2011 Guest Comments
December
Well!! What a wonderful time we have had here at Hale Moana. It’s another world, Paradise! And it has gone by all too quickly. We have been all around the island and seen so many wonderful things, personal favourites were quad biking at the Kualoa Ranch and visiting the Byodo-in Temple, but we’ve seen so much it’s hard to choose, snorkeling (which we hadn’t done before) at Sharks Cove was absolutely amazing and on Christmas Day too! The weather has been good even for winter, a few showers here and there, but nothing to spoil our wonderful holiday. A big, big thank you for sharing your wonderful home. Mahalo and Regards
-- Pauline and Dennis - Stafford, England - xxx
Unforgettable! The only word that comes to mind when thinking back over these past two weeks. The entire island experience is one that must be lived - it defies description in mere words. There exists a lack of appropriate adjectives to describe it! Sandi and her “Hale Moana” (indeed a House of the Sea) provided the most perfect home away from home. She and Glenn, along with Isaac have made available everything the discerning vacationer could need in the way of amenities and service. So put your watch away! Start living on Island Time! We live but once, this is not a dress rehearsal! Enjoy. Live life. Mahalo nui loa. Aloha
-- Don and Sandra, Sidney, British Columbia, Canada
Thank you! We’ve traveled to Hawaii at least twenty times but I can now say we have truly found our Hawaiian home away from home. I don’t think we’ll ever stay anywhere else on the island. I am hoping you will have us back each year. Aloha & Mahalo
-- Regan, Karl & Christopher - Huntington Beach, CA
We had an absolutely wonderful vacation! Thoroughly enjoyed your home and were able to see much of the whole island while here. We normally don’t return to any place we’ve been before and instead like to visit new places. However we fell in love with North Shore and your home, Hale Moana, and hope to return sometime in the future - maybe in 2013 when Christian is finished with Graduate School at Long Beach State. Thank you so much!
-- Diane, Steve & Christian - Fayetteville, AR
November
You have a great house & wonderful view! We enjoyed our break from Alaska. Thank you for sharing your piece of Hawaii! Hope to get back soon
-- Dale, Holly & family - Talkeetna, Alaska
Thank you so much for allowing us to stay in your beautiful home. We had a wonderful time & "happy hour" watching the sunset was definitely a favorite time of day. You have thought of everything to make our stay so comfortable. I often found myself wondering "I wonder if there is any.....?" Sure enough if I opened a cupboard or drawer there it was. Kind regards from "down under".
-- Angie, Mike, Meghan, & Brenton - Gold Coast, Australia
October
Thank you for sharing your house with us. We loved the atmosphere that you can only get on the North Shore.
-- John, Jill, Richard & Janice - Aliso Viejo, CA
Mahalo for sharing such beauty with us. This is our first visit to Oahu and it was wonderful.
-- Carol, Jack, Henry & Cecil - Balch Springs, TX
September
Sandi-Thank you so much for your hospitality! Hale Moana is a beautiful home and we loved vacationing here. The views are spectacular the sound of the surf is so relaxing! We hope to stay here again soon, but until then we will have wonderful memories!
-- Tamara & Ed - Palmdale, CA
This was one of the best vacations we ever took. I just want to tell you how very much we enjoyed your beach house. You are truly blessed to have this house and to live in Hawaii. Beautiful. Breathtaking. Majestic it is. We loved everything about the house, beach and island. Loved all the small towns and the beaches are perfect. Your house provided us a home away from our home. Very comfortable and relaxing. It was very hard to leave. This I do know, we shall return. I hope to rent it from you once again. I just want to tell you thank you from the bottom of our hearts for sharing such beauty to all. I also want to say thank you for the nice card, coffee and wine. That was such a warm welcoming!!!!! Bless you! and Mahalo.
-- Sylvia and Family - Riverside, CA
What a perfect place for us to have spent our last 4 days of our Hawaiian Adventure. Your house is great! You have thoughtfully provided everything to ensure we totally relaxed. The weather was perfect, the sunsets - spectacular, the ocean wonderful. Mahalo!!
