Hawaii... which Island for a month (February)?
 

My wife and I would like to rent a house in Hawaii for the month of February. We are in our mid 60s but very active (golf and tennis (although we might forgo those two for this trip) , walking, walking and walking). We would love to be right on the beach in a quiet, clean place but yet have nice restaurants and things to do and see.

I would be interested to know which Island would suit us best and what section of the island we should look at?

We might be willing to spend up to $10,000 for the month for a home that dazzles although we would rather spend less.

Also, if there are any websites that would give us options of houses from which to choose, I would appreciate their URLs.
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Thanks!!
Steve

start with vrbo.com
that's vacation rentals by owner
Good luck with your search!

May I first suggest that you give Kona Village Resort some thought. It is on the Big Island and for your tariff you could probably negotiate a beach front hale. All food would be included and you have miles of ocean hikes from the property. They also have tennis courts and access to the Four Season's Golf course. The Village has a protected beach and superb snorkeling. They also provide kayaks. It also is located close to some fantasic hikes.

Now if a house is a must, the question is what is most important. Kauai has big beaches on the north side with beautiful houses but the weather and water conditions are less that stellar during winter. Also the dining on Kauai is not excellent. Kauai has many exquiste hikes but weather in February may interfer. Ohau has the best dining and I am sure you could get a wonderful house on a beach on the windward side. But I find Oahu a little over-built. It does have great entertainment and cultural places. Maui has some beautiful beaches, the roads are not the best, good dining and entertainment. Good golf too! The negative for me is the over-development is unattractive. The Big Island on the west side will have fairly good weather absent some big storm. However, the BI is not known for its beaches since it is the youngest of the islands. The great beaches there are not developed or in the Mauna Kea situation, fronts the resort. BI has many hikes but like Kauai, food and entertainment are not the best.

As you will see, everybody has a favorite island and each island has its own wonderful personality. It's a matter of your personal priorities.

I would start with a pile of guidebooks from your local library and try to decide which island you want to base on. I think Maui or Oahu fits the nice restaurants and things to see & do requirement best.

Trying to research a place to stay in all the islands is a pretty big task. Easier to pick the island first, then start the research.

I second Bill on Kona Village Resort, and the easiest way to see if it fits is to take a look at the website I did, purely as a labor of love, because I'm a big fan. With 266 pictures it will give you a very complete and truthful picture of that most unusual resort. Go to www.davidskvr.net. If that should happen not to work for you, google "Kona Village Resort Life in the Soft Lane" and last I looked, my website will come up as the first or second listing.
David

Darn you David. Now I'm missing Hawaii something terrible!

Seriously, what a lovely website! You really should consider sharing it in the Hawaii magazine.

Wow! I can live for weeks on a compliment like that...thanks
David

Icdchess: I just got an email from the Kona Village manager saying that they would be happy to discuss a month-long rental at a very favorable rate. If you're interested, I'd urge you to give them a call. The manager's name is Ulrich Krauer.
David

I can't imagine spending a month in a hut (albeit a nice hut) at Kona Village. No TV, no kitchen, no phone, no Internet. In no way does it meet the OP's description: "..rent a house"; "..home that dazzles"; "..nice restaurants with things to do and see".

I think it would be lovely to spend a month on the sunny south shore of Kauai. A good agency with some wonderful house rentals is www.parrishkauai.com. If Big Island appeals more, you might check here: www.letsgohawaii.com.
There used to be some fabulous houses for rent on windward Oahu and on Maui, however there has been a big clampdown on zoning laws, including private rentals in residential areas. There are, however, some fabulous deluxe condos on Maui that are legal to rent for a month. Check listings for Wailea and/or Kapalua.

If I had a month, I would stay a week on each of the four main islands.

Lots of info including sites with free brochures for all islands:

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...trip-to-hi.cfm

The online versions of the island guides have clickable links for lodging, attractions, restaurants, etc.

I'm partial to Maui. The beaches are wonderful and you'll find a variety of things to do and good food on this island for the extended stay that you describe. But, Suze is right, look at the web and guidebooks to get a better idea of what each island has to offer and then decide.
Aloha. Saige.

Jeez Barbara, have you ever spent a day at Kona Village? To call it a hut seems, well ...uninformed. I guess if you need TV or the internet (assuming that you don't have mobile internet access)or a phone because you are too poor to afford a cell phone, you should not consider KVR. If you can't afford a cell phone can you afford a trip to Hawaii? Oh, and if you are served your meals, maybe you don't need a kitchen.

It could be Barbs that the OP didn't consider all of his/her options. But I covered other options by making multiple suggestions. I believe your post was well intentioned. Thank you for bring up condos (which is a great suggestion) but outside the OP original post.

Bill & Dave: Sorry for the poor choice of words. I did visit Kona Village once when I was considering it for a future stay. I recently enjoyed a cyber visit through Dave's photos, also...a real labor of love. Although I can "afford" both a cell phone and frequent trips to Hawaii, this type of accommodation does not appeal to me. I don't care for large resort hotels, either. Fortunately, there are multiple lodging options on each island, so we can each find our own special place(s).

Barbara, thank you for the concession. I can understand your position that resorts leave you cold. Everybody has his/her likes and dislikes when it comes to lodgings in the islands. I don't like other hawaiian resorts (too big, glitzee and grand), but to me KVR is different.

I generally don't like condos but I've been to a few that were excellent as far as location, size and amenities (Kahana Sunset, Poipu Palms and Hali'i Kai). I especially like renting houses on the beach/coast if I can afford it. I rented one in Haliewa that was just a beach cottage but it was great.

Bill

That's nice, Barbara, thank you, and Bill, thanks for jumping in to make us all friends again... When I put the website together my imaginary audience was folks who weren't familiar with Kona Village. I wanted to give them all the information they'd need to help them decide if it was their cup of tea or not. It's no fun for anyone to have people feel they've been oversold or misled, so I wanted to give them lots of accurate information. What pictures can't show is the atmosphere of warmth, of 'ohana' or family that pervades. We regulars--and there are a great many of us--become regulars because returning is like going home to a warm, friendly, unpretentious place with comfortable lodging, beautiful surroundings, excellent food, and lots of smiles. Newcomers--and there are many of them as well--are immediately drawn into the family, (but only to the extent that they want to be; if they want privacy that's immediately sensed, and they're left to their own thoughts). It's true that there's no TV, and you have to walk to the concierge's office to use a computer (unless you've got blue teeth), but everybody's got a cell phone now and they work fine there. KVR guests can play tennis (free) at the village, and golf at Hualalai next door (for a fee). I've stayed in other Hawaiian resorts and in condos on other islands; I've done my sightseeing, but now I'm finished with that and go to KVR to untie my strings and bask in the aloha I find there.