UNIQUE Two story home built over a pond that has both freshwater and saltwater fish plus turtles swimming together. Walk into the pond from the steps on lower level, very unique. Tastefully renovated home. 3 bedrooms/ 3 baths upstairs plus living area, large kitchen and open deck with great views. Downstairs has 2 bedrooms, laundry room with air bed, living area and covered lanai. Open and airy, room for everyone. Four TV's, stereo system, games and card table for family/friends time. Greatest bar-b-q setting in Hilo. SPACIOUS AND COMFORTABLE: Classic 2-story Hilo home updated and modernized. High ceilings, lots of windows, spacious and airy. Enter over the bridge, past the banana grove and pineapple field, and up the stone steps to large front porch. Note that this home is not ADA compatible. Enter double glass paned doors into living and dining rooms, with kitchen and office on the sides. Three well appointed bedrooms (one master) and three baths towards back (bayside) of home, with three entries onto large deck with great views of the Ice Pond, framed by mature and fruit-bearing mango, avocado, coconut and banana trees. Truly a tropical delight. Feel free to eat the fruits in season. A very, very enjoyable setting, fantastic for bar-b-q's or just hanging out. Downstairs is a finished basement built literally over the on-property pond, with the fish swimming right under your feet. Two bedrooms, a laundry room, a gaming area and a boathouse open onto the covered back lanai and backyard. The one downstairs bathroom has an outside access and an outside shower, it is entered from the backyard. Note that access from upstairs to downstairs is at both the front and rear of the house, but it does NOT have interior access. CENTRAL HILO TOWN LOCATION: In town, on the fringe of the resort area and walking distance to the hotels. Within easy walking distance of a dozen restaurants; five bars; four beach parks; Queen Liliuokalani Park & Gardens (30 acres donated by a Queen and the largest Japanese Garden outside of Japan); the 9-hole golf and Frisbee golf Naniloa Golf Course; Moku ola (Coconut Island, accessible via a small pedestrian bridge); and Hilo's three main hotels with shops. About one mile to Hilo International Airport. This home is in the urban core of Hilo, or at least as urban as Hilo gets. Note that there is some airplane noise from the airport; some road noise from the main street in front of the home; and some noise at night from the Suisan fish-packer across the street, in addition to the ever-present coqui frogs serenading each other (and you) at night throughout East Hawaii. It is on the part of Hilo Bay that is protected by the breakwater, and is adjacent to the safe harbor anchorage for sailboats. It is quite 'malia' (calm) pretty much all of the time. It is great for kids or adults to enjoy the water activities of kayaking; standup paddle-boarding; snorkeling; sailing; swimming; and enjoying the beaches. There is a reason this is the most popular area for both tourists and locals for a day (or night) at the bay. ENTRYWAY: From the road and parking area you cross a small wooden bridge to access the classic stone steps up onto the old-fashioned covered porch. LIVING ROOM: Comfortable and airy, with large flat-screen TV; stereo system; and view overlooking the fishpond. Old fashioned wooden floors with throw rugs. Teak couch; love seat; and chair with matching end tables and coffee table. Large ceiling fan. Antique wardrobe which serves as hanging closet for nearby Master Bedroom Suite. Tropical artwork hangs on walls. Air conditioned. LARGE KITCHEN: Five burner gas stove, side-by-side stainless steel refrigerator with freezer underneath. Vegetable prep sink. Three bowl stainless steel commercial grade sink. No dishwasher, the family washes together in this home. Small dining table seats three. Old-school wooden cabinets with glass doors and granite countertops. Front window overlooks banana patch. DINING AREA: Oval wood dining table seats six comfortably. Overlooks the fishpond through a wall of windows. Old fashioned hardwood floors, opens onto the living room. Dining area is open to the living room. Air conditioned. GUEST BATHROOM: Guest bath is a full bathroom with antique claw-foot bathtub and shower enclosure. Tile floors and wooden cabinet with single sink. Window on wall allows fresh air circulation. MASTER BEDROOM SUITE: Good-sized master bedroom suite has king-sized teak poster bed with Egyptian cotton sheets and tropical bedspread and pillows. Matching bureau and side tables, with two reading lamps at bedside. Wall mounted flat screen TV with swivel mount. Radio with iPod port. No closet, make use of the wardrobe in the living room for your clothes hanging necessities. Nice ceiling fan keeps you cool. Steps from door to outside deck and yard. Air conditioned. MASTER BATHROOM: The master bathroom has an enclosed commode but the sink and glass