Kumu Leina'ala B.
December 2023
Aloha,
Love the Ocean Front, peace, and quiet and amazing wonderful time to enjoy nature ocean and relax. We already planning to come back..
Mahalo
Kumu Leina'ala K. Brown
Joshua J.
November 2023
My wife and I loved our stay at this beach cottage and had a wonderful time. The home was well equipped (the washer/dryer were particularly helpful!) and the owners were very friendly and accommodating. The house is ideal if you are spending time in the Hilo area as it was very centrally located to just about everything.
We spent most of our time in the main upstairs area, but having the extra room downstairs could be very convenient for larger groups.
Highly recommended!
Kelly
August 2023
We stayed with three small children. I didn’t realize the upstairs and downstairs don’t connect from inside (separate outdoor entrance to downstairs), but it still worked for us because there were air mattresses and pull out couches with plenty of additional sheets and bedding in the house. The kids enjoyed making forts with all these supplies at night in the living room. The downstairs just became a daytime hangout area for us. This location felt like an authentic Hawaiian experience! The front porch is stunning, we enjoyed all meals there with a picture perfect view. The house was well stocked with all the basics for cooking, snorkeling, boogie boarding etc. Appliances were clean and updated. Outdoor shower is very private and has hot and cold water, we used that for most of our showers instead of the indoor shower (just bc it was convenient to shower coming in from the beach). We stayed cool with the window air conditioner during the day, and loved the sounds of rain most nights while sleeping. Richardson Beach is wonderful, we checked out most beaches along the strip, and enjoyed Richardson the most, it was an easy walk across the street with kids and beach gear. Outdoor washer and dryer worked great for us, we were able to pack very light. We also had a few gecko friends make their way in, but they were harmless and part of the Hawaiian experience. There is nature everywhere… tropical fruit just falling in the yard to sample. It was a great house, we would stay again.
Mary E.
August 2023
This was our second stay in this sweet beach cottage in Hilo's Keaukaha area. We enjoyed the authentic Hawaiian vibes, which can include a very busy street on the weekends. It gets nice and quiet at night for sleeping and the best ocean access is nearby. The beaches in the are black sand, rocky and beautiful....
amanda K.
June 2023
We love this place and hope to return. Best communication and checkin process of any vacation rental weve experienced. We loved walking across the street to snorkel.
Aolele B.
May 2023
Awesome location. Spent a week with friends n family from the island. Have to visit their store as well at the start of your trip.
Deborah C.
May 2023
Cute little cottage beach house. Super location. Liked that there was a starter amount of necessities. Would rent again
Michael C.
May 2023
We stayed here before Covid, and just made it back. Roomy, comfortable, extremely well stocked. Beach and park just across the street. Quick and friendly responses from the owners. Strong and reliable WiFi. This is our go-to Hilo stay now.
Ellen G.
March 2023
This was our second stay at the Waiuli Beach Cottage! We love the location, the open kitchen, screened lanai and everything about it. We used both floors this time because we had 4 adults and we were able to have more privacy when needed. Will be back!!
Heather D.
March 2023
The pictures of the view from the front porch of this beach house don’t begin to do it justice. Absolutely beautiful! Morning coffee on that porch is something I won’t soon forget. Comfortable and more than enough room for our group of four. My FIL was well set up in the lower level while my husband, daughter, and I stayed in the upper. It was clean and well equipped for a family stay. We cooked breakfast most of the days we were there and enjoyed some of the great restaurants in Hilo for lunch and dinner (make sure to make a reservation at Hilo Bay Cafe). At night it sounds like what you would pay for in a white noise machine. Frogs, birds, waves crashing against the shore, and rain fall. Close enough to VNP if you are planning a visit or two there. We got up early and caught the sunrise at Kilauea one morning. We had the luck of arriving just ahead of a Kona Low, tons of rain, I suspect even for rainy Hilo. A new experience for us, lots of liquid sunshine. Absolutely enjoyed our stay and hope to come back again sometime!
Mary E.
December 2022
This is a wonderful place to stay if you want a rustic and real Hawaiian experience. We were happy to see everything we needed was here for a relaxing stay. We used to live in Hilo, and this place felt like home. There was even a nice surfboard for those big wave days….
Theresa C.
November 2022
Wish it was available for the 1st week of January! I would love to stay there again...
Ninny W.
