This charming plantation-style inn is nestled on lush property that looks like the Garden of Eden…read more The price can't be beat! The inn has several rooms and a suite, and features a large kitchen with granite countertops, gas barbecue, and outdoor dining area so you can prepare your own food. The decor is "Vintage Hawaii" and the facilities are spotless and neat. Very kid-friendly, plenty of room to roam and explore. It is only 5-10 minutes from beautiful hot ponds and the ocean where you can snorkel or surf. A short drive to the funky, charming little town of Pahoa. Kapoho Village Inn is so peaceful, and set back far from the road. We loved the sound of the coqui frogs at night! Owners are very friendly and helpful, and provide you with a map and lots of information for local sites. LOVE this place!

Such a great find! It's definitely hidden so watch for the sign nearby. Very secluded and off the…read morebeaten path, immersed in what is pure jungle we stumbled across this lovely in. The owner, Chris, was nothing short of hospitable. Everything is at your fingertips here, laundry facilities if you need, a fully stocked kitchen equipped with utensils, microwave, etc. We enjoyed sitting on the back porch after the sun has set listening to the frogs and lovely night sounds and watching the stars and sipping a few drinks. If I ever return to the big island this is definitely where I would stay for much much longer. We don't care about wifi or tv. If you guys want that garbage go stay at your ridiculously priced resorts. This place was perfect for us. Thank you, Chris!

In life, I've learned to "go with the flow" and it's always an amazing adventure when you do…read more Finding myself at the Lave Tree Tropic Inn was Jumanji! The symphony within nature kept me invigorate. The historical charm of the area is tempting to both an Indiana Jones or Tomb Raider adventurer(s). Yet, it is the subtle charm of Irene that soothes the balance between nurture and nature. You will be awaken by the most aromatic vanilla-macadamia-nut coffee whiff, while being tempted by a freshly baked warm, "banana-chocolate-chip-papaya-slice-of-heaven-bread." Now, a word-of-advice, the road towards the Tropic Inn requires "off-road" tires and caution within the trail. It rains often, and muddy roads create sticky situations. Nonetheless, if you're down those neck of the woods, you otta' know your terrain... Mahalo, Vee

I love serendipity!!!…read more Irene plays the ukulele and her friends sing Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, how fun!!! Admits tropical paradise, quiet, and serenity, I found quickness and humor, the best!!! Mahalo to all of you. Aloha, Vittorio is ready for his ukulele lesson.

Staff - super friendly and helpful staff throughout the hotel, from the front desk, the parking…read morevalet, bartenders, and housekeeping staff. They have a good team working there. They really make the hotel what it is. Room - we had a standard king room. Great views overlooking Hilo Bay. The room was very clean and comfortable, perhaps the only downside was I couldn't get the air conditioner down far enough because I like my room really cold. The in room coffee was actually pretty good, but you can get better coffee in the morning at the restaurant for free. They give us lots of towels. No complaints about the room.. Food and Drink - we were out and about the whole time so we didn't actually eat any meals at the hotel, but we did have drinks at the lobby bar. The drinks were good and stiff, and the bar had great views of the bay. It's a nice place to unwind after the day.. Parking - we chose self parking, it's cheaper than the valet service. However, the self parking lot is actually across the street from the hotel. It's not a far walk by any means, but the self parking lot itself is basically gravel and can be uneven in spots. At night that parking lot is somewhat poorly lit. If I'm someone who has mobility challenges or balance issues, I would not park there because I think a fall is a possibility. Location - back in the day, Banyan Drive was really a nice hotel district. There are many decent hotels which catered to a lot of local people. Over time many of the hotels there became rundown, and frankly the Grand Naniloa is probably the nicest property in the area. The area around hotel is by no means sketchy, it's quite safe to walk around at night. Ito has an underrated restaurant scene. Lots of good places to eat. Talk to the hotel staff they will tell you where to go. It's about 45 minutes to an hour to drive to the volcano. Closing Thoughts - the hotel is not perfect but it's still pretty good. Some parts of the hotel need some work. The elevators tend to be a little older, I think they could expand their food service options. They really should do something about the self parking lot at some point. Would I stay at there again? Definitely, I stay there because the staff is terrific, and the rooms are clean and comfortable, and if you're visiting Hilo, it's a fine location.

