Thoroughly enjoyed our short stay at this farm retreat: especially going to sleep surrounded by the mesmerizing calls of coqui frogs, the interesting farm animals (muscovy ducks, saffron finch, the rowdy guineafowls, a lot of peacocks, a few piglets) at the farm. Our cabin had private shower, fan, condition was okay but lacked coffee supplies. There were frequent sounds of cars moving to/from cabins but overall it was a good stay. We did not use the shared kitchen but everyone seemed to be really nice and friendly. read more

See all

We stumbled upon Hawaiian Sanctuary Retreat Center while looking for a last-minute place to stay near Hilo after deciding to extend our honeymoon from Kona to explore the other side of the island, and we're so glad we did! What started as a spontaneous stay turned into one of the most healing and transformative experiences of our lives. From the moment we arrived, the atmosphere was peaceful, welcoming, and full of genuine care. We ended up spending nearly all of our time at the sanctuary instead of exploring because their healing services were exactly what we needed. Dr. Rich was phenomenal! Combining medical expertise with a holistic approach to help us address some long-standing health issues. Tammy's bodywork and her deep understanding of frequency and energy work were absolutely essential to our experience. Anita's hydro cleansing session was nothing short of incredible, my wife actually regained her sense of smell for the first time since losing it after Covid and a stroke in 2021! And then there was Kelly, her food and fresh juices were out of this world! Every meal was nourishing and full of life. The entire staff radiated warmth, kindness, and a genuine passion for helping people heal. We didn't want to leave and are already planning our return trip. Thank you, Hawaiian Sanctuary, for making us feel like family and for the life changing care and love you poured into every moment. You've truly left a lasting mark on our hearts. read more

Need to reset and get away from the hustle? This is your place! First time stay, now a new long time customer. Located in Pahoa , Big Island, surrounded by lush gardens, fruit trees, coconut trees, spa, yoga and amenities for comfort. This is the place for nature lovers. read more

See all

My partner and I stayed at the Hawaiian Sanctuary during our trip to the big island in April 2026, and this place absolutely lives up to its name. Kind staff, gorgeous grounds, comfortable and clean facilities and rooms, delicious farm fresh food, and incredible spa and other shared areas. I highly recommend the Hawaiian Sanctuart Eco Lodge and we will definitely be coming back in the future. Mahalo for your hospitality! read more

Remember the Hawaiian Bird Sanctuary in Pahoa. They talked great about Aaron and even gave him a certificate of achievement. Well his DVR counselor called them and they said negative things about him like, " when he was there the chicken's didn't lay too many eggs, now that he's gone they are back to laying more eggs... he's always asking questions.... When they told us that he had to leave early bc another intern was coming in early, they actually fired him. All that sweet talk about they are going to miss him.. he was great.. was all bullshit. They should have been straight with us. Of course his trainer and 2 only supporters left early so he had to learn by himself and of course they never worked with someone with autism. I knew already that they let him go and that they were fake. Not a place of Professionalism. I'm going to have a word with them. read more

Not just a hotel - a community. I felt so relaxed the second I arrived. The place is beautiful and well kept, and it houses folks staying monthly for courses and internships and what not, so lots of people to talk to. Felt like staying in a social hostel, with the comfort of a hotel. Some other reviews described it as dirty - you have to realize that a space so tucked away in the jungle will naturally have bugs and whatnot. Plus it's a nonprofit doing it's best, so you're not going to get the perfect cleanliness of some luxury hotel in Waikiki. However, I live in the jungle myself and was wildly impressed by how clean everything was. The spa room especially was pristine - and how lovely that you can reserve it all for yourself (do know there's a limit of 1 hour a day, but that's plenty). The yoga class I took (from Sydney I think?) was so lovely, and the Bee Dance on Friday was fantastic. If you're a young backpacker type, this is the place to be. Lots of locals come from the dance, and it's a great way to meet people (fire going in the back with goodies to eat and drink). Or if you don't love electronic music, it's far enough away from the main building for it not to trouble you - you'll hear some music in the distance. I'll certainly be back! read more