November 2022
This is a very nice beach cottage very conveniently located across the street from Richardson Beach. Remember that many of the cottages in this area were built in the 1930s, and this one has been nicely updated, but it still has some markers of an older building. The windows have gaps in them, for example, so you may see some gecko friends on your sills or in the kitchen (we found one in the fridge and are still puzzled how it got there- he was fine though, we let him out on the back porch and after he thawed a bit he ran away), the shower is a bit small upstairs, and there isn't air conditioning (you can leave the windows open and turn on the fan).
Admittedly, when we first checked in, we were a bit nervous because the gecko droppings look a lot like mice droppings and there was a small ant problem in the kitchen. While normally we wouldn't mind too much if it was just the adults, we were nervous about the cleanliness since our baby is just getting to crawling/walking age. We checked out the downstairs and it was so musty that we decided it wasn't a great place for grandma to spend the night. We contacted the owners about it and they explained the gecko thing (the green ones are pretty but invasive, and they tend to leave bigger poops than their indigenous brown counterparts), and that they had a new cleaner, and that they had just power washed the lanai so the musty smell could be due to that. They came out the next day and cleaned up the ants and gecko poop and opened the windows to air out the smell.
Even after airing it out, we didn't end up using the downstairs because it still smelled a little funny, but they have couches in the living room that can turn into beds. The owners were even kind enough to let us check out at noon (late checkout) because we had a very late flight on check out day (they explained that they would have let us do it later, but they had a cleaning person coming and she needed 4 hours to clean before the next people arrived).
Richardson's famous black sand beach is across the street which was a real treat, and baby particularly liked watching the tour buses come and go from the screened in lanai. For small kids though, I'd recommend going slightly down the street to Leleiwi beach - they have a nice set of stairs and very shallow little pools that are very calm. Richardson also has some pools but it was a little too rocky in most places for baby.
Denise H.
August 2022
View from lanai is mesmerizing. Adorable little beach cottage, very clean, great snorkel areas across street. Very popular during summer, so more crowded this time, but still beautiful. One of our favorite vrbos.
Cheryl M.
August 2022
My husband, adult daughters, and I had an amazing family vacation at this home. The snorkeling at the beach across the street (Richardson's Beach) was wonderful. One day, we got to swim with 4 sea turtles. It was also a great place for climbing on and exploring the lava rocks. The location was a wonderful one exploring the entire island. We LOVED the Hilo Farmer's Market which was only a short drive away. The house itself worked great for us. The girls like having their own "suite" downstairs and there were plenty of cooking supplies for us to cook the majority of our meals there.
Mike S.
August 2022
We loved our stay in Hilo in this great house. The house looks directly at the ocean across Richardson Beach Park, which is highly rated. We saw sea turtles every day in the morning tide pools. It rains a little every day in Hilo (it’s a rain forest so it should) so the covered screen porch was wonderful. Plenty of cooking supplies and toys for the beach. Loved the openness of the house. The location is perfect as their are parks lining much of the ocean side of the street.
Elli- Priscilla M.
May 2022
House had amazing space and a nice yard. Really enjoyed the screened in front porch. The 2nd bedroom/ bath is accessed by a separate outside door, this worked fine for our group, but could be trouble some for a family with children or a group that needs to be together. House was clean and had a good variety of kitchen utilities. NO OVEN, probably said so in the description, just didn't notice until we went to make dinner first night :-(. Had a great closet full of beach supplies (boogie boards, snorkel/ masks, chairs, umbrellas, coolers). Also had a few games to play. Great supply of extra blankets, pillows, and towels. House is located directly across the street from a few beaches. And just a short walk up the road is Richardson Beach which we read on Google is one of the best snorkeling on Hilo side. All these beaches did have a strong current though so difficult to enjoy the water if not a good swimmer. Road outside house seemed to always be busy with other beach goers. To include what looked like a few regular vehicles that would play loud music and often had strong smoke smells (tobacco and marijuana). Many speeding very loud vehicles too. Overall great space/ rental.
Lupeta M.
April 2022
We spent a month at this perfectly situated cottage. Two couples and having a separate downstairs was great for us to not be on top of each other. We are still friends. The location right across from Richardson Beach was great. The outdoor shower has hot and cold water which is great. The owners are very responsive. The internet is good. There is plenty of beach gear available to use. The umbrella saved us from getting sunburned. We saw whales breaching from the front porch and many sea turtles in the near by lagoons. Nearby snorkeling we saw a lot of fish. Bring water shoes as much of the beach areas are Rocky lava. There are many nearby swallow lagoons perfect for smaller childern to play and not get barreled over by waves. We are looking forward to staying here again. Best vacation ever.
Christine O.
