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The covered upper deck of the Plantation House on Aku Road, set with a long dining table for ten, looking out over palms to the green Nāmolokama mountains.

Hanalei · Kauaʻi · North Shore

The Plantation House
on Aku Road

Between the mountains and the bay.

A remodeled plantation home for nine, on two floors. Three bedrooms, two lanais, two living rooms, and a big quiet garden. Two minutes' walk to the sand. Two minutes the other way to dinner.

Check availability See the house
Sleeps 9Two floors3 bedrooms2 bathsTwo lanaisTwo living rooms2 min to the beach2 min to town

Known to the family as Mala Puʻa Ma Ke Kai, “little garden by the sea.”

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The house

Not a resort.
A home in town.

Most of the North Shore's good rentals sit up in Princeville, a drive from anywhere. This one is in Hanalei, on a quiet residential lane where you park the car on arrival and genuinely do not touch it again until you leave. Short of paying for beachfront, there is no better address in town.

The house was taken back to the studs and rebuilt with the things that actually matter on Kauaʻi: koa-toned floors that shrug off wet feet, open-beam ceilings, air conditioning in every bedroom, and a deep covered lanai that keeps working when the North Shore rain rolls through. Teak, lava rock, linen, rattan. Nothing precious, nothing imported-looking.

The interiors are the work of Kari Van Way of Vanne Home, a designer based here on Kauaʻi who grew up on the coast of Southern California. She describes her work as raw yet refined, modern yet inviting, mature yet playful. That is this house, exactly.

The ground floor is a second life of its own: a screened rec room with a ping-pong table, lounge seating, and its own dining table, opening straight onto the lawn. Nine people can be in the same house without being on top of each other.

Fully remodeledSolarLicensed TVNC #4268
A woven rattan hanging egg chair on the upper lanai, overlooking the garden.
The good chair

Who it's for

A vacation on your own terms.

Not a group decision every time.

01

Two minutes to the sand.
Two minutes to dinner.

The rarest thing about this house. Hanalei Bay one way, the whole village the other, both on foot, both about two minutes. When half the group wants the beach and the other half is hungry, nobody has to negotiate. You just split up and meet back at the house.

02

Something going on,
somewhere to escape it

Most Hanalei rentals sit on a postage stamp. This one has real lawn, mature palms, heliconia, orchids, and a stone mermaid lifting a dolphin that spouts into a lava-rock pond all day long. Fire up the grill and play ping-pong on the covered ground floor, or slip away to a hanging chair and listen to the water. On a good afternoon both are happening at once.

03

Everyone gets a corner

Nobody plans a trip hoping to get away from the people they came with. But whoever books the house already knows that somewhere around day six, someone is going to want twenty quiet minutes. Two floors, two living rooms, two lanais, a garden and a rec room mean they can take them without it becoming a thing.

04

A squall doesn't cancel the day

This is the wet side of the island, and that's why it's so green. A screened rec room, ping-pong, a big smart TV and a deep covered lanai mean the twenty minutes of rain are something you watch rather than something that ruins an afternoon.

Sleeping & layout

Nine people, and nobody
on top of anybody

Seven beds across three bedrooms, spread over two floors, with a second living room, a second lanai and a garden to absorb the overflow. Every bedroom is air conditioned, still uncommon on this side of the island.