Let me say first and foremost that the maintenance staff here is 5 stars, they're awesome. Big…read moreshoutout to Cody for helping fix my room's AC twice in one stay. He's the man. As far as the hotel, location is great but the hotel is overpriced for its quality. The facilities and infrastructure are incredibly outdated. The AC in the first room I was put in broke so they put me in another room, and the AC in that second room broke too. Of the three nights I was there, the elevator was not functional for two nights which meant I was walking up and down 10 flights of stairs. When the elevators were working, it took anywhere from 5-10 min. Spend your money elsewhere. This hotel is not worth it.

About the only positive thing I can say is that it's close to Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park…read more The issues: - Upon arrival around 5ish PM, there was no one around to greet us. Finally someone was running around and told my travel buddy to look for an envelope in the basket. - The room: Small, kind of musty/moldy kind of vibe. The bed was small and squeaky. You need a key to turn on the electricity. Also, there is no TV! - No potable water in the room. The provided water in the carafe had mold on the lid. - Bathroom: The shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel were all filled about 1/4th of the way. The shower gel wasn't even labeled. Very little counter space for toiletries. - Breakfast: I was expecting something a little more substantial. There were papaya boats and banana bread. - No shoes inside policy. Sorry, I wasn't leaving my shoes outside the room. Rain? Bugs? Heck no! All in all, I didn't see the value for $285 for a single night. This was my first time ever staying at a BnB and I didn't feel like it was very hospitable.

Fell in love with this place. You should stay here to visit the volcanoes. Plenty of space,…read morepeople were very nice.

We had a great experience staying at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel and would definitely come back…read more The best part of our stay was the staff. Everyone we interacted with was friendly, welcoming, and genuinely kind. A special shoutout to Charla at the front desk. She was professional, patient, and handled a difficult guest with grace while still making everyone else feel taken care of. Employees like her really make a difference. The location is beautiful. The ocean views are amazing, there's plenty of parking, and it's a nice area to walk around and enjoy the scenery. Our room's AC worked great, which was much appreciated after spending time outside. The hotel itself is clean but could use some updating. I think it would be nice to modernize certain areas while still preserving the Hawaiian history and charm that gives the property its character. There are also a few maintenance items that could use attention. For example, our towel rack was very loose and some bathroom finishes were showing wear. We also really enjoyed WSW | The Steakhouse. The service was excellent, and the bartender was knowledgeable and made great recommendations. Overall, if you're looking for a comfortable stay with beautiful views, friendly staff, and a relaxing atmosphere, I'd definitely recommend staying here.

I think if you're familiar with the properties on Banyan Dr. you know the Hotels are old. I don't…read moreexpect much, we always stayed at Uncle Billy's (RIP) but decided to try here. First off, the Lobby area is absolutely beautiful and parts of the Restaurant is still under construction. However, the rooms are dated.. extremely dated. We had three rooms for our Family, all on the 8th floor, and our room smelled of straight mildew as soon as we opened the door. Unfortunately we couldn't keep the door open to air it out as it was also extremely humid and there were swarms of termites on the balcony. The wallpaper was bubbling all over the walls, and the rug and chair fabric looked as if it were better to just toss. The minifridge was also busted.. it would freeze all our beverages that weren't placed in the freezer. Annoying but I'd rather it be frigid than warm. The bed was very comfortable and clean.. as well as the bathroom. No signs of rust or mold. No bugs were seen in the room. Front desk was flustered when we checked up, there were a lot of activities in Hilo town this past weekend so although they weren't overly friendly, they weren't rude. Parking is onsite but of course first come first serve. It's nice that they have a garage under as well but if you miss snagging a space, there's street parking. It was a great visit for us so we do recommend it if you get your room at a decent rate. The property is very well kept and the elevators are relatively fast but the location itself is very convenient to everything you need to do.