My family and I checked in on February 17, excited for our 3-night stay in what was supposed to be a Deluxe Premium Cabin, as we reserved. It was advertised on their website with a private bathroom, kitchen, and our own little patio. Our room given had no windows (yep, ZERO), and it was freezing cold at night--like, 55 degrees freezing. No private bathroom. We had to share with others. No kitchen, no patio, nothing we were promised. We complained, hoping for the room we booked, but got nowhere. We decided to leave the next day. The hotel said they'd refund us, but now it's February 29, and we're still waiting. They've ghosted us--no replies to emails or calls. We had to get our travel agency to chase down our refund. Long story short: If you're looking for a good time, skip this place. It's a letdown and way off from what they promise. We learned the hard way to double-check where we're staying next time. read more

Hawaiian Sanctuary - Health Retreats Near Me - Pāhoa, Hawaii

Very dreamy comfortable beds, clean cabins, amazing healthy coffee bar, new swimming pools, beautiful spa room. Lovely place to stay. read more

See all

This place is located just South of Pahoa in one of the most remote parts of the world. We received text confirming our reservation and located the entrance, cabin and were greeted by owner Steve upon arrival. Cabin was surprisingly modern with a comfortable bed and private bath. The Sanctuary grounds are gravel roads with paths through extraordinary jungle vegetation, trees of Avocado, mango, lemons, limes. One of the girls working there Maria picked a couple oranges and offed us one during breakfast, it was so juicy. There was a community kitchen with several fridges, a sink and a couple stoves for cooking. Tried coffee bar, but unfortunately to much to see on island to try spa, hot tub, yoga etc. Birds, wild pigs and the best sleep I've had in years even with Coquis singing all night. Air is so pure off the Pacific here. Will definitely be back next year for a longer stay over a weekend to enjoy music and interaction with students, dancers and try yoga! read more

Excellent massage from Sarena! Definitely schedule time on the massage table with her!!

The Hawaiian Sanctuary is an incredible place to relax, unplug and meet some amazing people. I stayed in the Gardena room and loved the access to the spa, yoga, coffee bar, and breakfast. What I really loved is the staff, everyone is now considered friends and they all gave us great adventure recommendations, as well as coming along to show us and spend time gettin to know us. Wednesday night at Uncle Roberts is incredible also. Be sure to take time to enjoy the food, everything is Farm to Table and the chefs are incredible! I would highly recommended this experience! read more

See all

Great food, best chef, friendly staff, good customer service, clean cabin, amazing animals, beautiful retreat, they have dance night every week, yoga studio, and more. I recommend it :) read more

We stayed in one of the new cabins at Hawaiian sanctuary, and it was Amazing. It was perfect for me and my partner. The space is so cozy, and is Surrounded by lush Forrest, so really feels like a peaceful get-away. Of course the sanctuary grounds are gorgeous, and the food at the cafe freshly made and amazing!! Definitely coming back to stay again. Thank you! read more

First and foremost, the website is not an accurate depiction of this place--just be aware of that. I arrived on a Friday to a practical ghost town, so no juice bar or coffee for me until Monday. The landscape is truly beautiful and the beds here are comfortable, but bathrooms shared and the communal kitchen is lacking in resources/amenities/cleanliness. I'm surprised by many of the other reviews b/c it sounds like they stayed in a completely different place than I experienced. Also be aware that you're sharing the space w/ volunteers and long-stay residents: I thought this was going to be cool/social/fun, except I was unfortunately made to feel like an outsider by most ppl there except one exceptionally kind and interesting woman. In short, I don't advise a long stay here--one or two nights is fine, but otherwise keep looking elsewhere and don't be fooled by the web design. read more

