Luana Inn

Our favorite places: Paleaku Peace Gardens

2010-08-16T10:05:00.000-07:00

Speaking of secret places tucked down winding roads, Paleaku Peace Gardens is one of my favorite spots in the Painted Church/Middle Keei area. As I’ve mentioned in other posts, it’s about a two mile run/walk from the Inn, or about a two-minute drive. It’s open Tuesday through Saturday from 9-4 and also hosts various events and a wonderful Ashtanga-style yoga class Thursday evenings and Tuesday mornings. Admission to the garden is $5, to yoga is $10 (please check the website for updated information).

Paleaku is a beautiful garden and a very special, peaceful place. You’ll pull down their driveway and park under some very old trees most likely filled with chattering mynas, then enter through a shaded walkway lined with interesting plants. Part of the year, a crimson jade flower will be blooming above you. You walk through a partially open/partially covered walkway and sign in, look at gifts if you like, use the restroom, grab an umbrella if it’s raining. There will most likely be no one else around. You’ll hear birds and the tinkle of little fountains and wind rustling leaves, but this is a place of silence, not a tourist-spot or heavily-visited botanical garden. It is a peaceful place and its mission is to host/foster peaceful activities.

You exit the entry walkway and head down a grassy path that ends at a brilliant white Buddhist stupa backed by a sweeping ocean view. There’s a covered area with two Tibetan sand-paintings on the way (I saw the monks working on these a couple of years ago and it was amazing), and a green parrot named Harriet (Harry, for short) that likes to whistle at you as you pass. The grassy lawn is bordered by some strange exotic flowers and deliciously-scented flowering trees and elegant cocoa palms. A breeze blows up from the ocean keeping the grounds comfortably cool. In addition to the Buddhist stupa there are other sculptures, a labyrinth, and a Galaxy Garden. There are some very old, interesting trees here (a huge old strangler fig with massive above-ground roots, a bodhi tree), an orchard, and loads of lovingly-tended flowers. It is easy to wile away hours here looking, strolling, listening, sitting, and being quiet. If in a need of a quiet respite one sunny morning or one misty afternoon, you will indeed find a bit of peace here at Paleaku.

Green Luana

2010-08-02T12:19:00.000-07:00

On the one hand it feels a little hypocritical to call ourselves green while living in such an extraordinarily luxurious house, but on the other, we do take seriously doing everything we can to minimize waste and impact. This has always been our process, but it’s come to our attention that our guests appreciate this, so we thought we’d put it out there. Here are some of the green practices Luana Inn has always followed:

Composting of kitchen and yard waste
Growing food on the property and buying as much local food as possible, cooking from scratch rather than purchasing imported ready-made foods (like bread)
Solar-heated water
Use of florescent bulbs and timed/controlled lighting systems
Non-toxic cleaning supplies such as Simple Green and Vinegar (as much as is possible, although we of course use bleach for sanitation)
Use of washable cloth rags for light cleaning versus paper towels
Paper-less communication and marketing: we are totally web-focused and believe in a minimum of hard-copy advertising and guest communication
Recycling – we sort and haul everything that is recyclable on the island
Re-usable shopping bags: we leave cloth bags in each guest room to encourage guests not to use plastic bags because garbage is a major concern on the island.
Clean water: we put Brita filters or PUR water filters in each guest room to encourage guests not to buy plastic water bottles. Please note that these filters are for taste only, and that the Inn is on county water which is clean and safe.
No hotel soaps: every guest room is stocked with large bottles of shampoo and conditioner, and we use refillable soap containers with our favorite old-school liquid soap, Dr. Bronners, because it feels good and has clean, organic ingredients.
No Styrofoam or paper in the kitchen: we are not fans of the typical accoutrements of the “continental” hotel breakfast, including paper napkins and Styrofoam cups of coffee. We serve a hot, homemade breakfast at a beautiful table with linens and real dishes.
Like most accommodations, we are happy to provide fresh towels daily, and we do a regular linen rotation for all long-stay guests. However, between scheduled rotations we encourage guests to re-use towels to conserve water. Please note that we aren’t strident though, and will never guilt-trip a guest (as we’ve heard some other B&B’s do.) We have practices in place that work for us most the time, but our guests’ comfort is our biggest priority.

Clean Luana

2010-08-02T12:16:00.000-07:00

Being a small B&B doesn’t mean we aren’t running things professionally. We once had a friend who stayed at another island B&B which she described as “funky”, where she – in her words - was afraid to look behind doors and in corners. There were loads of ants and a prevalent musty smell, beer bottles left out from previous guests and an air conditioner that made her wheeze. This isn’t relaxed and funky and cool, it’s gross and unnecessary. We take cleaning extremely seriously here (I admit I’m a bit of a germ-a-phobe) and follow these practices (among many others):

Daily maid service
Guest linen rotation
And yes, we regularly wash bed covers and shams - even pillows!
Guest dishes through the dishwasher (not just rinsed with water or cleaned with Windex!)
We sanitize: although we use white vinegar and simple green and other non-toxic, biodegradable cleaners as much as possible, we are not afraid to use bleach regularly for guest safety.

The truth about owning a small business

2010-07-14T13:45:00.000-07:00

We recently spent some time chatting with a friend of ours who is a restaurant owner/chef. We hadn’t seen each other for awhile and didn’t realize how much we needed to talk. It’s a lonely, isolating world being a small-business owner, and it’s a major relief to sit down with someone who understands this and blow off some steam.

Here’s the down-and-dirty reality. It may look like a dream to the outside world, but in reality, owning your own small business is very, very hard work. For example, as Anthony Bourdain, with characteristic bluntness and humor, discusses in “The Nasty Bits”, for people who dream of opening a restaurant, the reality is – most often than not – that they will fail. If it was as easy as swanning about the dining room in nice clothes giving out free drinks to friends and raking in loads of money, everyone would want to do it. The young celebrity-chef wanna-be who is faced with boxes of onions to peel and dishes to wash and the reality of the heat and sweat and stress of a professional kitchen will not last. He describes successful chefs who at times return to the “menial” jobs of prepping garlic or washing pots because they appreciate the meditative nature of such jobs, and have understood that it is these seemingly small, mundane tasks that actually make up the bulk of your days in a kitchen. If you can’t perform these tasks mindfully, if you cannot find pleasure there, then you should not be in a kitchen.