-- Julie, Steve, Danielle & Michael - New South Wales, Australia
We had a wonderful time in your beautiful home - magical sunsets, mesmerizing ocean views, and of course, adventures in snorkeling and boogie boarding. Thank you for your generous hospitality in making your home such a welcoming place for a memorable vacation. Sincerely yours
-- Joe and Amy
It was a great place; me and my sister (Elizabeth) could always go out in the morning and Boogie Board. We could get to lots of beaches from your house. There was great snorkeling on the beach. It was so fun! Yours sincerely
-- Emily, age 9
Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful home with us. We saw so much! Turtles in the water, putting their heads out, magical vibrant rainbows in the sky, and (perhaps) even a dolphin. This was an unforgettable experience & I thank you so much for making it so fantastic. Aloha and Mahalo
-- Elizabeth, age 12 - Riemerling, Germany
July
First of all, thank you very much for renting this lovely house to us.The view is incredible, sublime, too magical for words. Honestly I wish I could live here forever, but you know that isn’t going to happen. Anyhow, I also thoroughly enjoyed your vast collection of books and DVDs. Seriously, this home has everything necessary for a peaceful, quiet, dream-like getaway. Your house has also inspired me to sketch countless drawings - I’d been in a slump lately, a drawing slump that is. So thank you for absolutely everything. Oh yeah, your hand written notes on the fridge and around the house made me feel closer to home - a friendly human presence. They were a nice touch. Thank you
-- Melanie, age 16
P.S. What a wonderful place to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary! The scenery and sea turtles were awesome.
-- Vic and Debbie, Melanie’s Grandparents - Mission Hills, CA
Thank you for the wine and coffee. We enjoyed both. Nice touch. We had a wonderful time here at Hale Moana. We think your house is the best location, and we loved the big windows that opened up in the house. We had a great time and hope to come back soon.
-- Todd, Katy, Christian & Sarah - Scottsdale, AZ
June
Each year is amazing, and it hasn’t stopped being amazing.
-- Ruby (12 years old)
We come here every year (almost), it feels like home! Every year we try to go somewhere else, but we come home to Hale Moana! We are so grateful for your wonderful hospitality! We swam with the turtles all week. We rented a paddle board and went everywhere! We even got to see a monk seal sleeping here on the beach, a dragon wrasse (fish), a few eels, just wonderful and amazing. Our family time is so precious, and I am so glad we stay in your wonderful home. Mahalo
-- Sam, Alicia, Ruby and Lily - Manhattan Beach, CA
Today we depart your home, and take with us so many Chautaugua’s (summer educational opportunities)...Turtles, surfers, clean water, light shows, swimming, surf, walks, crab hunting, beaches, and so much more...our children Lola Isabella (11) and Theresa-Marion (13) will remember this time for years to come...the hand of God’s splendor is truly all around us, here on this island...Mrs. T. never stopped learning from the moment she entered through the gate of your home... Sandi, you and your staff are blessed and will be in our prayers to consistently bring joy and peace to so many...the north shore is one of our top places on earth to spend our time...we were here for a short stay six years past at Turtle Bay and God willing Mrs. T. and I will return... Thank you and God Bless
-- Peter - Adkins, TX
Thanks for letting us stay here. I got here 10 minutes ago. Its the best. I just love this place. Love
-- Lola (age 11)
May
When Mike and I got engaged and started talking about getting married in Hawaii, I immediately envisioned how I wanted our ceremony to be. I cannot express enough how absolutely perfect it turned out to be. The weather (no wind!), the sunset, and I can’t imagine a more perfect spot. We had the ceremony in the yard, then took photos on the beach. From the moment we entered your gate, we were completely blown away. When we came in the door, I had to pinch myself. A BIG thank you for the special way you treated us, and of course for your beautiful Hale Moana!
-- Elaine & Mike - Lakewood, CO
Words can not describe the feeling we had when we entered your home, from the beautiful landscaping as we stepped through the front gate, to the cozy and delightful living room to the breathtaking view! A dream come true!! We had a wonderful time and beautiful ceremony - thank you! The gifts & note when we arrived were so thoughtful & set the tone for a beautiful weekend. We hope to return to your home many more times & will share our experience with those looking for a wonderful vacation rental! Thank you so much - because of you & your lovely home we had a true vacation! Sincerely, much love
-- Sophia & Jim - Honolulu, HI
April
Great weather, ocean was calm, saw a group of sea turtles out back yard. Didn’t come on shore but still close enough for pics. Went to Ted’s Bakery & bought a chocolate haupia pie... yum, yum. Loved the ‘poke’ too! Enjoyed the snorkeling at Shark’s Cove (tide pools) lots of small fish. Beat out Hanauma Bay hands down (busy, murky water, kept getting kicked in the head). Polynesian Cultural Center a must if you have a family. Mahalo
-- Brad, Armella & family - Calgary, Canada
We had a great time here. The kids loved being right on the beach! Lots of swimming, walking & sun! We explored the island from one side to another!
