The house is very pretty and in a good location. It's very spacious. The property managers were very nice and responsive. I’m completely baffled by all of the 5 star reviews for this house. All in, we paid about double the other houses we stayed in on the island per night for 2 nights for our family of four. Even with the location, this was way too much money. We had to meet the property manager in person and were asked for a meeting time a week before our check-in date. As we were traveling from a different part of the island, this was a little off-putting to have to be at the house at a certain time. Why not just have a lockbox like every other house we’ve stayed at? When we got to the house, luckily the manager met us early as we were both coincidentally there an hour early just waiting on the other party. The first thing we were told is to be careful locking/unlocking the front door (an old sliding glass door that many houses have on the back patio). If it broke, we’d potentially be locked out for hours waiting on it to be fixed. The door is old, rusting, and rotting, so I felt anxious every time we opened or closed it. The house was very musty especially in the primary bedroom. Even with the comfortable bed and sheets, I felt dirty laying there breathing in the moldy air. The connected bathroom needs a serious update. The grout in the shower is discolored and the grout is missing in many spots. It felt gross to take a shower in that bathroom. All of the bathrooms don’t have shades on the windows. No, they aren’t facing busy streets, but as someone who has never stayed there before and doesn’t know the neighbors, it’s extremely uncomfortable. Multiple towels we used had rust stains on them as well. And no locks on the bathroom doors. When leaving the house, we were asked to strip the sheets and start a load of laundry. Again, with the price, this was a little annoying. When we stripped the sheets though, we saw the old yellow/brown mattress pads which again felt very gross after sleeping on them for a couple of days. The house is in serious need of many updates. It is pretty rundown. It could be a beautiful house and worth the money we paid, but it needs a LOT of work.

Beautiful setting in a quiet neighborhood that is lusciously landscaped. Close to the shoreline for walks and, although limited, the views the are great.

My kids and I stayed here for 3 nights as a home base for exploring the island of Hawaii. It really was an adorable and unique place. My kids enjoyed how authentic and comfortable it was. We didn’t spend a ton of time at the house but the location was right across the street from the park and beach. We were a couple miles drive from our favorite diner (Ken’s), and we were an hour drive from Volcanoes National Park. I would stay here again if we return.

We loved being able to walk down the driveway to snorkel and whale watch. The house is lovely and private and quiet at night - except for a few dogs that seemed to want to bark for a short period @ 3:00am We were impressed with all the little extras found in the house: sewing kit, small office incidentals, soaps and shampoos and fix it items - very well appointed! We had a very comfortable stay.

Great experience. Very helpful and responsive host! We appreciated how nicely appointed the home was, all the recommendations for dining and activities and the location. Walking across the street to swim with turtles at the black sand beach was pretty amazing! We would gladly stay here again!

Great house, great location, all around wonderful

This house is the epitome of old Hawaiian charm. The decor is lovely and comfortable with spacious bedrooms and gathering areas. The gardens are gorgeous and full of flowers. An old pig-trap sits in the yard as "garden art" and a Tahitian Lime tree in the front yard will add extra flavor to your cocktails. In this part of paradise, it only seems to rain at night and you'll be lulled to sleep by the sound of raindrops and frogs. The neighborhood is distinctly local and you will be the only tourist around. That said, I found the neighbors and everyone I met in Hilo to be friendly, kind and welcoming. On the weekends, the entire area fills up with local families at the beach parks who spend the day playing in the ocean, socializing and cooking up bar-b-cue. Your next door neighbor sells fresh coconuts and nearby someone else sells banana bread. It's a very popular area of the island with the locals. So, it's busy on the weekend and during the week it's very quiet. The snorkeling right out of your front yard is amazing and sea turtles are regularly spotted on the rocks and swimming around. Like all old homes, there are some quirky things. There are many nonsensical light switches and the dishwasher will confound you. (hint: the dishwasher is one of those super quiet types and it's on even when you think it's not. Follow the instructions and it will work just fine.) I was there with my 21 year old daughter and my elderly mother. Each of us had our own room and our own bathroom. I wish I had packed a hammock to string up between coconut trees at the beach. We rented two kayaks and better quality beach chairs for the week from Hilo Ocean Adventures. I would rent this house again and I highly recommend it. Aloha!

This beautiful home is far better than the pics can show. Right across from ocean parks with numerous spring-fed swimming pools and in the middle of a tropical paradise. The home is so well-appointed, you will not lack for anything. Beds are perfect with nice linens. Dishes, glassware, furnishings are quality. Lilikoi grow from vines. Tahitian limes! Heaven on earth. Book it.

The property was spacious, immaculate, surrounded by lush gardens, frogs, birds, and the sea turtles across the street showed STRENGTH IN NUMBERS!

The pictures don't do the property justice ,great house and location you will love staying here

Perfect location, perfect house, wonderful hosts. Just amazing!