Running an inn is no different, really. As I was re-reading this book for the second or third time, this part about peeling garlic made me think about cleaning toilets and doing laundry. It’s not uncommon for us to do ten loads of laundry a day and finish folding in front of the TV at nine at night, and to spend eight to twelve hours on our feet each – and I mean each – and every day. And it’s typical to work seven days a week, with a day off every couple of months. It may look like a dream from the outside, but being a small business owner – even in Hawaii or in a beautiful restaurant – is hard work.

We’ve been asked with surprising regularity if this is “all” we do, and what our “real” jobs are. To be asked this, after spending hours scrubbing and cleaning and mending and peeling and cutting and baking and washing and folding and ironing and sweeping and hauling and managing books and marketing and being on the phone and computer and running up to Costco and Home Depot and Lowes and baking and cleaning and washing some more and tossing and turning all night wondering how we’re going to pay our bills … I am speechless. But, I try to take it as a compliment, that we make things look easy because we are professionals.

As our conversation drew to a close with our friend and we’d aired all our common complaints and stresses and fears, we returned without hesitation to the fact that we love what we do, wouldn’t trade it for anything. Sure, it’s extraordinarily – if not obviously – hard work (you can forget weekends, evenings, holidays, any sense of security, and probably a pay check for many months or even years when you first start out). However…we choose this work so that we could be with our kids, and raise them in a beautiful place we love. We’ve risked much to do this, but we still believe it was totally and completely worth it. We love it here, and we love the work. Our friend is fabulous at his job, and his customers can feel this. We genuinely love taking care of our guests and sharing the island with them, and we think that they can feel this, too. We are constantly working to do better by our guests, to improve everything we do – from our website to our welcome book to our breakfast offerings to our marketing. We have met the most fantastic people here, and it is our absolute pleasure taking care of them. Yes, it’s hard work, but we wouldn’t be doing anything else. Again, I think it’s like being in a kitchen. It may be hot, you’ll definitely get burned and cut, people will send back food and abuse your waiters, your feet will ache, you’ll stress endlessly about paying the bills, but at the end of the day – or long night – when things have settled and you see how happy you’ve made your guests with your creation, with your vision, with your dream, you know you are in exactly the right place and wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Our Favorite Places: Kua Bay

2010-06-22T15:00:00.000-07:00

Kua Bay is our favorite sand beach. It is our go-to beach when we have enough time to leave the neighborhood (otherwise we just pop down to Keei Beach). To get there, you drive north from the Inn on highway 11 to the airport (about thirty minutes), pass the airport and continue on for another ten minutes or so, then look for the sign for West Hawaii Veteran’s Cemetery on your right, and turn left. The entry road is paved and there is a sign that says Kekaha Kai State Park, Manini'owali Recreation Area. There’s a parking area, restrooms and showers.

This beach is fantastic for two reasons. First, it’s just a beach, there are no resorts or houses near by, so you don’t have to deal with the crush of the resort-crowd. Second, it’s just freaking gorgeous. Envision white sugar-sand, soft and feathery, brilliantly clear water than glows green over white sand, and a huge blue sky spanning all around you. It’s isolated enough that it doesn’t feel that busy, but is easily accessible meaning you can cart in your cooler and umbrella and books and beers and snacks. It is hot and bright, so wear sunblock, and there’s a great break so it’s perfect for body-surfing and boogie-boarding. Because it’s sandy it’s not so great for snorkeling (you WANT the rocks and reef for that so wait until you’re back here at Kealakekua Bay), but it’s perfect for swimming and playing in the waves. For a purely self-indulgent laze in the sun on white sand, go here.

Our favorite places: Manini Beach

2010-05-06T15:30:00.000-07:00

If I was a guest at our Inn, I would probably spend most of my days lazing about at Manini Beach. Of course I’m biased and spoiled, because I live right up the street from it and have been there hundreds of times. But it is stunningly beautiful and one of those special places that I always return to.

Manini Beach is a small beach just down the hill from the Inn. It takes about fifteen minutes to walk down to it, and about two minutes to drive down. I personally enjoy walking down, smelling all the lovely flowering trees and viewing all the wonderfully weird tropical plants on the way. For visitors, taking a walk like this is an excellent way to get acquainted with the area. If you follow our road to the water, then take a left, you’ll meander through the little shoreline neighborhood and eventually get to Manini Beach Road, which you follow along the water to the park. Sometimes the water’s so clear you can see yellow tangs (a kind of reef fish) from the road.

Manini is a little community park with grass and cocoa palms. There is no sand, it is a rocky shore with an easy – and obvious – entrance into the water. The water is very cold at first, because there are freshwater springs right offshore. But as you wade out you’ll feel the water get warmer. One of the amazing things about Manini Beach is that the water is almost always clear and the reef is right offshore. When I see places like Kahalu’u Beach in Keauhou, or Hanauma Bay on Oahu gushed over in tour guides as the “only” and “best” places to snorkel in Hawaii, I always feel a little sad. These are nice places, but if these were the only places you snorkeled on a visit to the islands, you’d be missing out.

The other wonderful thing about little Manini, is that it’s small and local and often deserted. There’s a neighborhood donkey, Lia, who wanders through looking for things to eat (she’ll eat grass mats and hats and any snacks so watch out), a friendly neighborhood Boston terrier, and some regulars who like to swim. But that’s about it during the week (like all beaches it’s busier during the weekend). I have been down there at all hours: at dawn when the dolphins are swimming just offshore, in the morning when the reef fish are just starting to get active as the sun creeps higher, midday when the sun is high and the water crystal-clear, mid-afternoon when the afternoon mist rolls in and the water softens, and dusk when the water cools and the sun begins to sink, at night when all you can see is the huge moon hanging languidly over the bay. It’s always beautiful; it’s always a little different.