January 2022
What a great property! Location was perfect and accommodations were exactly as listed. Thank you so much for keeping everything stocked so well. Also love the swim equipment, that was super handy. Would definitely recommend this property.
Ruby H.
December 2021
We could not have been happier with our stay. The house was lovely, and the location can’t be beat. We will be back!
Gabrielle H.
December 2021
We look forward to booking this home again in the future! Perfect snorkel area just footsteps away- swimming with the sea turtles was a major highlight of our vacation!
Mary Beth M.
November 2021
This cute cottage is steps away from the beach park. There is excellent swimming and snorkeling and the beach has a lifeguard on duty all day. We saw sea turtles in a section of the beach as well.
My only suggestion would be to state clearly that there is no oven in the kitchen and to purchase a beach umbrella for guests to use while visiting.
Mahalo!
Jacques L.
October 2021
Fantastic rental and location
Heather F.
August 2021
This is our third stay at this rental, and it is wonderful every time. The location, the sunsets, the people watching at the beach park. It never disappoints! So many amazing memories made here with our family❤️
Karen W.
June 2021
What a beautifully perfect home! Everything was amazing, the gardens are a stunning addition to the lovely beach across the street. I would love to stay here again
Sheri F.
November 2015
Our stay at the cottage was amazing. It was so comfortable it felt like home. There are also so many little details. I just got home and am ready to go back. I will be back. Thank you very much Michele.
Sincerely,
The Friends
Melanie R.
November 2015
The house was right across from the beach. The house had everything we needed. The bed was comfy, the linens very nice, and it was so very clean. We enjoyed watching the waves crash over the sea wall from the screened-in porch during the rainstorm. The many fans kept the temperature comfortable. The house was close enough to get to downtown Hilo easily. There were only two of us, so we did not utilize the downstairs portion of the home.
Preetham R.
October 2015
Convenient, spacious, well appointmented, as advertised, close to a couple of small beaches.
September 2015
Clean and comfortable cottage. The location was unbeatable and we could walk to the beach parks across the street. There were many beach gears for guests to use which was a plus. The kitchen was basic and had no dishwasher but the stove was great and heated up fast. There was no stairs inside the house to connect the main floor and the basement so they seemed like two seperate units which may be inoncenient. Also, there was no air conditioner so if the temperature was extremely high, it could be a big disadvantage. Fortunately when we were there, it usually cooled down in the evening so it didn't bother.
Lisa H.
August 2015
Clean and light this beautiful home was comfortable and inviting. We just liked sitting on the front porch in the comfy chairs and watching the motion of the ocean. Quality sheets, mattresses and towels were the important for me to be comfortable. The granite kitchen with the Mango wood shelves were a nice touch. Can hardley wait to go back and stay! Thank you Fuzzy and Michele.
Lisa R.
April 2015
This charming cottage was clean and comfortable. Richardson Beach is a great place to have as a home base for a vacation on the Hilo side of the island. Each morning, we started our day walking around the beach park, finding turtles, watching waves roll in, and looking up at Mauna Kea. The kitchen is basic, but is more than adequate for simple meals. The beds are comfortable, we had 2 adults and 4 kids, and didn't use the pull-out couch upstairs, so I can't comment on that. The basement shower is a dream. The unit is stocked well with beach gear, a kayak, SUP and snorkel gear, as well as towels and beach chairs. We were lucky and got very little rain, too. I would stay here again in a heartbeat, and highly recommend it!
Cindy Q.
February 2015
The cottage was very quaint and cutely decorated. Very comfortable. The pull out couch in the living room could use some tender loving care and a new mattress. Located just across the street from the water and a great park with swimming and laying out. Hilo is the side to stay on if you are going to visit the Volcano National Park and the wonderful falls in the area. Very enjoyable stay! We did not use the downstairs bedroom. It has a separate entrance.
Barry W.
January 2015
Really nice place, especially for two couples as the downstairs is completely separate. Well cared for, clean, older home outfitted with nice little touches. Not at all fancy, just classic old Hawaii. If you're mostly looking for a beach to lay on, go to the other side of the island. But if you want to base yourself near Hilo, this is your spot.
Vi M.