Bedroom 1

Primary

1 king · air conditioned · ensuite access

Bedroom 2

Second king

1 king · air conditioned · garden outlook

Bedroom 3

The custom bunk room

1 double + 4 twins · sleeps five · hand-built in place · air conditioned

What's rare about it

  • Two-minute walk to Hanalei BayRoughly 500 yards, flat, on quiet residential lanes. No shuttle, no cliff stairs, no parking hunt.
  • Two-minute walk to the village, the other wayCoffee and an açaí bowl before the beach. A smoothie after it. Cold beer, sunscreen you forgot to pack, and a dozen places to eat at night. Food here is a short walk in flip-flops, not an expedition involving car keys, parking and a plan.
  • Air conditioning in all three bedrooms + living roomThe North Shore is humid year-round. Most houses here rely on fans alone.
  • A bunk room built by handWe brought in a local woodworker to build these in place: a double bunk plus twins, five beds, each with its own reading light, under a vaulted wood ceiling. Not flat-pack, not a sofa bed. The photographs are good. In person they are better.
  • Screened rec room with ping-pongA whole second hangout downstairs with its own dining table, lounge seating and smart TV.
  • Private outdoor showerCopper rain head behind a bamboo screen. The best amenity in Hawaiʻi, and it isn't close.
  • Covered lanai that seats tenMountain views, ceiling fans, and a roof, so dinner happens outside even when it rains.

Everything else

  • Fully equipped chef's kitchen
  • Washer & dryer
  • WiFi throughout
  • Dedicated workspace
  • Smart TVs, upstairs & down
  • Barbecue grill
  • Onsite parking
  • Solar-powered
  • Tropical garden & lawn
  • Beach towels & chairs
  • Smoke & CO alarms
  • Ceiling fans throughout

Traveling with a baby, a surfboard quiver, or a specific access need? Ask. We'll tell you straight whether the house works for you.

Availability & rates

Pick your dates

Choose a check-in and check-out below for a live quote with every fee and tax shown. Submitting sends a request. We confirm by email, usually the same day.

Availability
Selected Your stay Booked / blocked Today

Dates shown are indicative. We confirm actual availability when we reply, usually the same day. Nightly rates shown under each date. Minimum stay is 5 nights (7 over the holidays). Check-in 4:00 PM · check-out 10:00 AM.

Select your check-in and check-out dates
to see the full price.

  • The total is the totalCleaning and every Hawaiʻi tax are itemized above. Nothing gets added at checkout.
  • Booking directNo platform service fee, and you're talking to the owner rather than a call center.
  • A question first?. We answer the awkward ones honestly.

Two ways to book

Book direct and dinner is on us

Book through this page and there will be two gift cards waiting on the kitchen counter when you arrive. Dinner at Tahiti Nui, breakfast the next morning at Hanalei Bread Company, both a short walk from the front door. Your first night and first morning are handled before you have even unpacked.

$100 at each. No code to enter, nothing to claim. Book direct and they are simply there.

Or book wherever you are comfortable

Genuinely, whichever is easier. Same house, same calendar, same nine guests. If you would rather use an account you already have, we are on both.

Book on Airbnb Book on Vrbo
Low season · Nov–mid Dec
$1,250 / night
Shoulder · Apr–May, Sep–Oct
$1,395 / night
High · Jun–Aug, mid Dec–Mar
$1,850 / night

Guests

Newly listed, long-time hosts

The house opened for bookings this year, so it has no reviews of its own yet. What it does have is the same hosting team behind it.

4.94
Average host rating
2,260
Reviews across our homes
0
Reviews for this house, yet

The first guests arrive soon. Their words will go here, nobody else's.

We'd rather show you an empty shelf than fill it with invented praise.

In the meantime, read the 2,260 real reviews on our host profile.

Host rating and review count as shown on our Airbnb host profile.

The neighborhood

What we'd do if we were you

Hanalei is about six blocks long. Almost everything below is a walk or a short, beautiful drive, and most of it doesn't need a reservation. The parts that do are flagged.

Getting here

4446 Aku Road

Hanalei, HI 96714. On the mauka side of town, one turn off Kūhiō Highway.

Fly into Līhuʻe (LIH). Rent a car. You will want one, even though you'll barely use it once you're here. The drive north is about an hour and takes you over a series of one-lane bridges; the etiquette is seven cars through, then yield to the other side. Locals will wave. Wave back.