The other morning I took my boy out for a long, hot walk out Pu’uhonua Road and we stopped at the park to take a dip and cool off before returning home to work. The sun was blazing and the sky was perfectly blue. The water was calm and we waded into the entrance-area. He sat in the wet sand and played with the rocks, and I lay in the water in front of him. Little yellow leaves from a big old tree floated down through the air, and butterflies flitted passed. The water was warm and soothing and the only sounds were of gentle waves, myna birds and doves, and the wind in the trees. It was a perfect moment, like many I’ve had down there.

The same week we went down in the evening, again to cool off. It had been a long, hot day and I craved an ocean-dip badly. The surge was too rough at the entrance area for my taste, so we walked along the short trail at the back of the park to the little point facing away from the bay towards the open ocean. I found a safe tide pool for my boy and I sat in it and washed my face while he threw rocks. The sun began to set. At this time of night things begin to get quiet. The Kona winds die down, the birds start to settle in, and the ocean seems to still. I looked up just as a humpback whale showed its black back in the sunlight. I got my boy up and carried him to where he could see. We watched multiple whales languidly swim in the sunlight as it set.

You may need to go to Manini more than once. Some days, it’s perfectly calm like a bath tub and you’ll see all the same beautiful coral and fish you’d see at Two Step or the Monument, without the crush of the crowds. Other days, it’s choppy and surgy and it’s most fun to walk along the shore and watch the waves crash and roll through the jagged lava-rock formations at the point. I always see something new, I always feel better after being there.

Our Favorite Places

2010-03-30T20:08:00.001-07:00

I was recently updating our guest activities list and was haunted by two main thoughts. First, I was thinking again about how important it is to not over-plan a vacation, especially here on the Big Island where the languid pace of life is one of its most seductive qualities. Second, I realized that I needed to put together a list of our favorite activities/places, since we’re asked all the time anyway. I’ve compiled a list here, and will attempt to address them one by one in greater detail in later posts.

First off, when planning a trip please keep in mind that there’s nothing wrong with doing nothing. We’ve had loads of guests enjoy themselves immensely simply spending time down at Manini Beach communing peacefully with the wildlife, picnicking at Pu’uhonua, taking long walks out Painted Church Road, and lounging on the lanai drinking wine and watching the sun set.

Of all activities available, we would highly recommend spending time in the water here in our neighborhood, considered the most beautiful snorkeling water in Hawaii. For exploration of the rest of the island, perhaps devote one full day to the Volcano, one day driving east (through Hilo up the Hamakua Coast and back down through Waimea), one day driving north (up the Kohala Coast to the big sand beaches like Kua, Hapuna, Beach 69, and Mauna Kea), and the other days resting and relaxing locally. Drink some local coffee or enjoy a farm tour, watch the glorious sun sets from the lanai, sunbathe at Keei Beach, BBQ at least one night, and take things slowly…

Here are our favorite places:

From Captain Cook counter clockwise around the island:

Manini Beach

Captain Cook trail

Keei Beach

Pu’uhonua O Honaunau (City of Refuge)

(Specifically the picnic area and 1871 trail)

Two Step

Painted Church Road

(for walking/running)

Hookena Beach

Manuka trail

South Point

Punalu’u Black Sand Beach

Wood Valley Temple

Volcano – Kilauea Iki

Queen Liliuokanlai Park and Coconut Island

(in Hilo, when it’s sunny)

Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens

(and the connecting scenic loop)

Kalopa Forest

(nature walk and Ironwood trail)

Honoka’a

Driving along the Hamakua Coast, then down through Waimea is beautiful.

From South Kona, north:

Kua Bay

Beach 69

Hawi town

Pololu Valley

A Visit to Honolulu

2010-03-30T19:56:00.000-07:00

Last week we spent a few days in Honolulu. We’d been to the city many times before (Ken’s family is from Honolulu) and it was great to be there again. Here are the things we love (and sometimes miss) about the big city: food and shopping. We stuffed our faces at Shirokiya (a Japanese department store in Ala Moana mall) with sushi and ramen and fresh gyoza and other nostalgic Japanese delights you just can’t get here, with dim sum in China Town, and with our favorite Korean BBQ (Kaneohe’s TastyBBQ which has the most amazing vegetable bar we’ve ever seen). I was able to purchase hula supplies from a little old hole-in-the-wall hula supply store, and we temporarily satiated our consumerism by wandering Ala Moana Mall (a truly beautiful open-air mall). We spent an afternoon at Kailua Beach, one of the world’s finest beaches (white sand, purple-blue water), and would have stopped by the Valley of the Temples but ran out of time. We took Conlan to Honolulu Zoo (he enjoyed the meerkats the most) and walked all over Ala Moana Park and through Waikiki. It’s undeniably fun to be in the city. Restaurant service is friendly and helpful, the restaurant scene is so competitive that most places have to be good, and stuff is open late (our quiet farming island goes to bed early and rises early).

But we were also reminded of all the not-so-nice things, too, and were glad to come home. For example, the most jarring thing was simply the noise. The day after we got home I was doing maid service in our cottage and paused momentarily, taking in the silence. I could here absolutely nothing. The coffee mill wasn’t roasting, the birds weren’t even chirping. There was no one here, no cars, no people-sounds. There was only a faint sigh from the trees as the wind blew through. The city is LOUD: jack hammers, garbage trucks at five am, scooters and motorcycles and huge buses and loads of cars roaring by. And drivers are impatient! I know it’s not Boston-impatient but we’ve been spoiled by the laid-back attitude of our kind Big-Island drivers who let you in and don’t tail gate or cut you off or honk a milli-second after the light turns.

