“Perfect Location... The "Real" Hawaii” Being from New Hampshire, Hale Malaekahana reminded me of a Lake House dropped on a perfect stretch of Hawaiian beach, close to the North Shore of Oahu. If you're looking for marble floors and granite counters, stay in Waikiki...if you want a true feel for the "Country" of Hawaii, grab a week or more at Hale Malaekahana!! The house and kitchen were very well equipped for anything that you would need, including surf boards, life jackets, beach chairs/mats, snorkel gear and a Webber Grill for grilling up some of the fresh caught fish that you can get from the locals. Forget about the pricey restaurants in Honolulu, experience the local garlic shrimp and Huli chicken along the route, you'll be glad you stayed up here!! Nothing more relaxing than falling asleep to the sound of the waves and waking early to an awesome sunrise and coffee on the beach. Stan and Marcia ( although we didn't meet them personally) were very responsive to e-mails and calls during the booking process and our rental went off without a hitch. They even graciously accommodated our request for a late check-out on departure day as we had a late flight and we wanted to soak up every minute of Sun we could out front on the beach!!

“Authentic, laid-back, non-touristy Hawaiian experience.” My husband and I just spent a week at Hale Kawehi. We loved every minute of it. Full disclosure: we both love cats and this charming Hawaiian home came with an especially loving tabby cat who greeted us every time we returned from an outing as soon as he discovered he was welcome. The house is much larger than the average guest house. It is charming and homey. It has a fully equipped kitchen and two covered patios where breakfast is a treat. Its location is central and easy to find as well as having easy access to local shops and restaurants. We were looking for a relaxed, non-touristy visit to get a sense of every day Hawaiian life and we achieved that goal well beyond what we might have hoped. Kawehi is a kind, generous and knowledgeable hostess. Lucky are those who choose Hale Kawehi. Anne Kass

“Great for family vacation. Awesome setting.” I was worried about this Beach House before renting but we would up loving it. The reviews seemed to range. There are some comments that the beach in front of house is small, yes the beach is small but it is also quite perfect for snorkeling, looking at or a quick dip. It was great sleeping to the sound of the ocean, the view is so nice you don't want to stop looking at it. One important note which it is hard to discover unless you stay here. The beach in front of the house is NOT your personal private beach, Visitors mostly locals and other renters visit the beach pretty much every day via a public walkway. There is a short wall separating you from the beach which is nice. It was never crowded it just has probably at most I have seen 10 people. The only issue with this is that it feels like your beach, but people keep coming to it. I got over this after the first day. The mornings and evenings the beach was usually empty and all to ourselves. The turtles come near you non stop at this beach which is really cool. The House upstairs is basically one giant room with 2 bathrooms, the rooms separate via closable walls which was convenient for us and well designed. The downstairs has a living area, kitchen and another bathroom. For our family this house was perfect. Something to note: There were lizards and occasional insects which appeared to be some kind of roach, however this did not bother us as a tropical hawaiian roach is not nearly as bad as a NYC roach. The furnishings of the house are in good shape, there are no frills in this house it is basically an older beach cottage. The house had beach gear and snorkeling gear available which was great. If you rent it, we left one of our little girls life jackets so you may see that there LOL. The place was clean with clean linens and towels. There is a property manager who lives on the grounds. She was very helpful. I would stay here again and would also recommend this house. I attached 3 pics. One is of the beach, There is sand you just can't see from the shot, two is from one of the rocks outside - house is on right, and 3 is of the sunset. Side note if you don't know anything about big island: Kona is where you want to be on the Big Island if you like nice weather. I did not realize there are basically two sides to stay. Kona side and Hilo Side. Luckily this is on Kona side. Hilo has a bunch of stuff to do and hikes, waterfalls, museums etc, also closer to volcanos but its the "rainy" side. I would rather be on the sunny side and travel to the other side.

“Comfortable and Relaxing” This quaint home is located in a quiet and peaceful area of the Big Island. I found the house to be very clean and comfortable, with a special touch of lighting decor. A great whirlpool tub provided the ultimate relaxation that enhanced my stay! Everything I needed was there!

