We got a reservation for Tuesday night at 8 pm. We were seated immediately, next to window and we…read morecould see lava glow from our seats. That was first for us and we were very excited. We had soup of the day and stuffed chicken for dinner. Soup came with fresh bread and butter and was very tasty. Stuffed chicken was also tasty and flavor full. We liked it. Staff is very nice and ambience is ok . Best part is volcano viewing and that tops overall experience.

Volcano House and this isn't just a place you stay--it's an experience the second you step out of…read morethe car. Sitting right on the edge of Kīlauea, the views alone will stop you in your tracks. You're literally looking out over the caldera while sipping your coffee like it's no big deal. The building has that old-school, historic feel, but it works... it adds to the whole "you're somewhere special" vibe. The restaurant carries that same laid-back but memorable energy, and the gift shop is worth stepping into too--solid mix of local items and keepsakes without feeling overdone. Whether you're eating, browsing, or just posted up with the view, this place makes you slow down and really take it all in.

Great views of the volcano…read more The taste of Hawaii menu is loaded with food and is great to share amongst a small family. Friendly staff, good food, but the view is what I'll be writing home about.

DISHONEST PEOPLE! Unfortunately there's not much as for choices for eating when visiting the…read moreVolcano. Unfortunately this restaurant decides to be dishonest with its customers in not only providing mini portions at high prices, which I consciously decided to accept, but the menu clearly states for 8+ people there is a 20% mandatory tip. Our party of 7 was charged their fee and when paying amd decoding on a tip my wife saw the fee already on the receipt (which they didn't even tell us, asking for a tip as well) I asked why and they just said "because you have more people". I don't mind paying a tip, but don't eat here if you dont want to support dishonest people.

Our respite stay after a full day of chasing Volcano Craters and remote petroglyphs…read more Ten minutes from the park exit, just had dinner in the park. Works out great , self check in. Old fashioned but just right for the Area.

This was a great fond for us. We have never been on this island. Literally 3 minutes from Volcano…read moreNatl Park. We stayed in Rm 9. Convenient path to car and hot tub. We used the hot tub 2x and it was perfect temp. I thought it was crazy for a gas fireplace in room. We used it 3x because it was rainy here. Staff was helpful by providing us ice and utensils and glasses that we could leave in room. They don't want you drinking the water so they provide a 5 gal jug of water. Good to bathe in but not drink. They provided a small fridge, coffee maker, toiletries. The room was big enough that they could have added a coffee table by fireplace to set your drinks on. No TV but we had our own electronics. WiFi was on point. Ample parking. They don't do daily room service unless you ask. The sound of the birds at night is amazing. They communicate right away via text for anything you need. I would definitely stay here again.

On our last few trips to Hilo, we stayed at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel and haven't been disappointed…read more For convenience, the hotel has two restaurants in the lobby. Wai Oli is also two businesses in one - it serves as a morning/brunch cafe for coffee and pastries, then transforms into a casual evening restaurant for dinner as well as live music and a bar space. On our first night we were too tired to go out in the rain, so we tried the Red Rice with Chamorro spices and sauces, and a Club sandwich with fries. The food is excellent, prices about what you'd expect in a hotel. The tap list is also pretty good with macro lagers and locally brewed selections from Big Island Brewhaus and Hilo Brewing Co among others. Service is good, with friendly servers. The view is also excellent with clear views of Hilo Bay right outside. They also have outdoor tables on the lanai.

Great restaurant bar to grab a bite and a beer at. They now have live music everyday.read more

The Bartender Gregory all round great personality…read more Himself is ideal customer service attitude

Fun place to let loose and meet locals! Sang karaoke while sitting at the bar--everyone friendly…read moreand talking together

TLDR: Lounge area…read morenear the "lobby" of the Fairmont Orchid resort. Since it overlooks the rest of the resort, it's the perfect place to rest and relax during the day. They start serving Japanese-inspired foods starting 5 pm and they have nightly live music starting around 6 pm. Food was fine, nothing special, but the ambiance was wonderful and the nightly torch lighting + conch shell blowing at sunset happens on this balcony. ------ FOOD: * Smash Burger (4/5): Came with two patties and a slight skirt on the meat. Was a little simple though (i.e. no lettuce or tomatoes, though did come with one deep-fried onion ring and cheese). Fries were pretty good! * Luana Roll (4/5): This is their signature roll and I thought it was good but wasn't anything special. Probably not worth $30. * Double Crunch Roll (4/5): Again, good roll but nothing special and didn't particularly love it. ------ SERVICE: * Fine service, though the waiter took a long time to check in on our table. We weren't in a rush so it wasn't a problem, but it was strange. * Note that their kitchen is not located nearby and so the waiter has to go to a kitchen downstairs before bringing the food up. That means that service can be a little slower at times. ------ ENVIRONMENT / AMBIANCE: * Really nice ambiance. It's a balcony right off the main lobby where you check-in, and there are lots of comfy lounge chairs and small tables to match. The lobby and the lounge are both technically on the 3rd floor of the resort, so you can overlook the rest of the resort including the pool, beach, and ocean. * The live music at night is nice, both if you're dining at the lounge or just returning to the lobby area after a long day out. * There's also an indoor bar area next-door to the lounge with a pool table. The pool accessories are in rough shape (only 1 usable pool stick) but anyone is able to set up the table and begin playing. Despite being here during the holidays, this table was surprisingly available for most of our stay. * Every night there's a traditional Hawaiian ceremony where torches are lit at sunset and someone blows a conch in all directions. The conch blowing happens on this balcony, so if you're seated at the lounge around 5 pm, you'll have great seats of the short ceremony.