We’ll probably return to Honolulu in a few years to once again eat and shop at Shirokiya and share Ken’s city with our babies and get our big-city fix. But for now we’re loving the quiet life here at home. For visitors to the islands, I would suggest doing your homework and choosing the place that’s the right fit. For shoppers, Waikiki offers up Coach and Rolex and Armani and Tiffany’s and all the other big names seen in all America’s cities. It’s filled with resorts and you can walk easily for miles. Stuff is open late and there is always something to do. The Big Island always gets low marks on Trip Advisor for “nightlife”, which makes us laugh. If you want a hoppin’ nightlife, go to the city! Like all fabulous cities, there’s plenty of music and food and entertainment. For guests who seek a respite from city noise and pace, the Big Island will be the better fit.

Tsunami

2010-03-01T11:50:00.000-08:00

On Saturday morning I awoke to the phone ringing at 5 am. It was our guests, worried about what they’d seen on the news about a possible tsunami coming to Hawaii following the massive earthquake in Chile. At six o’clock the tsunami siren sounded. I got out of bed quietly and crept out into our living room. The room was still shrouded in darkness and I could hear the surf pounding. A siren by nature is a harrowing sound and it filled me with fear. The sirens are tested once a month, but we’ve never actually heard one used for-real. Both Ken and I did some quick research online and found that indeed Hawaii was under tsunami warning status, and that a tsunami was expected to hit the islands at around eleven a.m.

We already knew that, were a tsunami to hit our shore, we would not need to evacuate, being that we are perched on a hill at 300 feet above sea level. The best plan of action, seconded by the civil defense, is for people above shoreline areas to stay put. Their concern is people panicking, leaving their homes unnecessarily, clogging up roads and not allowing the folks who really do need to leave, to leave in a timely fashion. We planned to stay put, watch the news, and keep our eyes on the water.

As the morning unfolded, the sun came out, the siren continued to sound hourly, and we checked in with the local news. I served breakfast to our guests, we did maid service, answered the phone, and proceeded with our normal work. Eleven am came and went, as did twelve, as did one and two and three. We have a massive view of the coastline stretched out before us and watched the ocean constantly throughout the day. There was no discernable shift (on our side) in current, color, level, or wave pattern. The Kona winds picked up and the afternoon was sunny and clear. In Honolulu, people panicked and flooded grocery stores and gas stations, but here, it was an extraordinarily quiet Saturday afternoon.

By evening the warning status had been lifted and there was an almost palpable feeling of relief in the air. We could hear a stream of traffic heading down the road as the folks who live along the water returned home. I heard people out on their lanais laughing and playing music loudly. The sirens stopped, the threat was gone, and the islands endured no damage – thankfully.

More Hula

2010-02-20T16:17:00.000-08:00

Last night we had an errand to run at the Keauhou Shopping Center (about ten miles/twenty minutes from our house). I’d known for some time that they had regular entertainment there but had never found myself there at the right time to see it. After we ran our errand we sat down for an early dinner outside of Habanero’s, and I noticed a flyer taped to the window that noted hula performances each Friday evening from six to seven. Each week a different local halau is featured.

As luck would have it, we were just in time. We strolled over to the main courtyard (over near KTA supermarket and Kenichi Sushi) and were happily surprised to see a large group of visitors had amassed to watch the performance. We sat on the ground while our son danced happily in front of us. There was some nice slack-key guitar first, followed by traditional hula performed by young girls.

The dancers on this night utilized traditional instruments as well, which was wonderful to see. So if you happen to be in Keauhou on a Friday night, waiting to catch a movie or perhaps grab dinner, please stop by the courtyard and see what’s going on. It was fantastic to see some traditional hula, which can be hard to come by.

Fruit Thieves

2010-02-20T16:15:00.000-08:00

Recently our neighbors watched a very interesting scene unfold in front of their house. They were sitting on their lanai drinking coffee when they saw a rental jeep pull over and a man hop out. The jeep was left running with the other passenger inside. The man hopped the rock wall into their orchard, and started climbing a papaya tree to get at the ripe orange fruit at the top.

It’s necessary to clarify some things about papaya trees at this point in the story. Papayas grow like weeds all over the island. The trees can grow very tall, very quickly, and produce fruit within a year. The trees have tall stalk-like trunks, with a clump of leaves at the very top and a cluster of fruit just beneath the leaves. They’re classified as herbs rather than trees, and, most importantly, their trunks are hollow and weak.

So, as the man started to climb, the trunk cracked and both he and the tree toppled onto the wall. He cried out, jumped up, scuttled back to the jeep and tore away as quickly as possible. Our neighbors, who’d witnessed this scene unfold in its entirety from their obscured lanai found this quick karmic-return very humorous. The moral of the story is simply to not steal fruit from people’s property; it’s not right, and it can be dangerous!

Humpback Whales

2010-02-13T13:59:00.000-08:00

It is humpback season and we’ve been watching them from the house. The humpback whales migrate down to the Hawaiian Islands from Alaska each winter to give birth and mate. They can be spotted along the west coast of this island, some years clustering up the Kohala way, and some years hanging out down here in the South Kona area.

We’ve seen them at South Point, and this year, we’ve had guests see them up off Waipio Valley. We often see whales from our house in the mornings just off Keei Beach or in Kealakekua Bay. Just the other morning during breakfast we saw a mother and calf tail-slapping right in close to shore.

Their season is November through May, with sightings seeming to peek in February, which is Humpback Awareness Month. Like all wildlife here in the islands, there’s no guarantee you’ll see one while here. But if you do, you will undoubtedly feel moved.

We’ve watched them at all hours from the house and from shore, we’ve known swimmers who’ve encountered them in the water and/or heard their calls. No matter how many times you see one of their huge, shining black backs emerge out of the ocean, it always feels lucky.

For Island visitors who will be here next week, please note that the City of Refuge National Park – Pu’uhonua O Honaunau – will be hosting a talk by Justin Viezbicke, Coordinator for Hawaiian Island Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, on Wednesday February 17 at 6.

I went to this talk a couple of years ago and enjoyed it immensely. This is a chance to learn all kinds of things about the humpbacks you may not know. For example, did you realize that the whales – even the birthing, nursing mothers – don’t eat while in Hawaii? They give birth, mate, and make the journey home to Alaska, all without a thing to eat.

