Drs. Connie and Marcel’s Hawaii Big Island Vacation Rental: “How Dreams Come True”

 

Pacific Naturopathic Hawaii Retreat, view from the guest house. .

We first visualized opening a Pacific Naturopathic Retreat Center many years before it became a reality.

We were still in naturopathic medical school at the time, and the faculty joked that they would surely graduate us, because class reunions could then be held in Hawaii!

Eight years later, while vacationing on the Big Island, we took a leisurely drive, following the sun on the Hamakua Coast.

While strolling on the main street of picturesque Honokaa, we paused at a the front window of a realtor’s office, attracted by an advertisement for the property that would become our retreat center.

Visiting the land, we found it completely overgrown – we couldn’t even see the ocean for the wild, jungly vegetation!

There were two run-down, decrepit buildings that stimulated thoughts of transforming them into a private residence and a guest retreat home.

Interior view of the beautifully restored old plantation house.

Friends were appalled by the state of the property – they wouldn’t even enter the grounds, offended by the wild vegetation and run-down buildings that had been erected in a long-ago plantation time.

With boundless patience and many, many days of hard, sweaty work over the years, we were able to rebuild both buildings to their original glory – the retreat house is now a source of pride for our neighbors, renewed to its original charm and beauty.

We laboriously cleared the land, and then planted tropical fruit trees.  It would take close to twenty years to meet the county’s building requirements and secure a special use permit for a retreat center.

At every stage, we were told that our plans were unrealistic.

Today, a comment we routinely hear from our guests is, “Wow – you folks really scored!”

Indeed, we “scored,” by visualizing what could be, and persisting through all of the obstacles until we realized our dream.

Check our Hawaii Peace Garden Retreat calendar to see if there’s an opening for you.

If you’re interested in a stay, please call us at 650-961-1660. You can also email Dr. Marcel at HawaiiND@mac.com with any questions.

To see more photos, follow the link HERE, however, booking directly through us, not through the site where the photos are posted, will save you a chunk of money in broker’s fees.