Lets start with the house. This is an older house and was built in a different time when people lived with and in the world so the house has tall ceilings, well designed windows and personality for days. The house was immaculately clean and well maintained. It is next to the ocean so there was some rust on some of the fittings but that is unavoidable and nothing you could possibly fault. The location is fantastic right across from a park and the beach with easy access. The owner's warning of finding the driveway spooked me a bit but I found it easy to find (thank you Apple Maps voice). The grounds themselves are fascinating as well. Now, the warning. It says it in the posting but be aware. This place does not have air conditioning so you may have to open the windows to cool things down. Hawaii has coqui frogs which I had never heard of but are astoundingly loud until they get tired. The owner's instructions do warn of this and there are earplugs in case you didn't bring your own. We travel a lot so we had earplugs and our own soundmachine but I am a light sleeper and by midnight I had begun to fantasize about the complete eradication of all frogs on the earth. If you are a light and early sleeper, make sure you are there at a time you won't need to leave the windows open. I know it is first world whining but a portable or window AC unit in the bedrooms would make this problem (and some others) go away completely. Ok, that was the bad. The other good. We were met with a personal orientation which wasn't really complicated enough to need one. There were written instructions there that had all the info we needed. During the stay we communicated with the Owner, who checked in to make sure all was ok, and she was incredibly responsive and supportive. Literally could not ask for more. If I found myself in Hilo again in a cooler time (or when Hawaii figures out something to do about the coqui apocalypse), I would definitely rent here again.

You can see the ocean from the living room. Somehow, when I booked this, I did not realize this fact, so I was pleasantly surprised to see how much ocean can be seen from the house. The back porch is a very peaceful place from which to watch chickens, cats, and geckos while taking in the beautiful jungle. We loved it here. The house is beautiful.

We loved our stay in this beautiful home. Every amenity was provided. The views were stunning and we enjoyed the black sand beaches with great snorkeling across the street. We hope to come back again.

The house is beautiful and spacious. It’s a SHORT walk to great beaches. It’s a short drive to Downtown Hilo. I’ll be back’

The house is wonderful and fully equipped with everything needed. We spent 2 days hiking at Volcano National Park; about 40 minutes away. We also visited some remote beaches but in the end really enjoyed ourselves on the small beaches within walking distance. Hopefully we will return one day.

Lovely historic property with lush grounds. It's a unique experience to stay in a house like this in an area like Richardson Beach. The house is very well outfitted and very clean, and everything is high quality. Loved it.

The house is beautiful, clean, and very well equipped. It’l located across the street from one of Hilo’s most beautiful beach parks, with a view of the surf break and rocky shore. We saw turtles and whales from the property. The host was a prompt and excellent communicator. We’d stay here again in a heartbeat.

This is a very cozy and well-kept house. It is very peaceful, except on weekend afternoons, when the beach area is rather busy.

This lovely home is perfectly situated for a family holiday. We stayed with my parents and my sister and brother-in-law. The three bedrooms and bathrooms were key to maintaining happy family dynamics, and the big living-dining area gave us plenty of space to eat and hang out together. Having the beach right across the street is amazing, and it was pretty magical to see sea turtles while standing on the shore! The house is beautiful and has a real old Hawaii charm. All the plants and flowers in the garden add to the peaceful setting. As we were there over Christmas, we appreciated the holiday tablecloth and centerpiece on the dining room table as a nod to the occasion. At night, it is very quiet, except for the coqui frogs so if that will bother you, bring earplugs! I would stay here again in a heartbeat!

The property was extremely comfortable for a family of 5. The owner’s description was accurate and she was very responsive and helpful in terms of making suggestions of where to explore and eat. The house is directly across the street from the ocean where large turtles nest on the rocks - so this was a really nice bonus!

Very interesting historical house in an amazing location. The park right across the street was great for snorkeling and swimming. Excellent communication with the host and we had everything we needed for our stay at this beautiful house.

We had a great experience from the moment we stepped in the door, check in was easy and the house was well equipped and perfectly located for all our activities. We can’t wait to come back!

Historic Hawaiiana house. Hear the waves and coquis at night, birds in the morning. Surrounded by mossy rock work with a huge front yard. Private, very clean. Thoroughly enjoyed everything.

We staycation frequently and this is one of the few beach rentals that charge less for two people, which adds up, and it worked out well since we had a huge storm which mostly kept us indoors. The beach parks were closed by the storm but when there were breaks in the downpour we could check out the high surf by walking across the street with the oceanside all to ourselves. When it was howling rain like it mostly was, we were cozy in this romantic historic home and it still felt like vacation. We made espresso in the morning, sipped wine in the afternoon, and enjoyed the ambiance. Owner was very good about communication making sure we were safe and house was okay for us in the storm. As always, will be back.

This classic house is really beautiful from the hardwood floor on up. It was well maintained, very clean, and it was a pleasure returning when we had to leave. The property has rock walls and rock features around it in the greenery. The property manager gave us some excellent tips on what was new since our last trip, including Hilo Friday Night Market and The Bottle Shop. We hope to return soon.

The property is first rate. The house was very clean and everything high quality. The grounds have Hawaiian features and plantings we had not seen before. As we are not ocean swimmers, we appreciated the small black sand beaches, the rocky shoreline and the view of Mauna Kea as being more interesting to us than being on a beach. This was a convenient location for seeing the east side of the island and the volcano as well.

We stayed for three nights and loved it all. The wifi was solid for work when we had to work. The house has an amazing feel, so relaxing and like you're in a totally different place than anywhere else. Very private feel. Very clean and had plenty of everything. The little beaches and water access points were also totally different than anywhere else. We're Hilo fans now.

Beautiful, roomy, well maintained and clean. Really nice property. Non touristy beach neighborhood.

This place is amazing. I feel lucky I was able to book it. The garden is beautiful, decor is outstanding, kitchen equipment is better than I have at home. Sary was very helpful with tips on Hilo. I was sorry I had to leave for work on the Kona side.

Kitchen is well equipped and interior furniture lovely.

Beautiful beaches from the front window in a clean and comfortable home just as seen in the photos.