Also, did you know it is only the male humpbacks that sing? The songs have been studied and it has been noted that each year the song is added on to, the rest remaining the same. Pu’uhonua O Honaunau is a beautiful park, a fantastic place to whale watch from shore, and provides a wonderful setting for such an informative talk-story session. We encourage attendance.

Flattering Photos

2010-02-12T14:25:00.000-08:00

Recently I was talking on the phone to a prospective guest. I was describing our guest rooms to her while she looked at the photos on the website. She was excited about booking with us and breathlessly stopped me part way and asked, “Are these photos for real?” I was a little taken aback, but assured her that yes, we took them ourselves, and that yes, the property and everything she sees there is exactly as pictured.

Her question seemed strange at first, but as I thought about it, I realized that it was fair. In fact, it wasn’t the first time I’d heard it, or something similar like: Do you serve breakfast? Do you have to pay for parking/internet? Do you really have an ocean view? Are your breakfasts really the way you describe them? Is there parking? etc. We’ve tried to provide loads of helpful information on our website, and are always ready and able to answer questions via email and phone, so we’re always slightly surprised by these questions. But what we’ve eventually come to realize isn’t that we aren’t being clear in our communications or marketing, but that there’s lots of misleading info out there in general that tourists and visitors have to wade through (oh, and the standard of accommodations on the island is unfortunately surprisingly low in some cases).

We realize our photos aren’t that great. In fact, we took them ourselves. Don’t get me wrong, we would LOVE to pay a professional photographer for new photos that really capture our place. Our photos really don’t do justice to the place, especially to the size of the guest rooms. But on the other hand, we always wanted to paint a REALISTIC picture of what’s here. Our guests arrive and either say, “it’s exactly as it looks online”, or, “it’s even better than we thought it would be!”, which is EXACTLY the reaction we want. We would never want a guest to arrive after all the expense and effort of travel and planning and be disappointed.

We have, however, heard plenty of stories of guests who have been mislead, and we have also been misled. For example, a common pet-peeve of ours is when B&B’s or vacation rentals advertise panoramic ocean views and sport great ocean-view shots on their websites, but have either used photos that were taken with a telephoto lens from miles away OR have had their once fine view obscured by foliage (which can happen in a place where there’s no end to the growing season). This gives a false impression of proximity to the ocean and/or of the view from the property. We once stayed at a place that had a photo taken – obviously once you’ve been here and seen it – from Alii Drive, but was actually located at least five miles up mauka.

Oh, and the view from the property, while probably great thirty years ago, was totally overgrown with trees and vines. You could only see sky (which is fine, but not what we were expecting). Everyone says “ocean view” here, because we’re all near the ocean and probably sitting on a hill, but not all views are equal. Another pet-peeve is guest-room shots that make the rooms look much larger than they actually are (fish-eye view). We’re always grousing about our lame efforts and how our photos only show a portion of each room. We’ve shot from all angles, at all times of day, sitting down, standing up, crouching, etc., but again, we’d rather delight than disappoint. It seems that it’s common practice to go the other way. We had some guests recently who stayed at a place where it turned out that the guest rooms—although they looked large and roomy on the website—were all in a converted basement and had very low ceilings. They felt so claustrophobic they left. We stayed at a place a while back that looked to be a massive cottage online, but in reality was a teensy-tiny little studio.

Another unpleasant surprise relating to size has to do with guest room bathrooms. Because traditional B&B’s are usually converted homes (and often guest rooms are old kid’s rooms), it is not uncommon to either have to share a bathroom with other guests, or to have a small bathroom in the room that’s been converted from a closet or other small space. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with this, you just have to know what you’re getting. We had a guest stay at a place that did have private bathrooms—which was nice—but the shower was so tiny she bumped into the sides when she had to bend over to get soap. She laughed about it, but it had been uncomfortable and claustrophobic.

It is such hard work to plan a trip and find the perfect place to stay, and our thought as innkeepers is that, after all the effort, guests should find something that makes them happy. If, when we’re speaking with a prospective guest we get the sense that they may not be happy at our place, we will say something and make a recommendation that we think we’ll be a better fit for them. The last thing we want is for someone to be unhappy here. As a visitor, it’s important to do your due diligence and find a place that works for you. Your vacation-time is precious, and you should be able to relax and enjoy it.

The magic of not over-planning

2009-12-13T18:09:00.000-08:00

When visiting the islands it’s tempting to fill each precious vacation day with things to do. Of course there are loads of things to see here, but in our travel experience, we’ve learned it’s also important not to plan too much. It’s good of course to have a general idea of where you’re going and what you want to see so that you are prepared, but it’s also important to be flexible and open and allow things to unfold. You never know how a given day may turn out, and what fantastic opportunity may present itself.

I was reminded of this the other night when we went out for dinner. It was the last night of our vacation and we thought it’d be nice to have one last dinner out. We had a certain restaurant in mind but when it was full had to go somewhere else. We took this in stride and decided to try some place new to us. This other place turned out to have a fantastic band playing. We enjoyed our dinner, and spent the last part of it sitting up next to the stage (at the manager’s suggestion) so our son could dance. It turned out to be a wonderful night.

We’ve had many experiences like this here, and so have our guests. When you’re out and about, you never know what you may discover. We’ve come across hula performances, impromptu musical gatherings, small festivals, exhibits, fantastic restaurants, and off-the-beaten path beaches and activities. You also never know who you’ll meet. Big Island people embody the aloha spirit, and sometimes the most memorable experience is a talk-story session with someone new.

An Innkeeping Family

2009-12-13T18:04:00.000-08:00

My apologies, dear readers, for not keeping up on my postings. Our little son is going through another bout of teething and has required lots of additional distraction. He seems to get them in fours so I’m hoping he’ll soon be through.

