We loved our stay at Hale Sweet Hale, and found the rental even better than the listing. The house was immaculate, the bedding was super comfortable, and all provisions from night lights to tea and coffee were available. We hadn’t comprehended that we would really be in our own private rain forest - the grounds are absolutely beautiful! The art work and decorations throughout the house give an island ambiance, even at 4000 ft.
We went to the park two days and it was less than a 5 minute drive to the entrance, again, even shorter than expected. This allowed us to beat the crowds, as many of the parking lots for the popular areas of the park were full by 10am (we were there the week after Christmas, during high season). It also let us stay in the park later than others, since we had no drive to get home. The second bedroom with twin beds was perfect for our 8 and 6 year old.
As mentioned elsewhere, the last little bit of the road is rock/dirt, and with it raining quite a bit the two days we were there, we felt comfortable going through large puddles with our Jeep Wrangler, but I’m not sure how comfortable I would have been with a lower clearance car. It was our first time staying in Volcano, and it was cute, with good food. We enjoyed both the Oleho Cafe and Kilauea Lodge and Restaurant for dinners. We would definitely stay here again for any visits to the National Park!