We didn't know exactly what to expect when we booked accommodation at a working macademia nut farm, but we were pleasantly surprised. Despite being a farm, the setting was unexpectedly calm and quiet. We stayed in the Macademia Room and found it to be very comfortable and spacious. Charlene treated us with a tour of the farm which was very interesting and informative (it's a lot of work running a farm!). Charlene proved to be a wealth of information not only regarding places to see and restaurants, but also giving us a real sense of local history and life in Naalehu. Breakfasts were delicious! Thanks, Cortney! The black sand and green sand beaches were only minutes away and Volcano National Park a short drive from here. We also enjoyed the coffee plantation tour that Charlene had arranged for us. All in all, a very good stay in the 3 days we were there!

I spent five nights at this B&B in the south of the Big Island, convenient to the Volcano National Park as well as other interesting spots like the best black sand beach, the only green sand beach, and the southernmost point of land in the United States.

Breakfasts were served on the lanai of the “big house” and were good and ample.

The owners maintain immaculate rooms (one is urged as in many Hawaiian homes to slip off the shoes when entering).

This is a chance to stay in “rural” Hawaii for in the immediate region of the B&B there are no tourist attractions. One stays here, hearing no traffic but just an amazing number of birds in the trees, and watching the chickens pecking beneath the macadamia trees (thus keeping down the insect population).

The nearest village, Na’alehu, has a superb bakery, renowned throughout the island, turning out delicious sweet breads and excellent malasadas (Portuguese-style doughnuts). If you eat in one of the town’s two restaurants, you’ll be eating local foods with the “locals” themselves.

My husand and I thought it would be fun to stay at a macadamia nut farm and it was. We were driving from Waimea to Volcanos Nat. Park. What a great location near the black sand beach of Punalu'u and convenient to the VNP, but without the bad air and heavy traffice around the Park while we were visiting VNP. This was not the Ritz, but a small, working farm with great views and wonderful hearty breakfasts on the lanai. Our room was large, clean, airy, and while we could have put on a white noise machine, we were used to the ubiquitous roosters' crowing we had found in all of rural Hawaii.Although not prime harvest season, we learned a lot on our tour of the orchard. Charlene is very knowledgeable of the industry and local culture. We hope to return some day.

The rooms are pleasant but sound travels easily between them, and simple things like shampoo and conditioner were not provided, though beach towels and coolers with ice were. There is a gang of chickens and fancy roosters roaming the grounds, which is nice except that the roosters crow at all hours, making sleep challenging. We awoke at 4:30 am most days due to this.

Our hosts were well-intentioned and enthusiastic, but not very professional. They did not sense when we would like to be left to our own conversation, especially at breakfast; they often stood over the table while we ate and delivered monologues, frequently about personal family issues and/or badmouthing people, which made us quite uncomfortable.

The food was mediocre and not made with the highest quality ingredients; jam with high fructose corn syrup, sometimes canned pineapple, juice that was not fresh-squeezed. Coffee was a flavored Kona blend, rather than 100% Kona coffee, which would have been so easy and pleasant to get. According to our host, the blend was to keep us from getting too much caffeine, which is absurd. We were surprised that macadamia nuts were never served or used.

In hindsight, we would rather have stayed elsewhere. If you must, stay one night on the way from Kona to Volcanoes National Park or Hilo, or vice versa. But it is more than missable.