The lounge is conveniently towards the center of the resort, close to check in. The staff are…read moredifficult to get ahold of, and service was rather lackluster. We came on a windier day, and the tiki torch kept getting blown out. The one closest to us was gushing out gas without a flame, and left an extremely heavy gas smell. We asked if they could relight it, and the first person said they'd get maintenance over right away. 20 minutes later, and getting lightheaded from the gas, I asked if they could turn it off if they couldn't relight it. The staff started getting defensive which I didn't understand, and told us that we were being unreasonable since the area wouldn't be lit up if there was no torch. I kept explaining to her that the torch was out, so we don't get the light anyways, but she wasn't listening to our concerns. Eventually another staff member came by, immediately understood, and finally turned off the gas for us so we weren't getting smothered by the odor. We ordered two cocktails and a spicy Kanpachi roll. The cocktails were mediocre, and one of them was not what we ordered. My wife asked for a blended cocktail and ended up with a drink on ice. The kanpachi roll was below average, with soggy seaweed and loosely rolled where it was falling apart while eating. I would skip on this lounge if you're looking for a place to eat and maybe even for skip and go elsewhere for drinks. We only tried one sushi roll, but after our experience we didn't intend on ordering anything else.

Food was delicious. Pork tacos and Charcuterie board were legit. And the place has a cool open air…read morevibe. The Old Fashion was great as well!

Good cocktails and upscale menu, with TV's for sporting events. Had the tri-tip flatbread that was…read moreflavorful and daughter had ceasar salad.

Amazing views! Casual place to hang out, bring your own meal to sit there or purchase at the…read morelounge. Live music in the evenings.

Friendly vibe. Convenient for guests…read more A couple of Mai Tais and or house wine and or domestic beer is included as part of the daily resort fee that Hilton charges for a stay at this property. Relaxed vibe in the lobby with low key and pleasant entertainment on the Friday evening that I was there. Service was fast, friendly and efficient.

If youre staying at the Hilton, dont pass up the opportunity to enjoy the many offerings here…read more Open air windows and pleasant music greet you in the am for strong complimentary coffee and breakfast offerings. Try the spam musubi, especially if you have that resort credit. Evenings great local Hawaiian music and hula dancers entertain you while you enjoy their special island breeze cocktail. Our party of 4 finally decided to just eat dinner there on a Friday night .. place was packed, but food came out pretty quick. We were all surprised how good it was (Im sober so can't blame that). Prices reasonable service friendly. Margherita flat bread, Kailua pork w cabbage and the pulled pork were scarfed quickly. Entertainment was fabulous on Friday. I recommend this place for casual meal and drinks.

I had The Hidden Nene bookmarked when I was planning out my trip to Hilo and I couldn't be happier…read morewith my experience at the speakeasy. My wife and I stopped by for pre-dinner drinks and we absolutely loved the drinks that we were able to try out. I started out with a cocktail called the "Spam Dram", a crispy Spam fat-washed barrel-proof bourbon, combined with seared Spam and nori syrup and topped off with a spam musubi garnish. As one might guess, this drink was presented in a spam musubi tin, and atop the bed of crushed ice was an *entire* spam musubi. The drink was a perfect representation of spam musubi in a glass -- sweet, savory, and full of umami. Props to whichever bartender put together this creative drink. The next drink I ordered was the "Smoky Bear", another bourbon based cocktail. This one had bird's eye chili essence in it, and was much closer than your traditional Old Fashioned, except it had an incredible amount of smokiness and a punch of heat to it as well. If you enjoy stiff drinks with complexity, look no further than this cocktail. While we were seated at the bar, we overheard somebody close to us mentioning a password special that had been posted on the Instagram page of The Hidden Nene. We checked their latest story posted two hours earlier and the password special for the day was a "fizz me baby one more time", a strawberry and yuzu gin fizz. My wife ordered this cocktail as her second drink and loved how refreshing the drink tasted. Overall, if you consider yourself a cocktail connoisseur, you owe it to yourself to check out The Hidden Nene if you're in Hilo.

The coastal town of Hilo hides the fantastic speakeasy, The Hidden Nēnē. Head down the stairs by…read morethe green door, and it becomes less hidden, and you can see the sign for the basement level bar. The underground space is low green lighting, a long bar, and green velvet bar chairs. We went during the day, so they were not busy, and were able to sit at the bar. The service was quick, relaxed, and friendly. The cocktails are upscale priced, but well made. They do offer a full food menu, we did not order any food on our visit.