When the tux cat named Meow greeted us immediately, we knew we were in a great place and the right place (it's hard to find in the dark but what place isn't?!). Marlin was a great communicator and so happy to show us the sweet spots on his property. He even showed us how to fill up the tub for a star gazing soak and gave us some soursop that he just picked from his tree. Try the grapefruit tree if soursop isn't your thing. There's no cell service, but there's internet. The outdoor shower is what you'd expect from an outdoor shower - it's enclosed and gets you clean. There's another outdoor shower by the monkey pod tree but that one's not enclosed - we used it to rinse off the salt water from snorkeling at the tide pools down the awesome jungle road or from swimming at Kahena Black Sand Beach (about a 10 min walk). If you're there on Wednesday, it is a must to visit Uncle Roberts with their night market, live music and dancing, awa bar, great food vendors and a lava field parking lot. In the evenings, we'd sit on the front porch swing and listen to the frogs - even saw an owl swoop down by the pond. Marlin will help your stay mean something and caters to who is staying there with advice, tips and hospitality. We always felt safe there but there was no way to lock up officially -- he might be getting keys in the future? Something to check on if you're worried about that sort of thing. Also, the deep freezer holds his ice for his ice box so he'll have to grab some occasionally. The sun powered hot water was HOT and there always seemed to be enough power. The huge oscillating fan above the bed was perfect to cool down the room before bedtime. Pahoa town is a 15-20 min drive away if you want more civilization like a record store, shops and restaurants. In all, this was a great place to stay for our Big Island lava and black sand beach adventures.