-- Mary, Nicholas, Nina & Matt - Modesto, CA
As always, our home away from home, was perfect...
-the perfect break from a huge and looong California winter
-the perfect spot for playing in the sand and water
-the perfect view of warm waves and breaching whales
-the perfect family vacation
Mahalo from the bottom of our hearts
-- Jen, Phil & Cale - Larkspur, CA
March
Wonderful, amazing house and location! Love your beach house that inspired our fabulous vacation, quite likely the best ever so far... Very cool house with lots of Aloha. Turtles, fish, lots of surfers, a hundred whales this visit waving & flapping & obviously also having a great time! Thanks Sandi!! :)
-- Laura, Bryan & Tyler - Bayfield, CO
Wow! What an amazing place... beautiful views, wonderful whale & turtle watching. The surf was amazing and huge! The island was easy to get around, lots to do and good places to eat. Cholos in Hale’iwa is yummy Mexican food. Thanks for sharing this blessing with us. Let us know when you visit Wyoming and we’ll show you around ~ The Hawaii “50” Club from Wonderful Wyoming!
-- Ed & Tera, Pam, Tammie - Laramie, WY
We had an amazing girls week at your beautiful home - turtles on the sand, whales playing out front, surfers everywhere!! Just what we needed to get rejuvenated in spirit. Just wish we had more sun - only 1 1/2 days :( The view and the sounds nearly made it a non-issue though. We will be back!!
-- Ann and Wendy - Spokane, WA; Lynn - Redmond, WA; Jordan - Phoenix, AZ
This was a “girls trip”- just me and my two teenage daughters. The house was perfect! Falling asleep to the sound of the waves hitting the beach was amazing. We surfed, kayaked in Kailua with the turtles, and swam with dolphins. We will never forget our time here. Thank you so much for the use of your home. We will be back!
-- Kristi, Tawny & Kami - Gresham, OR
February
What an amazing place you have. We have stayed in houses on the North Shore (Sunset Beach) and this was by far the best! Love all the turtles out front and everyone had success snorkeling by the shoal. The location is super and the beach beautiful. We will definitely return!
-- Cathi, Butch, Kerry and Simon - Anchorage, AK
Perfect spot for a relaxing vacation! We had spent a few days in Waikiki before coming to the North Shore, and the change of scenery was amazing. While Waikiki is crowded and hectic, the North Shore (& Hale Moana in particular) was peaceful and quiet. The only sounds we hear are the occasional noisy car on the highway and the constant crashing of the waves which help us sleep so well at night. During the day, the house was the ideal base for our explorations of nearby areas. The shrimp trucks, Waimea, and Haleiwa are all so close by. We also got to try out many of the great restaurants (Luibuenos is highly recommended)! This was the vacation we had been dreaming of and we can’t wait to be back!
-- Roland, Jules and Amelia - San Francisco, CA
January
Wow! What a great week - Weather was perfect. We even had a visitor - a huge male turtle came ashore to bask about 2 PM and was still there at 10 PM but was gone in the morning. Lots of turtles poking their little heads out at the water (shoreline) + whale watching was perfect from the back yard. Food was really good at Teds. Many surfers this week. Never a dull moment :)
-- Debra, Kerry, Mark & Michelle - Yakima, WA
As always we don’t want to leave! The surf did not disappoint. Karsten was out usually 3 hrs. at a time. Got to see the Pipe Pro. Spent great days with the family. This is our home away from home. Mahalo! See you next year.
--Colleen, Monique, John, Karsten, Aaron and Regan - Aliso Viejo, CA
Near perfect weather! Amazing views! HUGE surf the first 3 days, with some 20+ ft. waves @ Pipeline on Monday. Tuesday the waves were back down in the 6–10 ft. range – meaning we had constant entertainment of 20+ surfers in front of the house at all times! The oatcakes from Starbucks are now on our “must have” list. Thanks for our relaxing getaway…Back to our snow :(
-- Larry & Robin – New England
Had a wonderful, relaxing visit to Hale Moana! Amazing location & view ~ the rain didn’t spoil the experience : ) Great place to spend the holidays. Happy New Year! Mahalo!
-- Peggy & Daryl – Seattle, WA