CombatCritic's TravelValue™: cottage

Showing posts with label cottage. Show all posts

Thursday, March 7, 2019

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

Airbnb - Jonas' Hookele Cabin

35th Avenue

Keaau, HI 96749

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

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Rishikesh, India: Cottage ... Maybe, Swiss ... Not, But A Fair Hotel Value

Hill Top Swiss Cottage

Swiss Cottage Complex

Rishikesh, India

Prices: $$$$$

View of Ganges River Valley From Room

Hilltop Swiss Cottage sits in its own small self-contained village atop the hills of the High Bank of Rishikesh’s Tapovan area and a little over 1 kilometer from Laxman (Lacksman) Jhula (bridge), the northern most bridge over the Ganges (Ganga) River in town. The “Swiss Cottage” area has seven or eight hotels and guest houses, an equal number of restaurants (Raasta and Nirvana Cafés, Swiss Garden, and Oasis to name a few), a couple of small markets, a laundry, travel agancies, yoga studios, and massage parlors, so you never even have to leave the hill if you desire. It is a relatively quiet area compared to town, but is an easy walk to restaurants, the river, or numerous ashrams and other attractions.

There are cheaper options even within the Swiss Cottage compound (200 rupees/$3.20 per night and up), but I had a nice, large room with a view of the river valley below, flat screen TV with cable (no CNN or BBC), relatively fast Wi-Fi, and a bath with Western toilet, tub, and a great shower with plenty of hot water for 800 rupees ($13) per night.

The staff are not overly friendly and I got the “evil eye” from numerous locals during my stay, but otherwise I would say westerners are well “tolerated”, unless you are an attractive female in which case you are given a great deal of (unwanted) attention.

Their restaurant, The Oasis, was empty every time I walked by and other than a pot of coffee and an omelet my first morning I steared clear because the place was absolutely freezing. There were also a couple of characters there, one Dutch (I believe) and the other appeared to be from the Middle East, that were odd to say the least. The Dutch guy tried to whistle tunes with no melody and went off on a couple of Indian men for no apparent reason and the other guy kept whispering something to me I could not undertsand while looking at me like he wanted to slit my throat. Unnerving, so I ate breakfast at Raasta Café from that point forward.

They have their own yoga studio and meditation hall, but when I stopped by at the appointed times on my first morning, I had apparently awoken the instructor who appeared at the door disheveled from sleep and not ready for a class as advertized. Nothing opens before 8am in the compound, so if you are an early riser be prepared to keep yourself occupied until then. The room did have a small fridge and a boiler (kettle) for hot water, so you can buy some coffee, tea, milk, or soft drinks to have in the room (no alcohol because Rishikesh is a "dry" town).

Being December and in the foothills, Rishikesh is chilly when the sun goes down and the room (and everywhere else for that matter, because India apprently has not figured out central heat yet) was freezing. When I booked the room on Booking.com I clearly saw “heater” advertized in the room, but when I arrived there was none to be found. I asked the manager and he told me that I had reserved the “standard” room without heat, but when I checked my reservation again I was in-fact correct and he quickly brought me a heater, a small space heater that barely kept the room warm.

CombatCritic Gives Hill Top Swiss Cottage 6 Bombs Out Of 10 … Bombs Are Good!

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Title: Cottage Maybe, Swiss It Is Not, But A Decent Hotel Value

Key Words: Hill Top Swiss Cottage, hilltop, Swiss, cottage, Tapovan, Laxman Jhula, laxman, lacksman, jhula, jhula, Rishikesh, India, hotel, review, Raasta, Nirvana, CombatCritic, TravelValue, YouTube, Facebook

Rishikesh, India: Raasta Café: Hey Mon, Roll Me A Great Big … Cinnamon Roll

Raasta Café

Swiss Cottage Area

Rishikesh, U.P India

Prices: $$$$$

I ate only one meal other than breakfast at the Raasta Café and it was not great. The reviews on TripAdvidsor were terrific, but the food was underwhelming. It is a nice enough place, like most restaurants in India, open-air and extremely cold in December, and the staff (mostly Nepali from what I gathered) nice enough, somewhat indifferent, and efficient.