  • Hanalei Bay2 min walk
  • Hanalei town center & restaurants2 min walk
  • Waiʻoli Huiʻia Church7 min walk
  • Princeville Shopping Center10 min drive
  • Tunnels / Makua Beach15 min drive
  • Hāʻena State Park (Kēʻē)20 min drive
  • Kīlauea & the lighthouse25 min drive
  • Līhuʻe Airport (LIH)60 min drive
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HANALEI BAY PIER KŪHIŌ HWY AKU RD HANALEI RIVER NĀMOLOKAMA
The house

Illustrative map, orientation only. Exact address and door code are sent 48 hours before arrival.

Before you ask

Practical things

How far is the beach, really?

About 500 yards, a flat two-to-three minute walk down a residential lane to Hanalei Bay. You can carry a boogie board and a coffee at the same time. The pier and Black Pot are a few minutes further along the sand.

What are check-in and check-out?

Check-in is from 4:00 PM, check-out is by 10:00 AM. Access details and the door code are sent 48 hours before arrival. Early check-in and late check-out are sometimes possible between bookings. Just ask.

Is there really air conditioning?

Yes, in all three bedrooms and the living room, plus ceiling fans throughout. It's genuinely uncommon on the North Shore, where most houses are fan-only, and it makes a real difference in August.

How do nine people actually fit?

Two king bedrooms and a purpose-built bunk room with one double and four twins, seven beds in total. The house is licensed for a maximum of nine guests, and we don't exceed it.

What's the minimum stay?

Five nights most of the year, seven over the winter holidays. If your dates are close but not quite there, message us. We can sometimes flex around an existing booking.

Do we need a rental car?

Yes. Hanalei town, the bay and the restaurants are all walkable from the house, but you'll need a car to get from Līhuʻe airport and to reach Hāʻena, Kīlauea, or the south shore. There's onsite parking. Book the car early. Kauaʻi runs out.

Do I need reservations for Hāʻena State Park?

Yes, and this catches people out. Entry to Hāʻena State Park, which covers Kēʻē Beach and the trailhead for the Kalalau Trail, requires an advance reservation for parking, shuttle, or walk-in entry, booked through the state's official system. Slots open on a rolling window and go fast in summer. Book it before you book dinner.

What about rain?

This is the wet side of a very wet island, and that's why it's so green. Expect passing showers year-round and more of them November through March. They usually move through in twenty minutes. The covered lanai and the downstairs rec room mean the day doesn't stop when they do.

Any house rules we should know up front?

Two that matter. Keep noise down before 8:00 AM and after 9:00 PM. This is a residential street with neighbors who live here year-round. And no events or parties; the house is licensed as a residential vacation rental, not a venue. Beyond that: rinse the sand off outside, and take the reef-safe sunscreen seriously.

Is this a legal, licensed rental?

Yes. The house holds Transient Vacation Rental Non-Conforming Use Certificate TVNC #4268 from the County of Kauaʻi. Hawaiʻi transient accommodations tax and general excise tax are collected and remitted on every stay, and both are itemized in your quote above. No surprises at the end.

Pets, cribs, high chairs, beach gear?

We keep beach towels and chairs at the house. For pets, cribs, high chairs and anything else specific, message us before you book. We'd rather give you a straight answer than have you arrive and discover otherwise.

Is there any benefit to booking direct?

Dinner and breakfast. Book through this site and you will find two $100 gift cards on the kitchen counter when you arrive, one for Tahiti Nui and one for Hanalei Bread Company. Both are a few minutes' walk away, so your first evening and first morning are sorted before you have found the light switches. There is nothing to claim and no code to enter.

Beyond that, booking direct means you are corresponding with the owner rather than a platform, which tends to make the awkward questions easier to ask.

What happens after I request dates?

Your request comes straight to us. We confirm availability and send a booking link with the deposit terms, usually the same day, always within 24 hours. Nothing is charged until you accept.

4446 Aku Road · Hanalei

Come stay in the garden, not the resort.

Three bedrooms, nine people, two minutes from the best bay on Kauaʻi.

Check availability
From $1,250per night
Check dates