block/tile shower are open to the bedroom. with nice wooden cabinet and single sink. Commercial hotel magnifying mirror at sink, and glass block and louvered windows let the light and air in. Tile floor. BEDROOM 2: Bedroom 2 is a compact bedroom with closet and carpet. Queen sized teak bed with tropical finish and high-quality linen. Matching bureau, flat screen TV with swivel mount. Direct access through glass paned door to outside deck and bar b q area. Served by private bathroom shared with Bedroom 3. A nice ceiling fan keeps you cool. Tropical painting above bed. BEDROOM 3: Bedroom 3 is on the pond side of the house, and overlooks the on-site brackish pond. It is bright and breezy, but is also the least quiet of the bedrooms due to the windows overlooking the nearby restaurant/parking lot. Also carpeted, and with a small closet. Wall mounted flat screen TV above bureau which matches the queen -sized teak bed set with side tables, with the ever present tropical finish. Bright art decorates the wall. The ceiling fan is wooden bladed. PRIVATE BATHROOM: The private bathroom serving these two bedrooms are accessible only through the bedrooms, with two separate doors. Tile floors and a high ceiling with skylight, tile shower stall (no bathtub) and sturdy wooden cabinet with a single sink. Small windows in the shower stall and above the commode allow great circulation. OUTDOOR DECK: The best "room" in the house. Large wooden deck with teak table and 6 matching Captain's chairs plus a large umbrella to keep the sun and/or rain off of your party. The Weber bar b q grill (charcoal fired) is ready to go when you arrive. Overlooking the Ice Pond and surrounded by avocado; mango; coconut; and banana trees. Watch the fish, birds, ducks, and people enjoy the life on and around the pond. Extremely relaxing and scenic. Wooden stairs down to the yard and the outdoor bathroom. DOWNSTAIRS GREATROOM: A hobbit-like door leads into the ground floor space of the house, basically a finished basement partly underground on one side. The Greatroom is built directly over the brackish fishpond. The railing separates you from the pond with both fresh fish (Koi) swimming with saltwater local fish and turtles. The water is a mix of fresh and salt, and both types of fish are able to thrive in this microenvironment. You can feed the fish, just watch or you can walk down the stone steps and actually enter the pond, swimming with the fish or just dangling your feet in the water. Enjoy the cycle of the water rising and falling with the ebb and flow of the tides. Note that the two stairways connecting upstairs to downstairs are both outside the house, and that the single bathroom serving downstairs is accessed from the outside. It is recommended that small children (under 10) should probably stay downstairs with adult supervision. DOWNSTAIRS BEDROOM 4: Medium sized bedroom with low (6" 2") ceiling, this tiled floor room offers a queen size teak bed set with tropical finishes and matching bureau. Both floor lamp and table lamps on side tables. No ceiling fans downstairs, circulation is via windows and the open walls by the fishpond. DOWNSTAIRS BEDROOM 5: Another medium sized bedroom with low headroom, this carpeted bedroom has still another teak queen-sized bedroom set with matching bureau and a full-sized mirror. Side tables with lamps and a floor lamp provide lighting, while the single window provides mostly circulation. LAUNDRY ROOM: The tiled floor laundry room has a washer (electric) and dryer (gas) and laundry facilities. With windows on two walls, this is the brightest and airiest of the enclosed rooms downstairs. COVERED LANAI: Outside the back of the home on the ground floor is a covered lanai, underneath the second floor deck. With a picnic table and some folding chairs, this is a good place to hang out when it is rainy outside or while you wait for the paddlers to return. THE BOATHOUSE: An enclosed room over the pond which has storage area for the three kayaks (two singles and one tandem) plus paddles and accessories that come with the home. Additional water accessories are stored in a storage area portion of the Greatroom. It is quite convenient and easy to get the kayaks from the boathouse to the Ice Pond, and vice versa. OUTSIDE BATHROOM: The bathroom serving the downstairs as well as the covered lanai and deck is in the rear corner of the home, and accessed via a tile pathway. This bathroom has enclosed sink in a wooden cabinet with commode, plus an outdoor shower for use when returning from the pond or bay. It has automatic lights for use when accessing the bathroom at night. BACKYARD: The compact backyard fronts on both Ice Pond and the peaceful Kuhio Kalanianaole Beach Park. In addition to launching your boats at Ice Pond, you can also launch at the concrete boat ramp at the park. The park is great for kids, birthdays, and weddings. Parking lot is closed and locked at night by the County.