December 2014
We stayed at this cottage for five nights and thoroughly enjoyed the location. It is near the end of a street that runs along the ocean, to a well maintained park. The cottage itself was well laid out - a master bedroom in the back by the open-concept kitchen. A sofa sleeper that is set back for easy use. Kitchen is well stocked but doesn't have an oven (seriously not an issue in 80-degree weather!). There is a downstairs apartment that we ended up not using but gives great room for a second couple or for teenage children. Must go outside to reach the downstairs so not recommended for younger children. So many great things - comfortable lanai, outside shower, washer/dryer and lower patio with table and a BBQ. Also lots of beach equipment and towels! Two parking areas. The back yard is a virtual jungle with lots to explore! If you don't like noise, then the Coqui frogs might be annoying. We found that we loved and missed them when we moved on to Kona side. We met Fuzzy, the owner - super nice guy! So many windows and fans for circulation! We would gladly return to this location (as we missed seeing actual lava or the glow within a crater).
Laurie M.
October 2014
We loved this cottage. The location is great. Close to Hilo and easy access to go and explore the north, south or to get onto saddle road to head west. The farmers market in Hilo is close by and has the best selection of fruits and veggies. The kitchen is nice and big and very open concept. The whole house was spotless and we loved the decor. The bed on the main floor was very comfortable. The ceiling fans were great for keeping the place cool. We loved that there were so many windows to let in the fresh air and warm breezes. And I personally loved listening to the frogs at night. The huge porch out front is fabulous. It is covered so you can sit out there if it is raining. The house was stocked with snorkel gear, water shoes, noodles, boogie boards, kayak and surf board. And the outdoor shower has hot water….that was awesome and great for rinsing off after swimming across the street at Richardson beach.
If you are in need of the pullout couch on the main floor the mattress does need replacing. Otherwise we loved everything about this place. I would highly recommend this cottage and hope to have the privilege of staying here when we visit Big Island again.
Urban E.
September 2014
This was our first time to use VRBO and certainly not our last one. The process to book was very easy and we found this fantastic place by the ocean in Hilo. It is located just opposite a beach park which makes life really easy. Kayaking, surfing, snorkling just in front of the house.
The house is very spacious with two levels and two baths plus a great outdoor shower. And you have boogie boards, snorkling gear, barbecue ... all you would want at your house by the ocean.
We were 2 adults plus two children and had lots of space. Hilo is a great location if you want to visit the Volcano national parc but we also drove up to Kona which was an easy drive with a lot of scenic viewpoints, waterfalls etc.
William H.
July 2014
The home is clean, and has a really nice front porch screened in to keep the mosquito's out. But the living room sleeper sofa is uncomfortable and should be replaced. My guests expected a sleep able bed but instead chose to sleep on the floor because of the sleeper/ sofa.We had teens sleep downstairs. They appreciated the nice bathroom but again, the sleeping accommodations really only worked for 2. The third kid had to sleep on an uncomfortable futon.
All in all, the location across from the water was ideal. The kitchen functioned perfectly and parking access was more than enough for visitors. We would stay again if the sleeping arrangements were upgraded . Also, another surfboard or paddle board would make it enjoyable for more than just 3 people.
Kathy R.
July 2014
Our family of four loved staying here. The cottage was clean, bright and comfortable. Our boys loved having their own place downstairs. We spent time at Richardson beach across the street.
Mike R.
June 2014
We decided to stay in Hilo to give us a convenient base to explore waterfalls, volcanos, and drive up to the observatory. This house was in a great location and also allowed us to spend some time at Richardson beach right across the road. The house was in great shape and was well equipped with water gear and could easily accommodate 6-8 people depending on the use of day beds. One thing to note, the house didn't have an oven and maybe that is just a Hawaiian house "thing" so we just grilled our pizza on the BBQ outside. Overall, the house meets or exceeds the description and it provides a great home base for Big Island exploring.
Amy S.
May 2014
Great cottage for a small or larger group staying in the area and looking for easy access to many parts of the island. Cottage is kept very well cleaned and organized for renters.
June O.
May 2014
My family had a very nice time at our stay in Hilo. We especially loved the front enclosed porch. It was great sitting and watching the ocean or just reading a book.
Janette F.
April 2014
We really enjoyed our stay here. Communication was fantastic and everything went off smoothly. We were two families of 4, so 8 people in total - two adults and two children aged 8yrs - 11yrs old in each family. The kids slept on the sofa beds and the adults in the proper beds. We all had a great time, though we really just used the property as somewhere to sleep, wash clothes, eat and prepare packed lunches for the day as we were out and about each day. It is perfectly located in the middle between the Volcanoes National Park and Mauna Kea. It was lovely to be just across the road from the water and each evening we would go and visit the sea turtles that seemed to love resting in between the volcanic rocks.
Use the "Visit Owner's Website" link to read more reviews from the reservation site, including the latest reviews submitted by recent guests.