short drive down the highway at 49 Black Sand Beach. Puako has all that you would like to do if you like to be in or by the water and enjoy a slow paced, quiet feel to your days. It is not Kona, which is precisely why we love it so. All in all, we would highly recommend this house for your vacation; it is clean, comfortable and very well kept in a gorgeous setting.....complete with a family of wild turkeys who stroll the grounds!

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Unique Property - Perfect Location
Hale ke Alaula is an beautiful and unique property in a perfect location. The house is all on the second floor and the spacious beautiful deck makes the home feel like a tree house in the jungle. The bamboo - rattan roof / ceiling and the many beautiful doors that surround the entire home contributes to the whole "tree house" feeling. (The friendly little geckos were pretty fun to have around too.) The house is fully equipped with a spacious modern kitchen, two beautiful bathrooms and laundry. The house is across the street from the ocean front homes but there are shoreline access points all along the Puako Beach Road. We drank our coffee with a beached sea turtle every morning (and visited with a couple of wild turkeys that roam the property). The neighbourhood is very safe and there are many people walking and jogging on the quiet main street in the early cool hours of the day. Many of those same folks are out on the shores watching the sunset at in the evening. Having never been to the Big Island before, we discovered that Puako is a perfect location for exploring the beaches and the towns on the Kona side. Hapuna (our favourite) is 5 minutes up the highway. There we enjoyed using the body surfboards that were at the house. Mauan Kea Beach is just a bit further up. It is a 30 minute drive to the Mauna Kea (mountain) access road. The geography is spectacular. We only discovered at the end of our stay that there is a great beach with safe snorkelling spots right at Puako Bay, walking distance from the house. Oh well, a good reason to return. This property was a great location to experience the sun, fun and culture of the Big Island's west side during the day, and the lush jungle in the evening and morning. Everything on the west side is easily accessible from this location. (And... the weather. Not sure, but when the forecast did call for rain on the west side, the rain never actually made it all the way down the mountains to Puako. In a five minute drive you could find the rain up the slopes - if that is what you want - but the heat from the ocean seems to keep the rain away...? Again, not sure.) There is nice little grocery store right up the street (great for an ice cream walk at the end of the day). Beautiful home. Our family of 5 (kids, 16, 14, and 10 yrs) could not have enjoyed it more.
Stayed 5 nights in Apr 2018

10/10 Excellent

Jill E.

Perfect for Us!
Hale ke Alaula was exactly as advertised! Spacious, well equipped, and in the perfect location. Communication was easy and everything we needed was there! We look forward to coming back. The turkeys were friendly! Thank you for making our much needed vacation memorable. Jill, Krista, Susan and Brent
Stayed 14 nights in Mar 2018
Response from VrboOwner on 24 Mar 2020
Aloha Jill, Thank you so much for joining us at the Hale Ke Alaula. We are glad to hear you folks enjoyed your stay. We look forward to accommodating you again in the near future. Mahalo, Marla Island Beach Rentals LLC

10/10 Excellent

Anika D.

Gorgeous spacious private house in beautiful Puako
This house was perfect for our family of 4 during our 2 week stay on the Big Island. The house has a very open floor plan with two master bedrooms on either side. The kitchen is incredibly spacious with more than the usual kitchen supplies to facilitate preparing any kind of meal. The grounds are beautiful and lush, provide near total privacy of the house which is good because it is completely made of windows. The beach entry is right across the street and although it is a lava beach we were easily able to snorkel and kayak from there. The snorkeling is pretty great with incredible turtle viewing and a diversity of fish near the drop-off. Altogether a wonderful experience for all.
Stayed 13 nights in Jul 2017

10/10 Excellent

Dan B.

Very comfortable, excellent value
Spent a glorious week here with our sons (20, 17), and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. There are several locations for beach access on the street, and each has its advantages for hanging out, snorkeling, kayaking, etc. The place was near-perfect -- very comfortable. Kitchen was well-equipped...
Stayed 7 nights in Jul 2017
Response from VrboOwner on 24 Mar 2020
Aloha Dan, Thank you so much for joining us at the Hale Ke Alaula. So glad to hear you enjoyed the house and the island. We hope to accommodate you and your family again in the near future. Mahalo, Marla

10/10 Excellent

Katie B., Denver, CO

Great space
We enjoyed this place that felt kind of like a private tree house. The kitchen was lovely and had every appliance you could think of and we loved the deck with the grill. We were right across the street from a beach access that had just enough sand for our boys. The open floor plan of the house was great of our little family.
Stayed 5 nights in Mar 2017
Response from VrboOwner on 24 Mar 2020
Aloha Katie, Mahalo for staying at Hale Ke Aluala! We loved having you and your family as our guest. That is so wonderful that you fully appreciate this unique private colorful "treehouse" in Puako! Mahalo! Jay

10/10 Excellent

Melissa F., Volcano, Hawaii

Lovely and Easy
We live on the Big Island and wanted to 'run away' to the dry side and be near the ocean for my Birthday. We had a few close friends and family come celebrate with us. We have an almost 4 year old daughter and there were 6 overnighters at the max, including her (she slept in bed with us). The master bed was more than big enough to fit us 3, my parents thoroughly enjoyed their room on the opposite end of the house with its own lovely bathroom and spacious doors opening onto the deck. My BFF could have slept downstairs on the lovely, airy bed, or on the pull-out couch. There were some mosquitos, not bad, and we did find a scorpion at one point in the carport (they aren't highly poisonous here, rather like a bee sting), so she opted for the pull out bed upstairs. The deck was a delight, huge in front and wrapping all the way around. The interior was spacious and airy. We would open the house up in the mornings from 7am until about 1 pm, then it was time for the very effective A/C. Come 6pm we could open it all up again and be very comfortable. The downstairs is a lovely, cool concrete area with an outdoor shower and some grassy landscaping at well appointed spots. There is a huge mango tree out front that was raining down fresh, sweet mangoes during our stay. The TV is hidden inside behind a gorgeous canvassed double photo of the slopes of Mauna Kea. The invection stove top was rather a pain to use. Other appliances were simple enough - a blender, toaster oven, coffee grinder, coffee maker, foreman grill, BBQ, oven, bar sink, dishwasher, garbage disposal, washer/drier, dvd player, cable, internet, netflix, trash service A couple minor things I would change: cleaner floors - sounds odd maybe, but in Hawaii we take our shoes off inside and I dislike the feeling of grit and grime on my feet. My feet were black after walking around for a few hours inside. I couldn't find a good broom to sweep with, only a push broom that kept dropping lots of fine dusty dirt, and a shark upright vacuume that wasn't much use. Several of the screen doors didn't function well. The large window in the master bath should have some etching or covering for when showering. The towel hooks shaped as horned animals were awesome, but the sharp, pointy beaks/horns scared the heck out of me a few times as they are at eye level with our 4 year old. Marla and Debbie were very easy to work with and accommodating. The beaches were lovely and not over populated.
Stayed 5 nights in Mar 2017