Our stay here was absolutely unbelievable. The glamping pod is surrounded by the jungle and includes a variety of exotic birds. Our adventure started just over two days ago with a welcome from the peacocks that roam free throughout the grounds. After a short walk after parking we saw wild turkeys, geese, and peasants as well. You could tell all of these animals were well cared for as they had no fear of humans. This sanctuary was also a working farm and had cacao trees being planted and pruned while we stayed there. While their main focus is cacao, this agricultural spot also has soursop, ginger, lemons, limes, garlic, and many other fruits and vegetables being grown onsite. You get breakfast if your an overnight guest there so you get to try the tasty produce for yourself. If you're not staying overnight you can still visit their cafe during the day time and try their delicious smoothies and elixir onsite. I'd recommend their Hera smoothie as it's not often you get a cacao smoothie that's made from fresh cacao produced onsite. Their turmeric elixir was really refreshing too. Also if you've ever had an interest in starting your own farm, they have an agricultural internship. We spoke to a few interns that were participating in the program that had aspirations of running their own farm - super cool! If that wasn't enough to encourage you to visit they also have a full gym onsite and yoga classes daily as well as some hula classes from time to time. While I didn't have time to attend a yoga class, I did use their gym onsite. The gym had a full circuit and free weights which made it perfect for those of us who like to exercise while on vacation. While it was fully stocked, the jungle climate had corroded some of the equipment. Everything was in working order, but they could use some WD-40 and a piece of sandpaper to remove a little bit more of the corrosion. Other notable aspects about this location is that there is a jacuzzi, laundry room, and kitchen onsite. THe kitchen can only store vegetarian foods so meat eaters should be prepared to eat those dishes offsite. If you're staying in the pods like we did they're pretty spacious for sleeping their is a queen bed upstairs that fits two and a futon that can fit an extra guest or two downstairs. Since this glamping their is no locks on the front door. The screen door was a lovely feature that helped to keep out bugs, but not the natural sounds of the jungle at night. Also, there are three showers onsite two are outdoors and one is inside. I'd recommend the outdoor ones for a change as it's not often you have a private shower room with a view of the stars from above. read more

See all

This is a really magical place. You have to stay there and see for yourself. The nature is thriving, everything is so green and beautiful. The peacocks, turkeys and chickens and walking around freely in this permaculture heaven. The coquis songs are a nice touch at evenings. There's yoga and ecstatic dances. The facility is great with a private spa and clean comfortable rooms, showers etc. The interns and employees are friendly. Go see for yourself! read more

we had great experience with everything .. host , food , yoga , people and conversations everything pleasantly surprised us . highly recommend read more

My 19 year-old-daughter and I celebrated my 65th birthday with a 3-night stay a Hawaiian Sanctuary and loved it. We were warmly greeted, by pre-arrangement, by Laxmi who showed us to our room in the main pavillion and gave us a tour of the "campus." The place was clean and super welcoming. Our queen bed room with a sink and mini-fridge was steps away from the nice shared bathroom and the heavenly spa room with sauna, hot tub and shower that we used every day. We cooked our breakfasts and dinners in the kitchen shared with staff and interns which was fun and made us feel part of the community, despite our only staying 3 nights. Easy drives to hot pools on the beach created by the 2018 eruption and a magnificent and very swimmable black sand beach, plus the town of Pahoa with an interesting Lava Zone Museum staffed by knowledgeable volunteers. I highly recommend a stay at Hawaiian Sanctuary Retreat. read more

There's a huge party that goes on at night and with the rooms lacking air conditioning and forcing the customer to keep their windows open, it's very inconsiderate to be blasting loud music when they are trying to sleep. The rooms are very filthy. Not worth the price read more

Just spent a blissful few days at the Hawaiian Sanctuary. We only booked 2 nights since this was out of our normal vacation experience so thought we would check it out. Let me tell you, it was too short! The premises is beautiful, lush and so full- full of good energy, full of great character! The sense of community was so beautiful. In particular the community kitchen was awesome - the current chef Lindsay is a hoot! His persona and energy and life story is so inspiring! If you like to live free and experience solitude this is the place for you. Very basic yet enriching. Stay with an open mind read more