The milk coffee (40 rupees/$.65 for a cup, 95 rupees/$1.55 for a large pot) was very weak even though I ordered it “strong”, so I bought my own Folgers instant coffee and spiked the pot each morning in order to get my caffeine fix. On most mornings I had their peanut butter toast (40 rupees/$.65), a nice brown bread with sesame seeds but barely enough peanut butter to cover the toast (sgould have bought my own peanut butter too I guess). I tried their “homemade” pastries (cinnamon roll, chocolate croissant) a couple times, but they were basted with egg and had that definite “raw” egg taste which was not appetizing, so I stuck with the toast.

My one dinner consisted of paneer mata (90 rupees/$1.60), which was supposed to be a spicy spinach dish with cheese (curd) cubes, and some garlic and butter roti (flat bread – 30 rupees/$.50 each). The paneer was obviously the spinach soup from the menu with some cheese tossed in and although not bad tasting was both unfulfilling and not filling. The roti were OK, but reminded me of whole wheat tortillas with some butter and garlic added. Neither were very good.

I found a few good restaurants in town, including nearby Nirvana Café (Indian/Continental), A Tavola con Te (Italian/pizza), and Ramana’s Garden (Organic / Vegetarian /Eclectic), so I was not too upset by Raasta’s boring food. It is the one place in the area where people seem to congregate and the Wi-Fi is reasonably fast, so it is worth a visit if staying in one of the “Swiss Cottages”.

CombatCritic Gives Raasta Café 5 Bombs Out Of 10 … More Bombs Are Better!

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Title: Rishikesh, India: Raasta Café: Hey Mon, Roll Me A Great Big … Cinammon Roll

Key Words: Raasta Café, café, Swiss Cottage, Swiss, cottage, menu, Tapovan, Laxman Jhula, laxman, lacksman, jhula, Rishikesh, India, review, Raasta, CombatCritic, TravelValue, YouTube, Facebook

Monday, January 26, 2015

Rishikesh, India: Consider Yourself ENLIGHTENED: Bistro NIRVANA Is Trendy, Eclectic, and Reasonably Priced

Bistro Nirvana

Swiss Cottage Area Rishikesh, U.P. India

Bistro Nirvana came highly recommended by a friend I met in Dharamsala, but I only had a coffee there until the day before I left because I did not like the “vibe”. It is a very nice place with bamboo, wood tones, and a Polynesian feel, but all but one table is of the “Eastern” variety with low tops, seating mats, and a little too uncomfortable for this disabled Veteran.

The young “Bohemian” / hippie-wannabe crowd is drawn to this place, the ones with the dreadlocks (not sure why caucasians want to waste their time or money on dreadlocks, but whatever floats your boat) and nose-in-the-phone silence, just like in Dharamsala, so that also put me off a bit. The staff is friendly, but indifferent just like everywhere else in Rishikesh in general and the Swiss Cottage complex in pariticular.

Anyway, the food was really good! I ordered the Dal Makhni (130 rupees/$2.05), black lentils slow cooked overnight with garlic, onions, butter, and crème and a garlic and butter nan (50 rupees/80 cents). The dal were superb, arriving in a good size copper pot, perfectly warm and the best $2 I have spent in a long time at a restaurant. The nan was also very good, not looking enough to get me through my dal at first, but there was more than met the eye and I was satiated … after a piece of their legendary Banoffee pie (60 rupees/$.95) of course. The pie was rich and sweet, tasty with banana cream and toffee (caramel) atop a thick, chewy biscuit (cookie) crust, being almost too rich, but I polished it off just the same.

CombatCritic Gives Bistro Nirvana 7 Bombs Out Of 10 … One Bomb Deduction For Low Tables and Too Many Dreadlocks … Bombs Are Great!

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Title: Consider Yourself ENLIGHTENED: Café NIRVANA Is Trendy, Eclectic, and Reasonably Priced

Key Words: Café Nirvana, café, Swiss Cottage, Swiss, cottage, Tapovan, Laxman Jhula, laxman, lacksman, jhula, jhula, Rishikesh, India, hotel, review, Nirvana, CombatCritic, TravelValue, YouTube, Facebook

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