“Amazing and Beautiful” Loved staying at this condo. Great accommodations, great services and support staff. The only odd thing was the power kept going out in the master bedroom/bathroom. Other than that, it was a 10!

“One of my most memorable vacations.” Very clean, housekeeping would stop in to tidy up, (vacuum and check towel inventory). Location is private and secluded feeling with the ends of the property being fenced. This resort offers peace and quiet. Pools never had more than around six people when we went to use them. Location gives you some of the best snorkeling on Maui.

“Maui memories” We were excited to be coming back back to Makena Surf after staying there two years ago and being so impressed with the unit and the beautiful surroundings back then. We were somewhat fearful that we could even come close to matching that same experience this time around, but this unit exceeded our expectations. We will be back in the near future.

“Fantastic Stay at Makena Surf” We would definitely return to this property, if not exact condo, at Maken Surf. Great location and ideal building on the big beach.Make sure you see the development plan so you pick the right building - it's worth being beachfront. And when the west coast was in the clouds, we were always sunny. Lovely beach, quiet with just the right amount of action close by. Easy drive to area shops and restaurants. Condo was ideal and services were terrific. If you are looking for beach and pool bar, resort services - this is not your place. There is a beach and pool but no blended drinks being served. But you'll spend three times the money for a hotel room versus having the luxury of spreading out at "home" with your family for meals, movie night and morning breakfast on the lanai. A much nicer way to go and then eat dinner in all the great restaurants. Who wants to shower and dress for breakfast anyway? I'd rather eat on the lanai and relax. The condo has everything you would want for a lovely stay from good bedding, spacious bathrooms,beach chairs, daily maid service, to streaming Netflix and fully stocked kitchen. Rent a car and you are all set.You won't want to leave and you feel more like you live there rather than just being another tourist. Oh and having a washer dryer in the unit was super convenient. Overall... a lovely spot.

“Wonderful week in paradise!” The staff at ali'i Resorts is fantastic and helped us to plan fun adventures for our family throughout our stay. The housekeeping staff was attentitive and worked hard each day to help make our stay great. The property and condo were both very well maintained and beautiful- with spectacular views throughout. One of our favorite features was the patio and the amazing view that we enjoyed while dining outdoors. The beach access was convenient, just a short walk down a paved path to the beach that offered kid friendly boogie boarding waves and rock outcropings for snorkeling. We have stayed in a few of the luxury hotels in Wailea and prefer the relaxed environment of Makena Surf.

“Exquisite view, lovely appointments, needs new bed!” The good news: we only left this beautiful condo to jump into the water (in the ocean or the lovely pool), to go to yoga or for jogs, to get supplies or go out to eat! The view is stunning, the lanai couldn't be any closer to the water, has comfortable patio furniture and you have all the comforts of home. The kitchen and bathrooms are luxuriously appointed. After a slight confusion when we landed at the Kahului airport, we were even able to check in early on our arrival day. The only bad news, and the reason we couldn't give it five stars is the mattress in the master bedroom needs replacing. There are two huge, deep divots in the too-soft, too worn mattress. I hope that will be replaced soon, because when we come back to Makena Surf, we will definitely stay here. We've stayed in two other condos on the property, and this was the best!

“"Lovely"” We stayed at Suite Aloha in September for 11 days. The room was spacious, airy and very comfortable. There was a huge ceiling fan to cool the entire room throughout the day and night. We were awakened by the sweet fragrance of plumeria as it floated through the windows every morning. Lovely! Sabine thought of everything to make our stay comfortable. We were welcomed with fresh fruit and a Beautiful arrangement of fresh Hawaiian flowers. There were beach items available for us to use including a beach umbrella, chairs, mats and beach bag. The location was ideal. We could easily walk to Kailua Beach or to Kailua town. Kailua town has plenty of upscale shops and restaurants. There was even a brand new Target there. We would definitely stay there again. It was lovely!