Ugh I hate not giving 5 stars but I think it is worth putting out there our experience. Yes this is a unique place that offers a peaceful atmosphere, beautiful sounds of Koke frogs at night and the staff was very nice. However it might not be for everyone (which nothing in life is) and I don't feel like the rawness was put out there when I researched the sanctuary for our family vacation. So here is our experience.... The sanctuary is very secluded with a very unique rustic set up. The cabins are currently dry cabins with electricity but without water, showers, TVs or toilets. They do plan to add utilities in the future but if this is important I would check the status. The bed was super comfy and the room was clean. They did have bathrooms you could walk to but it was a ways away for the late pee in a pouring down rain storm and pitch black! The 2 indoor showers were clean but an even father walk unless you want to shower outside for a shorter walk. I thought it was really cool to shower outside under the open sky!They talk about a cafe on site but we were shocked and unprepared for that to be untrue. They have what looks like could be a potential setup but the gentleman that was there each day made us really uncomfortable when we would ask for coffee or if he had anything for us to purchase foodwise. Maybe we were missing something here but regardless there was no menu items! We got a super weird vibe too ‍! Our whole stay we had maybe 2 cups of black coffee and a few delicious treats he made. When we would try and pay for them he never could give us an answer on price, it was strange and awkward. We ended up just giving him a cash amount we felt worked and he seemed ok with it...super strange lol. It was very quiet there with no interaction at all during our stay. I felt like I was at someone's house but no one was home! until one morning out of nowhere 100 (approx) people showed up for a their Sunday tantaric (spell) static dance in the yoga tent (studio). I am not easily offended and love the yoga free spirit that the yoga community brings so the unique dance party didn't offend me however if nudity was offensive to you or your children you may want to make note. I chose to take my daughter back to the hut when ladies started going topless and falling into a unique trans. I have never been to anything like it...the main manager Mike couldn't even explain to me ehat was going on. He just said a bunch of people listen to techno beats and get super wierd! Lol that's a good description! I am not complaining at all as I thought it was unique to watch but something they should be more open to explaining online to guests. I think the other thing well worth mentioning was our massage experience. Being massage junkies we jumped on the in-house massage therapist during our stay. Big mistake! Come to find out she wasn't licensed at all and I am not sure she does massages at all. It was horrible and we paid her $250 cash. She only rubbed coconut oil on us and spoke about very strange unconvincing natural healing techniques....we felt taken advantage of. I could tell about 5 mins into the message that she wasn't a true therapist when she couldn't have an educated conversation on a simple muscle question (very simple). Shame on her for posing as a professional and taking peoples money. The sanctuary wouldnt provide me with her license number and swept it under the rug. She didn't exist on the Dept of licensing website either which confirms my assumptions. BEWARE! Had it been a decent massage I would of never thought to look into anything. If you choose to stay here you should definitely bring your own food and prepare for a true in the jungle experience. You can keep your food in the community fridge which is in a community tent. Bring rain gear in the winter seasons and things to do if silence isn't your style. Oh yes and bring a yoga mat as I didn't find any loaners ! read more

Treated us like family from when we arrived to when we checked out (late). Jay went above and beyond to make sure we felt accommodated. So happy to feel the energy thriving at this incredibly sacred space. Looking forward to our return! read more

The Hawaiian Sanctuary is an a beautiful retreat, permaculture and yoga center! I have stayed here many times and attended workshops and retreats at the Sanctuary. It is a mainstay in the Big Island community, with many accessible events for children and adults. Great dances, gym, and yoga every day. The Elixir Bar is next level, I love the Plant Aloha Thursdays! read more

I unfortunately had the worst lodging experience of my life here. Other than the automated emails and texts, everyone was so unwelcoming. No one wanted to help me. My cabin was disgusting: door did not lock, sheets not washed (I could smell the sweat from prior guests), shower not cleaned, hot water only worked some of the time. I let them know that my fire alarm was ripped out but no one cared. Ants were everywhere. There was a man at the cafe who made me feel like a bother, his energy made me want to run. So many people were doing drugs around me, when I looked into peoples eyes I saw such immense depression and a desperation for help. No one cared to help me know of the event calendar so couldn't even partake in any of the activities. The area it is in is very creative but also very dodgy. I saw 3 brawls during daylight 1 ft in front of me. I went to get food at night, 5 different men kept coming up to me and one even grabbed my shoulder. I went to get breakfast and felt so unwelcomed. Then the chef came in to the front area demanding compensation because I guess they are not compensating her for her services....It was SO upsetting experiencing this because I was so excited coming into my stay from all the great reviews. Maybe this place was great at one point but now, especially if you're a solo female traveler like me, don't come anywhere close. This is not a sanctuary. Also, before posting this review I emailed and texted my experience to their general manager and main reservations team and my point of contact at the lodging area...as you guessed, no one cared. read more

