"Baby Honu"

Guest Rating:

It's quiet here. You'll hear a lot of songbirds. I did in early January.

Near the entrance to the lane, Buzz's Restaurant has great food and service. Accepts cash only. Sunday nights are the most crowded. You'll be lucky to find a table outside. Ciappino (fish stew) is great. So is Cajun-style mahi mahi. Salad bar is good, if often crowded. The Buzz mai tai is good. Nice choices for dessert. (Rocky road ice-cream cake is awesome.)

Down the road (Kalaheo Drive) a couple of miles, Pinky's restaurant and sports bar is pretty good but the service may leave something to be desired. While I ate there, a mom and her teenage daughter sat down at a table, waited five or ten minutes and then walked out because none of the waitresses came by. This was at lunchtime on a Monday, and the place was not busy.

Go slow in the neighborhood. Take extra care exiting the lane -- traffic moves in both directions, even early in the morning -- because the Kailua Beach parking lot is directly across the street and it's a popular place all week.

Parking by the unit can be a little tight, so if you rent a car in Honolulu and have a choice between compact and larger car, go with the compact. You won't regret it unless you have a ton of gear. Even then a compact might be a better choice.

Remember to check out Lanikai beach nearby. Gorgeous sunrises! Finding a parking spot along the neighborhood street might be tough after ten or eleven in the morning. The entrance to the mountain climb in that neighborhood is hard to find. I drove by it once or twice and ended up asking one of the locals where it is. The climb itself is tough if you're over 40 or out of shape or carrying a heavy backpack. There is no paved path -- you'll be on rock, stones, and dirt the whole way up. Great views though. President Obama played golf at the private Pacific Club at the foot of the mountain when he was president-elect.

This is a good location if you play golf. Ko'olau, Olomana, Luana Hills, and Pali are all within a 15- or 20-minute drive of Baby Honu. The front nine of Luana Hills is diabolical, and some of the ravines at Ko'0lau are deadly. Talk about a challenge. Bring a big driver. Practice with your three wood a lot . . . In January, the golf courses on the western side of Oahu look dry by comparison. Took a look at Turtle Bay; to me, the golf courses look overrated (rather flat, and not visually appealing other than the fact that it has a lot of palm trees), from what I could see on the entrance road and from the clubhouse. Busy place, however.

The onsite manager of the Baby Honu is very friendly and knows a lot about the island.

If you bring a netbook or laptop, you can use the Wi-Fi for Web access -- no login or password required for the Wi-Fi.

Overall I enjoyed staying here a lot.

Ken S., Downers Grove, IL, 1.13.10

Guest Rating:

Far enough from the road to be quiet, a good restaurant at the end of the lane, a great beach only a couple of hundred yards away and another just arount the point. A pleasant change after a week in Waikiki. I wish I could have stayed longer.

Phil W., Edinburgh, Scotland, 4.30.09

Guest Rating:

The location is great; very close to the beach. The unit is at the end of a street, so you feel like you're in your own tropical paradise. For the most part it was very quite. Thankfully the people upstairs kept their children from running around, as you do hear people walking around. There are a couple of creaks in the floor upstairs that are very noisy when stepped on, but I'm not sure what can be done about that. I think we lucked out and had quiet people upstairs, so it really didn't bother us. The cleaning people were loud though. They came twice while we stayed there and they didn't seem concerned for the noise they made. While they were only there for 2-3 hours each time, it would have been nice if they had taken notice that we were home below and been more contientious of the volume of their footsteps. The owner was very nice and allowed us to feel at home. We used the boogie boards and snorkel gear offered in the carport. We had plenty of dishes/pots/pans to cook meals on the hot plate. While the place was clean, the lanai was only screened from the outside so the winds did bring in minimal amounts of dust onto the lanai floor. That combined with the nightly visits from the little geckos and the little presents left behind, it would have been nice to have some swiffer pads left under the sink to clean the lanai floor. It wasn't a big deal, but by the end of our stay, my feet and socks were getting a little dirty. I think if you're staying for longer than 10 days, there should be an option to clean the lanai floors, but less than that, it's not a problem. And some windex to clean the glass table on the lanai would be good too. Speaking of the geckos, I don't think people should worry about them. They mostly stay outside the house on the lanai, but they are very people shy. They don't bother you at all and they are found all over the island, so it's not like a place down the street isn't gonna have them either. Another issue I remember another guest having was the wind in the house from not being able to close up the house. The whole island (Baby Honu included) is very much into the shutter/slat style windows. Some do not close all the way, but they are pretty close and the wind was more like a light breeze and it really did feel nice. In fact, most nights we left all the window slats open. All in all, we loved our stay there an will be back again. This is a wonderful and romantic place next to the most beautiful beach I have ever seen.

What I liked best about the unit I rented wasÃÃâÃÃæ the lanai overlooking the beautiful garden.
The customer service I received wasÃÃâÃÃæ we were greeted the day we arrived and given restaurant tips.
The best part of my trip wasÃÃâÃÃæ snorkeling in Sharks Cove and walking on the beach every morning.
The best restaurant I found wasÃÃâÃÃæ Formaggios (nice fancy meals), Teddy's (burgers), Agnes' (malasadas), Boot's & Kimos (only the pancakes...everything else was just okay)
My advice to someone else staying at this unit would beÃÃâÃÃæ relax
The part of my trip I would definitely recommend to others isÃÃâÃÃæ hiking the Aiea loop
The best "insider tip" I received while on my trip wasÃÃâÃÃæ go to the swap meet for souveniers and bargain with them. Most don't put price tags on stuff so they can size you up to see how much you'll pay. If you don't like the price, walk away and I can almost guarantee they will go down.
I didn't have time this trip, but next trip I'm looking forward toÃÃâÃÃæ kayaking

Melissa L., Rohnert Park, CA, 3.11.09