On the topic of family, we’re often asked how we came to be innkeepers. Our first connection to Hawaii was through Ken’s family, who is from Oahu. We knew we wanted to raise our own family in the islands and moved here from northwest Washington in December 2005. We opened Luana Inn to strong reviews a few months later, and continue to work hard to improve the business. Although it seems that B&B’s have the reputation for being side-jobs or hobbies, Luana Inn is a serious business, the source of our livelihood, and much more than a full-time occupation for us both. Like most small family businesses, Luana Inn is the product of much hard work and love.

We are very thankful for all the wonderful guests we’ve been able to meet and serve over the years. We will continue to work to make Luana Inn a place our guests love, and a business of which our son can someday be proud.

Luana Spa

2009-10-27T16:02:00.000-07:00

We are pleased to announce that our Spa Room is finally open! The Spa Room is an open-air room in our main house that we’ve converted from an orchid growing-room into a wonderful room where our guests can receive massages and facials. We have two excellent licensed massage therapists and an esthetician available to provide a variety of treatments.

The Spa Room is situated upstairs in the main house over our koi pond. As you rest on the massage table you can hear the koi-pond waterfall just below, along with the wind in our cocoa palms. There’s lots of fresh air blowing through, but because the room is screened-in, you don’t have to worry about bugs, strong wind or sun. With all the natural light pouring in and the wonderful breezes and birdsong, you feel like you’re outside without having to worry about the sheet blowing off (it’s happened to me) or flies.

Ken and I both had massages there earlier this month and were both so comfortable and relaxed we both nearly fell asleep on the table. I had my massage in the late afternoon and afterwards the sun was burning brightly before its final set. I lay down in a cool shady corner and took a quality nap. I awoke just in time to watch the sun set and felt fantastic for the rest of the day.

I am a huge fan of massages and facials and have enjoyed many treatments over the years. If I was a guest here and interested in a massage or facial, I would schedule it for the late afternoon after a morning spent in the ocean. I would take a long, slow swim/snorkel at Manini Beach in the morning, come back and take a dip in the pool, then have a light lunch. I’d relax on the lanai then have the treatment, then afterwards have a nice long nap before sunset and dinner. I once had a shiatsu massage and a facial at a hotel in Honolulu that left me so weak-kneed I barely made it up the elevator back to my room. After a day that includes ocean, sun, pool, hot tub, and massage, it’s hard to feel stressed out about anything. Here’s to relaxation!

What would we do on our vacation?

2009-10-18T14:27:00.000-07:00

The other day we had the morning off so we went down to Keei Beach to relax. We hadn't had a day off in a month and were ready to lie on the beach in the sun and be still. It was a typically perfect morning in our neighborhood: blue cloudless sky, calm clear water, bright sunshine. I got in the water with my snorkel mask on and floated quietly for several minutes, enjoying the silence and gentle rocking of the underwater-world. To my left and right were huge sea turtles, placidly eating their seaweed-breakfast. As I floated and watched, I was reminded how overwhelmingly magical this place is to a first-time visitor. Although I've spent countless hours in the ocean by now, I'm still amazing by it, and will never forget my first snorkeling experience in Hawaii.

I started thinking about what we would do here if we were vacationing. We're always asked about what activities we recommend, and we certainly have our favorites. Before moving to the Big Island, we always vacationed on Oahu, where Ken's family home is. We usually took ten days to two weeks off just after the New Year, and spent our time doing some exploring, but mainly just relaxing. If we were vacationing on the Big Island, this is what we'd do...

First, we'd take about two weeks. For us, it always took a few days, or maybe even the better part of the first week to decompress from work and relax into island-time. Once you're finally relaxed, it's nice to be able to luxuriate in that relaxed state for awhile before returning to the mainland and your normal pace of life. We'd always just choose one place to stay (we're lazy travelers and don't like to constantly unpack and move), shop for supplies (beer, wine, and snacks, most importantly), then get settled in. If we were staying here, we'd spend lots of time down at the water. Manini Beach and Keei Beach are very close and are so lovely it would be hard to be inspired to go anywhere else. I see us eating breakfast, then walking down for a kayak across the Bay one day to the Captain Cook monument. We'd snorkel a bit, then kayak back, walk home, probably take a quick dip in the pool, then drive up to the Manago Hotel or Teshima's for lunch. After lunch we'd return home and Ken would probably take a nap while I sat on the lanai in the shade and read. We'd have several days like this: water-time in the morning when it's sunniest, then lunch and rest. The lanai here has such an awesome view that we'd stick around all afternoon, just watching the world go by, then make dinner on the BBQ while watching the sun go down. It sets early and fast here, so we'd hang out with drinks and watch it set before dinner, or we'd just hang out and eat on the lanai and watch the full, colorful transition from sun to pink to dark and stars. We'd take lots of dips in the pool and hottub, and definitely do some quality sun-bathing. There's usually no one here in the middle of the day so it's very quiet and the lanai is a nice place to read and nap.

Although we'd mainly rest, we'd alternate our "slow" days with "adventure" days. We'd spend one day exploring the Volcano for sure. Kilauea Iki is a great short hike within the Park that reflects four distinct microclimates. We'd walk Kilauea Iki and check out some of the short walks right off Crater Rim Road like the Thurston Lava Tube and Devastation Trail. We'd also follow the Chain of Craters Road down to the water. There's an interesting petroglyph trail at the bottom, and it's quite eerie and interesting to park at the bottom and walk out on the shoreline rocks and try to take in the vastness of the Park: the sky, the moonscape. Depending on what conditions were like in the Park that day (it's always good to stop at the information station upon arrival to check) we may stay at the bottom until after dark to see if we could see some live lava creeping down the hill in the distance.

Going "Gluten-free"

2009-09-22T23:08:00.000-07:00

Since I’ve been discussing breakfast service I thought I’d talk a little more about our gluten-free offerings for guests with celiac disease. I’ve cooked for many, many years and was comfortable using “alternative” grains such as quinoa, millet, buckwheat, rice, etc. before I became gluten-intolerant myself. For most my life I was a happy bread-eater with zero problems. Some of my most favorite meals over the years have consisted of chewy French or Italian-style breads, cheeses, and wines. However, being pregnant with my son suddenly flipped a switch in my body and I could no longer tolerate gluten (I get a terrible rash if I consume it). Since figuring this out I’ve stopped consuming it completely (except for the last time Ken made croissants). So, my eating habits have changed a bit and I have more empathy for all the other folks out there in the same position.

