luluk

Hi all, we are a recently married couple planning on visiting Hawaii in February, I've never been there before and am very excited. We want to stay in unique hotels... a yurt, a treehouse, an eco resort, surf camp... something off the beaten path. We love nature, we are not super adventurous hikers but we are willing to try anything! Do you have any suggestions of really cool places to stay?

mrkindallas

Which island(s) are you visiting? Or is it dependant on the responses that you get?

What you are describing probably doesn't exist in "hotel" type accomodations (at least not that I've seen). Are you willing to do vacation rentals?

I recall coming across a treehouse type of accomodation on the Big Island, a gazebo cottage on Maui, and I've stayed in an Indonesian/Bali style home on Oahu. But most of these places are truly off the beaten path....probably a decent drive to a beach, no resorts nearby, no room service. For the first time to Hawaii, this is not normally what people are looking for. Many of these places are also owned by people that some might describe as "out there." I know of one place on Maui that is owned by a naturalist couple.

If this along the lines of what you are looking for, I'll happily locate the links and post for you.

mrkindallas

Is this the type of location you are looking for:
http://hanalani.maui.net/

or more like this:
http://www.hamakuahideaway.com/index.html

luluk

yes those places look lovely! would you suggest renting a car to get to a place like that?
i guess we will decide which islands to go to based on the accommodations we fall in love with. i haven't planned o ut the itinerary yet. i know that we'd like to be by the beach and surf for a few days(we're beginners & would need to rent a board and maybe take a lesson) and we'd also like to be inland for a few days, rainforest or volcano.
i'm totally open to suggestions!

mrkindallas

I think that a rental car is the way to go on any of the islands. And the type of accomodations you are looking at will probably require it...some possibly even 4 wheel drive.

Go to http://www.hawaiigaga.com/best-hawaiian-island.aspx to find out which islands are best for your interests and report back here. That will help narrow things down a little and then I can give some more suggestions.

volcanogirl

We stayed at this place near Hilo; the rooms were nothing to rave about, but they had their own waterfall on the property which was pretty cool. The house is built near a bunch of macadamia fields.

http://www.waterfall.net/

luluk

mrkindallas, thanks so much for your help i will check out that site for sure.
volcanogirl, that place looks right up our alley... and the price is right!

luluk

mrkindallas, what a fun survey.
it says my order is:
Kauai
Oahu
Maui
Big Island
although i'm a little nervous of falling into a tourist trap in oahu.

volcanogirl

luluk, yea, it was pretty affordable for Hawaii. If the water flow isn't too much on the waterfall, they'll let you swim there.

volcanogirl

mrk, that's a neat little survey!

martym

Here are some places you might like on the Big Island

http://www.hawaiicliffhouse.com/

http://tinyurl.com/lu76r2

http://www.cottage.forestnursery.com/

http://www.alternative-hawaii.com/querencia/index.html

luluk

yesssssss. those places look amazing! just what i need to get away from the new york winter!

volcanogirl

I don't know if this would interest you, but if you're going to the volcano, we stayed in a cool little cottage here; it's a little pricier than the other place, but a neat spot.

http://www.kilauealodge.com/cgi-bin/...2YRmraN6moObC9

We only stayed one night so we could hike out to see the lava; they have a good restaurant on site too.

mrkindallas

luluk...

Your order is actually right about what would expect from someone who is a "nature lover."

I have not been to Kauai and it's the only one of the four that I have not made it to...And I discovered the survey after visiting the other islands. I am also a "nature lover" so I now know that I must get to Kauai one day. Of the other three, my favorite has been Oahu. Oahu is only a tourist trap when in Honolulu...and that is easily avoidable.

Although I have not been to Kauai, I now understand the differences between all the islands and I know that it is the beauty of Oahu that I fell in love with over Maui and The Big Island (although they are of course gorgeous in their own ways, too). Knowing what Kauai offers, I will definitely make it there one day...and I think it's the island that you should strongly consider.

That being said, I haven't done much research on accommodations in Kauai and don't know about any similar properties to stay in. I am sure they exist. Google is your friend. Google phrases like "Kauai rent treehouse" "Kauai nature rental/cottage/etc."

If I come across something, I'll post a link.

mrkindallas

Found a couple of websites that might interest you:

http://www.vrbo.com/157772

http://www.riverestate.com/ - They actually have three houses, but it's not very clear on their website...more here:
http://hawaii.vacationhosts.com/type...i&city=Hanalei

luluk

You are awesome!
Yes last night I came to the conclusion that perhaps we'd like to do Big Island for half the trip, stay somewhere green and lush but still accessible to the roads, rent a jeep and then take day trips out from there. Then we would go to Kauai and just chill at the beach and enjoy.
I was a little hesitant about Oahu because of the tourist-trap thing, but now that you say its your favorite I'd love to know why! (I've always wanted to watch the big wave surfers). Perhaps we need to add a third island to our 8 day trip!

luluk

someone from my office recommended Kopoho as a nice place to stay on the Big Island that would be a good "jumping off" point for day trips. do you guys agree?

martym

IMO three islands are too much for 8 days. DH and I love Kapoho--but if you want to do day trip to Kona side of island--plan on spending 4 or so hours in the car round trip each time to go there. If all the day trips you want to take are in Puna, Volcano and around Hilo, Kapoho should be fine.
Here are a couple of websites with Puna/Kapoho lodging--
http://www.apoparadise.com/
http://www.hpvacationrentals.com/

Marginal

You don't have enough time for a third island.

jamie99

If she wants to go to the Big Island, I do not think she has enough time for a second island, Big Island is really big.