CombatCritic's TravelValue™: Keauu (Hilo), Hawaii: Navigate Your Way To Ho'okele Cabin

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Wednesday, March 6, 2019

Keauu (Hilo), Hawaii: Navigate Your Way To Ho'okele Cabin

Airbnb - Jonas' Hookele Cabin

35th Avenue

Keaau, HI 96749

Airbnb Listing
Prices: $$$$

Ho'okele is the Hawaiian word which translates to the process of navigating by sea to a destination. Our host, Jonas, was very helpful in navigating the area before and during our week-long stay, giving us directions to his house, supermarket recommendations, and best places to visit. He met us upon arrival and gave us a thorough orientation along with the key. We were also met by his extremely sweet dog Timber and cat Mia, both of whom kept us company from time to time throughout our stay.

Hookele Cabin sits across from his home on 2.5 acres surrounded by jungle, so there were plenty of places to park, but Jonas had installed a tented carport adjacent to the cabin for our use. The cabin is cute with one large room, two thirds of which is the living room with sleeper sofa, a comfy chair and ottoman, coffee table and dresser with four empty drawers and an LCD TV on top. The TV had Roku, so we had access to streaming services (Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, etc.) via the Wi-Fi which was relatively fast. There was also a small wardrobe in one corner for us to hang our things.

The living room is open to the high vaulted A-frame ceiling, but the kitchen has a normal ceiling, above which is the sleeping area that we accessed by a sturdy ladder. There was a large fridge, microwave, two-burner hot plate coffee maker (bring ground coffee), and a toaster oven in the kitchen. There were also plenty of spices, plates, cups, bowls, silverware, and knives, so eating in was a breeze.

The bathroom is adjacent to the kitchen and has a vanity with sink, mirror, toilet, cabinet and large shower with plenty of soap, shampoo and conditioner. There were also plenty of towels under the sink for our use. There seemed to be plenty of hot water whenever we needed it.

Speaking of towels, Jonas thoughtfully provides not only beach towels, but masks, snorkels and fins for snorkeling, boogie boards, and two folding chairs for beach use. More Airbnb hosts in seaside areas should consider doing the same as those things are too bulky to pack and too expensive to purchase or rent for a few days.

The queen size bed in the loft was very comfy, but there was not a lot of head room on each side due to the severely sloping roof, making it a little bit of a challenge to get in and out of bed. It was very pleasantly cool in the evenings, but the loft heated up as the sun beat down on the roof during the day and the heat naturally rose. There was no railing on the edge of the loft, so we were very careful when moving around and going up and down the ladder to use the toilet in the middle of the night. Now I see why Jonas recommends that families with small children not rent his place for safety reasons. The arrangement was no a problem at all for us even though I am no spring chicken and a disabled veteran.

You get what you see in the listing as the photos and descriptions are very accurate. The cabin feels secluded, but is just 10 minutes by car from Keaau's shops, market, and restaurants and 20 minutes from the island's largest city, Hilo. Hawaii Volcanos National Park is less than 3o minutes away by car and the beautiful Akaka Falls another 20 minutes north of Hilo. There are a few good snorkeling spots in the Hilo area.

At $68 per night, including the weekly discount and fees, we felt that the cabin was an excellent value for the Hawaiian Islands, having paid $12 per night more for a private room and shared bath in an overcrowded house in a less desirable part of Oahu. Access to a washer and dryer ($5/load) was also a big plus even though we did not utilize them during our stay. I highly recommend Jonas' as a host and the Hookele Cabin as your home base during your stay on the Big Island ... HOOAH!

CombatCritic Gives Jonas' Hookele Cabin 10 Bombs Out Of 10 And A Spot On My "WALL OF FAME" ... More Bombs Are Better!

Ten Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians:

HOOAH!: "Phonetic spelling of the acronym HUA, which stands for 'Heard Understood Acknowledged.' Originally used by the British in the late 1800's in Afghanistan. More recently adopted by the United States Army to indicate an affirmative or a pleased response." - Urban Dictionary

"The Department of Military Science and Leadership, University of Tennessee claim HOOAH 'refers to or means anything except no' ... Regardless of its meaning ... the term is an expression of high morale, confidence, motivation and spirit." - WarChronicle.com

"The U.S. Air Force stole 'HOOAH' from the Army because we were part of the Army until 1947 and rather than waste a bunch of time coming up with something new and unique like "ROO-YAH" or "HAL-A-LOO-YAH", we said 'screw it, let's go with HOOAH' ... thanks Army ... HOOAH!" - CombatCritic