My stay was absolutely AMAZING. Hawaiian Sanctuary is beautiful, peaceful and healing. My exceptions were blown away, 110% recommend. FOOD was DELICIOUS!! Farm to table. Oh boy and the staff.. they contributed to inscrutableness ambiance, so loving, welcoming and knowledgeable. Thank you again!! Learned and healed a lot during my too short of a stay. You will not want to leave, can't wait to go back. Biggest Mahalos, read more

Great place to come for a workshop and learn about local farming. If you are traveling, they have cabins to stay in. The staff is super friendly and accommodating. They all seem to genuinely love being there, which makes it a positive environment to be in. There's also a hot tub, infrared sauna and coffee bar. The granola and coconut milk I had for breakfast was insanely good! read more

I was able to spend a month at Hawaiian Sanctuary thanks to Linda, the reservations manager, who helped me book a very nice and big cabin all to myself. The property itself is beautiful, surrounded by gorgeous plants and trees, its is super peaceful. My cabin even came with a kitchenette and it was tastefully decorated. I signed up for the vegan buffet which was absolutely delicious, every day fresh and abundant farm to table vegan food. Your days are filled with so many different classes, yoga every morning, then once a week breathwork, chi gong, astrology, permaculture where we got to plant or harvest all together, then so many more, all led by amazingly gifted and talented people. It was really one of the best experiences and time of my life. I 100% recommend this place and I can't wait to go back myself! read more

Went to their Friday night bee dance and was very disappointed with the water situation. For all of the people in attendance there was but one jug of water that ran dry very quickly and took some time to be noticed and attended to by the staff who then replaced it with gross warm water that tasted of heavy metals, as if it had been run out through a hot water heater perhaps. I walked outside and found the nearest spiget, filled my water bottle and hoped it wasn't rain water, whether it was or not that tasted a hell of a lot better than what was put out. For a $15 ticket to go to a dance we should at least be able to get a decent effin' glass of water, it's a dance for crying out loud, people are sweating. With the money they're making off of this they should be serving frickin' cucumber and lemon water to people. Give us a break dammit. read more

My experience at Hawaiian Sanctuary started out ok. Their sauna room and hot tub were delightful, bed was comfortable, and (most of) the staff was friendly...until we started asking for the things that were promised during their sales pitch. For example, and this is just one of several...when asking for the raw chocolate that we were told we'd be getting, the attendant at the elixir bar got really uncomfortable and informed us that whoever told us we'd be receiving free chocolate was mistaken. There was no attempt to reconcile some of the things we had been promised, as if one tiny piece of chocolate per day was more important than a satisfied guest. The real kicker to this place, however, is that it is infested with mold...everywhere! It's amazing the health department hasn't shut them down! The screens on some of the buildings had such a thick layer of mold and mildew on them that you couldn't even see through some of them. The furniture also had visible mold on it that caused a rash on my skin the very first day. The exotic birds were a novelty we enjoyed until we realized that they would be crowing, gobbling and cooing right outside of our windows at all hours of the night and all throughout the day. And I f you don't like electronic dance music blasting you out of your cabin during their weekly ecstatic dance parties, you're out of luck, because the accommodations are situated right next to the dance hall and there is no escaping the extremely loud techno beats that continue for hours on end. Also keep in mind that there are no facilities in the rooms and that to go to the bathroom meant you may have to walk outside during torrential downpours...and then possibly share the bathroom with the hundred or so community members that are attending the dance party. This place is anything but a sanctuary! I can honestly say that this was the worst vacation experience of my entire life!. read more