You're going to get a lot of naysaysers to the 4x4, BUT I like to have one because you sit up higher and the viewing while driving is better. I do not take it off-road.

I did not (surprisingly) notice any mold at all at Noe's Nest. It did drizzle some but not in such a manner as to curb our activities. Sometimes, we could see that it was raining in the distance over the Main part of the town of Hilo and it wouldn't be raining on our little hill, and other times it would be the opposite. I certainly didn't get the impression it rained more in our part of Hilo, but we were only in that area for about a week, so it's hard to say.

The other benefits for our family of staying at Noe's is they have a lot of animals that my kids completely enjoyed - to the point they didn't want to go exploring elsewhere. Also, I enjoyed their gardens - they really do an amazing job with the variety of plants, flowers, palms, bromeliads, etc. that are in evidence on the property.

I wanted to mention, because I'm not sure it's clear on the website, that the owner's house is next door to the Noe's Nest house, but that wasn't a problem for us.

Ooops, I always hit the "Send" (or in this case "Submit") buttons too quickly! I meant to add that we did not use a 4x4, but just had a mid-sized sedan. No troubles. Good luck, Valerie