"Serenity Cottage"

Guest Rating:

Serenity Cottage is located perfectly. Seeing the bay and listening to the waves from the house was terrific. Walking out the beautifully maintained lawn to the palms and sand and ocean was better than we'd even hoped! The cottage is lovely... impeccably maintained and wonderfully supplied. I cannot think of a thing we wanted that we didn't find there - even a flashlight for the island-wide blackout! Beach towels, cooler bag, washer/dryer, outdoor shower, nice boogie boards, beach chairs, umbrella, books, plenty of towels, lawn furniture, everything we needed in the kitchen, starter supply on household stuff...it was all nice quality too. It's not big, but it was bigger than I expected from the photos. The layout was nice and it was an amazing combination of very private yet still very open. Our family (with 2 teen boys) was very happy there. We loved walking to Kalapawai Market for sandwiches/coffee, to Island Snow for awsome shave ice, and to Bob's Pizza for the biggest slices we've ever seen (good too!).

We could walk to and wheel rentals at Kailua Sailboards and Kayaks to the house. Stand up paddle surfing was a hit with the family on this trip. Blue Planet (Honolulu) was recommended for surfboard rentals - and we were very impressed with the price and quality of the longboards there. Snorkeling at Hanauma Bay was fun - got there at 8:30 AM before the crowds. We love shopping at Haleiwa - Surf N Sea is our favorite. Our favorite restaurant was Kua 'Aina sandwich at Haleiwa and Waikiki (awesome fish sandwiches), but the boys' favorite was Teddy's Bigger Burgers in Kailua. We liked Big City Diner and plate lunches at Keneke's (perfect after Hanauma). When we ventured into Waikiki it was fun but noisy and crowded and we were happy to return "home" to Kailua.

If you are there during the holidays you should not miss the trolley tour to see Honolulu City Lights! The Lights were awesome, but even better was the fun of the trolley - singing, music, and a funny driver. (Better to buy tix in advance - - but on the standby list we only had a 40 min wait.) Koko Head climb was fun on Christmas Day. Great Christmas buffet dinner at Turtle Bay Resort. The New Years eve celebrations (tons of fireworks in the streets) was like nothing we've ever experienced before.

We weren't sure how we'd like renting a beach house in Hawaii as we've always stayed at resorts before, but this was our best trip ever. The people at Kailua were incredibly friendly, the cottage was comfortable and well-supplied, walkable distance to Kailua places and central for driving anywhere on the island. Hawaiian Beach Rentals/Two Wahines was helpful and very responsive. Though we knew we could call on them, we needed nothing from them while we were staying there - everything was already thought of and prepared before we even got there - a great compliment to HBR and to Serenity Cottage!

Sheri Y., Ashburn, VA, 1.3.09

Guest Rating:

Clean, convenient and close to the beach with a view.

Julie was great about providing directions, checking in to maje sure I got everything, arranging for fixes as necessary and helping with ideas of things to do and locations!

It would have been nice to have had some cleaning supplies in the bathroom to be able to clean out the tub a bit.

Thanks,

Marlys B., Santa Barbara, CA, 7.15.08

Guest Rating:

We absolutely loved the Serenity Cottage and look forward to staying there again on a future visit to Hawaii! Julie was very helpful and wonderful to work. The best part was being right on the beach in Kailua with boogie boarding and swimming just outside your door! We will be back someday!

Kathy M., Portland, OR, 7.7.08