Although I do miss the chewy texture of wheat bread (rice flour just doesn’t deliver the same chew, in my opinion) I have enjoyed coming up with new, gluten-free recipes. I don’t think you need to sacrifice taste at all in going gluten-free. Here are some of my favorite new breakfast items: buckwheat pancakes (pure buckwheat flour or toasted groats that I grind myself), millet or brown rice bread with fruit, zucchini bread, cornbread, potato cake-bread, homemade polenta, coconut oatmeal or mixed/grain cereal cooked in coconut milk, and rice-bread French toast. We also always have homemade granola on hand. (I’ve been making it with star fruit lately since our tree is laden this time of year.) I also came up with a wonderful buttermilk pancake recipe using rice flour, oats, and bananas. The cakes were so filling I could only eat one (with peanut butter and fresh yogurt). I also like to incorporate some Mexican or Southwest flavors into breakfast and make huevos rancheros with fresh beans, and heuvos Mexicanas with chorizo, peppers, and tomatoes.

Overall, not being able to eat wheat has just pushed me to work a little harder in the kitchen by expanding my repertoire. I love these new recipes and I enjoy constantly adding new ones. In fact, both Ken and I are constantly researching and trying new recipes and dishes. We both love cooking and sharing food and serving breakfast to our guests is our very favorite part of our business.

Breakfast

2009-09-04T11:41:00.000-07:00

There are many ways to run breakfast service at a Bed and Breakfast. Some have one set mealtime. Some leave food in the guest rooms the night before. Some serve a basic continental breakfast. Some serve a hot breakfast. Some buy-in items, some make items from scratch. And some “Bed and Breakfasts” don’t serve breakfast at all (which we personally find pretty strange).

We have always enjoyed the traditional sit-down homemade breakfast and this is what we serve to our guests. We love food and cooking and make all our dishes, pastries, batters, and breads from scratch. We are committed to making delicious, quality food. Chances are, if you stay with us for a week you won’t have the same breakfast twice.

Here are some sample breakfasts (in addition to these mains, we always have fresh fruit, homemade granola and other cereal, juice, coffee, and a variety of teas available.):

Homemade macadamia nut pancakes, bacon, eggs any way you like.
Dutch babies (German pancakes) with fresh honey-butter, homemade French bread, frittata with spinach, feta, and tomato.
Spanish tortilla with potatoes and olive oil, homemade multi-grain bread, homemade cream scones with ginger and lime.
Creamy scrambled eggs with herbs, Portuguese sausage, homemade Hawaiian sweet bread, homemade star fruit bread (made from our star fruit).
Most recent Celiac breakfast: fresh-ground buckwheat pancakes, yogurt, warm mango sauce (made from our mangoes).
Most recent vegan breakfast: breakfast burritos with scrambled tofu with spinach, fried red potatoes, rosemary mushrooms, salsa, and fresh avocado.

Guest Rooms - The Ohana Cottage

2009-08-04T12:48:00.000-07:00

Situated behind the main house is the ohana cottage. The ohana cottage is where the previous owners/builders lived as they built the main house, so it is a couple of years older (it's about twelve years old). While the main house has a very modern look (white Mediterranean-style stucco) the ohana cottage looks more like a typical island home. That's not to say it's small though. The cottage is actually split into our two largest and most private guest rooms, the Alihi lani and Alaula Suites and is ideal for our long-stay guests and for families. While the Alaula is about 400 square feet, the Alihi lani is about 550.

Alaula feels like a large studio apartment. It is basically one large airy room with a vaulted ceiling, a beautiful four-poster Balinese king bed, and a large kitchenette, a private bathroom, and a small porch off the front. Guests of Alaula consistently say they enjoy the porch. It faces our long south lawn that runs down to the pool and is bordered by a row of magnificent tall tiger palms. From the porch you can hear the wind rustling the tiger palms and all the fantastic bird life that lives in them. The porch is an excellent place for an early morning cup of coffee or a sunset glass of wine.

The Alihi lani Suite feels like a small island house. We love the feel of this space and even considered living in it ourselves. It has great ventilation, having windows facing both the ocean and the mountain, a beautiful hardwood floor and a soft, shaded light giving it a cool, quiet feel. The koi pond waterfall isn't as audible from the ohana cottage. Instead, you hear the birds, the dried plumeria leaves blowing in the driveway, or the rain pitter-pattering on the back roof. The other big benefit here is that it has a full kitchen, with a full-size refrigerator and an electric stove. For guests who wish to cook, this is a major benefit.

Although it is the main house guest rooms that have the direct, grand ocean views, the ocean is visible from the Ohana Cottage. You can see the glowing sunset light pouring into these rooms in some of our online photos.

What are the guest rooms really like? Mahina and Makani

2009-07-18T13:53:00.000-07:00

Both the Mahina (moon room) and Makani (wind room) have their private entrances off the sunny pool lanai. They are next to each other and just about identical in size and appearance. They both have beautiful ocean views out across the pool lanai. Both rooms receive the ocean breezes blowing off the water during the day and the mountain breeze blowing down from behind at night. Both rooms are filled with soft natural light and, like the Moana room, have a clean modern minimalist look. While the Moana Room has a slightly vaulted ceiling, Mahina and Makani have beautiful wood ceilings. All three main house guest rooms are about 350 square feet and have good-sized 3/4 bathrooms (sink, toilet, shower) with nice, cool slate floors. They are unusually large for B&B guest rooms. It can be difficult to tell from just a few photos, and we're working on getting some new photos up soon.

