Hanalei Moon Beach Cottage

This cottage is a perfect vacation rental if you like to feel the unique qualities of the community you’re visiting. HMBC’s openness lets you enjoy the warmth, the wetness, and the beauty of Hanalei Bay in a low-​key way that lets you feel like you really live there.
Maybe I am reacting to our trip to the Princeville St. Regis hotel for sunset cocktails. That beautiful resort felt like placeless luxury. The views were Hawaiian, but the grand style of the rooms, plentiful central air conditioning, upper-​class airs, and property layout were suitable for anywhere from the Caribbean to Mexico to wherever… My preference is to stay where the local touch is celebrated.
So…, HMBC is not endlessly elegant, it’s a beach cottage. But, it is definitely my type of place!
HMBC’s front lawn leads directly to a very swimmable, less crowded area of Hanalei Bay. We walked 4 miles roundtrip on the Bay every morning, crossing the two local rivers coming into the sea at different places each day as the sands shifted. We took our first swim of the day on our pre-​brekfast treks, and decided that the placement of the cottage was enough to ensure a wonderful vacation.
The building is smartly designed with a large picture window in the living room. You can sit on the couch or one of the two reclining chairs, and watch the water, surfers, and swimmers go by. Moreover, the furniture and decorations feel well-​designed, thought-​out, sturdy and in excellent shape. Nothing is beachy, sticky, or falling apart.
Suzanne, the owner, knows how to add touches to the property let us feel even more comfortable and able to relax. The building is well maintained and clean, which is not unique but noteworthy because those basic qualities are not universal in Hanalei! There are also nice, if somewhat common extras like a reasonable selection of pots and pans, microwave, toaster-​oven, a charcoal BBQ, wide-​screen TVs, full-​size new refrigerator, comfortable chairs, washing soap, beach towels, extra towels of all types, and other reassuring amenities. We also liked the lock-​box on the porch. That arrangement was new to us, but it let us lock up, swim, and not worry about losing the key on the beach.
The books, games, and beach-​gazing telescope in the living room were truly above-​and-​beyond treats. So was assortment of beach toys and mats and chairs that were in excellent shape and felt clean. We even appreciated the unique photographs on the walls and the other artwork that was unique and felt just right.
We traveled with friends who rented a cottage across the grass from us. Their place is owned by a different member of the extended family that owns 5 adjacent waterfront units (and more elsewhere in the country). We felt lucky to have chosen HMBC because our owners seemed to understand what boosts a vacation.
Our cottage had a gas stove, which I much prefer over the electric one our friends had. Adding gas must be costly, but it let us enjoy cooking more. Plus, there is a washing machine and gas clothes drier at the cottage which was both handy and free … our friends had to pay several dollars to dry their clothes at an underpowered electric drier. (Come on owners of the other cottages… you’re charging $ 400+ a night and then you make your guests put in quarters to wash and dry their clothes? I am sure glad HMBC’s washing and drying were not nickel and dime annoying extras. I mean, do you want to carry a bag full of quarters from the mainland in case you need to do laundry? Geeze!)
Another special at HMBC is its lovely, hot-​water plumbed, outdoor shower. We also appreciated that our kitchen was stocked with matches (our friends had none) and lighter fluid (again, they had none). Our friends even had to ask the housekeepers cleaning other cottages for more toilet paper.
You’re given the owner’s telephone number is case of any problems. We had an incident: the clothes drier started smoking with an electrical smell as soon as we turned it on one morning. Suzanne had someone check the problem that afternoon and, when it turned out the motor had burned out, had a new drier installed the next morning. She was very, very responsive, came out herself to make sure we were okay, and ensured that the minor problem was solved. That visit, by the way, is when we discovered how delightful and friendly Suzanne is!
Overall, in our opinion HMBC is excellently laid out, well taken care of, and, well…, as good as it gets.

This place has an unbeatable location. The views at the house are incredible (beach in front, mountains at your back) and having one of the best beaches right in front is an amazing experience. It was extremely relaxing getting to fall asleep to the waves crashing on the beach. We were greeted with a welcome basket as well, which was a nice touch. The house was clean and the photos represent the house fairly well. My husband and I came for our honeymoon and it is the perfect place for this type of trip.
The location, despite being in the northern section if the island, is still relatively convenient to everywhere (within one to a little over two hours. Note that traffic north of the airport can be bad at certain times of day. There is enough to see and do close to the cottage that you don’t necessarily need to travel far to do great activities.
Not that it really impacted our stay, but there were a few negatives I wanted to mention since all other reviews were extremely positive. I can’t rate the place higher since the house was not well stocked for us. No extra rolls of toilet paper, paper towels, barely any cleaner in kitchen for wiping counters, minimal laundry detergent to name a few was disappointing given the cost and what I would have expected for an extended stay (and amenities described with the house). It almost felt like the owner was banking on the visitors resupplying the house during their stay, which as I mentioned before was not gratifying. Other cons are no air conditioning (it got hot during daytime hours) and no dishwasher (which I think is a must to ensure dishes are fully clean/​sanitized between visitors). The house is also right next to a couple other homes, so it is not as private as you might expect from the photos, especially since windows have to be open all the time.
We had a great visit and I wouldn’t say these things are enough for me to not recommend this place, but wanted to bring them up so others can compare this more accurately to other rentals.

Fall asleep to the sound of waves crashing out in Hanalei Bay? Walk to town for coffee and breakfast (or drinks and dinner at night; no need for a designated driver here!)? Views of Bali Hai from your front lawn? If you want the quintessential Hawaii experience, then stay here!
The Moon Beach cottage is on the rustic side (think gecko visitors) – but that’s part of its charm. Do yourself a favor and use the outside shower as your primary one (it’s amazing to look up at Bali Hai as you lather up). The bed is a lot more comfortable than it looks, which is a big plus in my book. One night it got a bit noisy as some kids were partying on the beach – but everyone else we ran into was nice and respectful (and quiet).
Sitting in the living room on the rattan furniture with the windows open and watching the surfers and the waves is pure heaven! It’s one of the lesser-​expensive places in Hanalei, but at $ 1,950 for the week it might be above some people’s price range. But you are right on Weke road (multi-​million-​dollar real estate) – in walking distance to town and with direct ocean views. Also, the house sits on a big lot.
There’s even a neighborhood cat and dog who come by from time to time to say hello – just welcoming you to the neighborhood with that ol’ Aloha spirit.
Skip Poipu. Stay here. (You can thank me later…)