Guest Room Tour Continued...our Great Room and Lanai

2009-07-11T17:10:00.000-07:00

The Great Room is an area just for guests to enjoy (we have our own completely separate space so guests never feel like they're in "our house" or that they have to interact with us if they don't want to). The Great Room is a big, open, airy room where guests can work on the computer (we have a work station just for guests with high-speed Internet access), read, or relax. We prop the front doors open during the day and the wonderful ocean breeze blows through. This is a great place to read. I've even snuck down when no one is here and done yoga in this room. It is very quiet (except for the bird sounds and the breeze in the trees) and is a peaceful space.

On the other side of the Great Room there is a door out onto our big pool lanai. The pool lanai is very large and has plenty of space for guests to relax and sun bathe. We have a lovely round pool, a hot tub, and a covered area with a BBQ. If no one's around I'll sometimes sneak down to the pool for a sunset dip. I like swimming to the edge, resting my arms on the side facing the water and watching the sun set into the ocean. The sun sets quickly here in Hawaii, so make sure to sit still and enjoy it before heading out for dinner. Or, just enjoy a BBQ dinner here on the lanai. You can’t beat the view!

What are the guest rooms really like?

2009-07-06T16:37:00.000-07:00

It's very difficult to describe our guest rooms with just a few lines and one or two photographs, so I thought we'd go into detail a little bit more here in our blog.

Luana Inn is a very unique property as far as guest rooms go because, unlike most B&B's, this house was actually built to be a bed and breakfast, rather than being a house that was converted into a B&B. This resulted in guest rooms that were very well designed. Each guest room has a private entrance and private bathroom and is quite large, as far as traditional B&B rooms go. The bathrooms were not added in after the fact, which is also the case in many B&B's. I've stayed in more than one traditional B&B that either had a shared bath or where the guest room had a bathroom but was so tiny is was obviously a converted closet. Our first impression when we saw photos of the guest rooms here before we bought the property was that the rooms looked more like elegant resort rooms rather than crowded B&B guest rooms, which we liked! We are both fans of space, cleanliness, privacy, and minimalism. I'll try to describe each of the five guest rooms one at a time over my next few entries to give you a better feel for each of them.

First I'll describe Moana, our ocean room. Moana is probably our single most popular room because it has the most dramatic ocean view. It's in the main house and has two doors, one onto the front yard with the wedding arch, and one onto our Great Room. Many of our guests who've stayed in this room have commented that they feel like the front yard is their own private lawn. The front lawn is a manicured grassy stretch bordered by a hedge with bright orange flowers that overlooks the ocean. We're so close to the ocean that you can often hear the waves at night from this room. Many of the Moana guests also leave the door to the Great Room open since few guests actually use that space. The Moana Room is open and airy and has great light. The calming sound of the koi pond waterfall is always in the background.

A Typical Day

2009-06-21T13:33:00.000-07:00

Last week Ken and I had a slow day so we went up to town together to run some errands. After our regular trips to Costco and Lowes, we stopped by the Old Airport Park. This park lies on the north edge of Kailua, at the end of the Kuakini Highway. We'd been there before but not with our little son, Conlan. It was an overcast day but we were glad for this, since the park can be extremely hot and bright. This long yellow-sand beach stretches along the blue ocean, strikingly beautiful and almost always deserted. We parked and walked in, looking for a quiet place to relax.

It was a weekday, midday, and like most parks at this time of the week, was practically empty. There was one large family preparing a fish BBQ, and a mom and baby sleeping under a tree, but we were otherwise alone. We found a slightly hidden area with a sandy patch and two large tide pools - perfectly kiddie-size. The surf was strong and foamy waves crashed up on the rocks but dissipated as they spilled over into the tide pools. Ken and Conlan played in the sun on the sand and I walked down to a pool and slipped in.

The water was perfectly warm and soft, like a bath. As I always do in large tide pools, I start on my belly and walk along on my hands, viewing the baby fish and hermit crabs underneath me. I then flip over and float on my back, drinking in the sun. I know you're not supposed to sun-bathe, but I just can't help it at times like this. I lie there and let the ocean cradle me, the sun warm me. I feel like I am being held and cared for, embraced by the sun and the water. My ears are submerged so I can hear the crispy-bacon-frying sound of the little fish nibbling, and the muffled roar of the waves. I feel I could fall asleep like this.

After we returned home later that day, I went down to the lanai and had a soak in the hot tub. There was no one around and the house was perfectly quiet. The mist that had been sitting up on the hillside all day finally came down and a soft warm rain began to fall. I sat there in the warmth, drinking a glass of wine, and watched the raindrops gently break the smooth surface of the pool water. I looked out over the Bay, noting the shifting colors of both the sky and the ocean as the rain came down and the weather shifted. The sun began to burn a bright orange-pink hole in the gray sky, and I wondered if this evening our neighborhood owl would fly over the lanai. The world around me was hushed and damp and I had a strange sense that all the green growing things were breathing and sighing as it rained.

As I sat in the hot tub I thought about how perfect this day was, and how typical. There are so many days like this here, so many moments that are so over-the-top lovely you can't imagine them being any better. I was reminded what it is like to be a visitor to this magical island, how precious this place is, how healing. The island gives and gives, and we are always thankful.

Our new Spa Room

2009-06-12T18:55:00.000-07:00

We have begun renovations on what will become the Luana Inn's spa room. We'll be offering massages and facials from a couple of our favorite local providers.

When it was originally built, the addition that will become the spa room was a two story aviary. The original owners of the house had a collection of cockatiels, parrots and other assorted exotic birds. Apparently the mess and noise got to be too much and they converted the downstairs portion to a utility room and the upstairs to a greenhouse, where they grew bromeliads. We've always wanted to do "something" with the space, but weren't sure what.

Recently, we decided a spa would be perfect. Since the room has a huge screened area overlooking our koi pond and waterfall, it has that lovely, relaxing white noise effect that people pay good money for on CD. It has a nice large skylight and has an airy, light feel for most of the day.

A new floor, a fresh coat of paint, and some plumbing and electrical work should all be done by the end of June.

The attached image of the room is from just after the removal of the old floor and all the old shelving used to house the plants.

Ken