Poor place and difficult host (Ophelia). This place has very crappy electricity: running hot plate…read moreand microwave together during cooking leads to blackouts. True, the host left instruction not to use two electrical device together, it's just not intuitive at all and who can remember that precisely during a long travel, and mistakes do occur on everyone. This place has no internet (no problem, we can use our own). No hot water in bathroom basin, no problem, we can get hot water from the shower. Shower door leaks, no problem, put a towel there, just endure 3 days. Kind of dirty and disgusting: the bathroom was connected completely to one of the small bedrooms, so the smell from the toilet can actually go into the bedroom, no pictures of this detail shown in the booking pictures. We endured all these, no problem, we know we did not pay that much. Left thank you message and decent review for her, since we know running a business is not easy, being a decent guest is always good. We said publicly 'Ophelia truly tried to help and is very kind hearted person'. Sure, when the crappy electricity went off, she did came to turn it back on so we can cook our dinner. Guess what happened next? After we left, this host Ophelia smeared us on Airbnb for 'not able to find the place which is right on central avenue, that she had to drive out in midnight to lead us in', sorry, this completely did not happen, we found the place ourselves. She accused us for not shutting her doors, which did not happen either, I just text her for unclear instruction on how to close the doors (she wrote a sentence without punctuation, which makes the information misleading, and she did not respond or solve the problem), and then we figured out how to lock it, and wrote a note to cofirm with her 'no worries, problem solved'. She completely did not read any of the messages. And God knows why she later used this communication to accuse us in the guest review. What's most infuriating in her review is that she continued to write 'The guest is not able to read her instruction written in English. I think this could be due to the language barrier. They could have traslated it.' This discriminative language entirely crossed the red line, had to report to Airbnb, don't think there is another choice. With such a lot of hate, she completely should not have been a host. This is a profession for people who wants to help.

(Please note that I haven't posted any photos for this place. What is here was posted by someone…read moreelse.) I am so embarrassed to have stayed here. But others need to know to avoid this place. To my utter disbelief, Lonely Planet recommends this place. They need to remove it from their short list, which makes one wonder if there just isn't any place to stay in the Puna area. Lonely Planet uses the pithy word "ramshackle" to describe downtown Puna. That adjective is perfect for describing this inn. This place is a nightmare. What I've learned: Don't pay until you see the place AND HEAR the surrounding noises. If you think it's going to be tolerable staying here, make sure to listen for a TV playing in the background when first walking through your cabin with the owner. If you hear a TV, you don't want to stay in this particular cabin. The guy next door plays it all night long. He won't turn it off if you ask him. He just yells at you that he needs it on to help him sleep. This place is scary well beyond TV Guy, but it was after 8 p.m. when we arrived, and finding another place would be difficult. Once inside and facing the fact we would be sleeping here, I dreaded touching anything, especially anything with fabric. Of course, that included the bed and towels provided. All the furniture save the kitchen table was upholstered. I feared bed bugs. My fears were valid, though not for creepy crawlies. There was a substance on the bed sheets which was better not to think what it could be. No joke. So were these cleaned prior to our stay? Up until seeing that, we believed they were. But it was late, and we were tired and trying to give the place the benefit of the doubt. Creepy creepy. But we were able to avoid it. The floor was dirty, too. Not filthy, just not thoroughly cleaned. Wear thongs, if you have them. The dishes in the kitchen were dusty, and represented the rest of the place well, if you're still in the checking-it-out phase, and no money has passed hands. There are two sets of short stairs you have to navigate walking from the bed to the bathroom. One set has gravely varying in size steps. The two sets of steps together are uneven, which make it a difficult trip, especially in the middle of the night. We were here to sleep. That didn't happen for me. I was too horrified. In hindsight, I'd sleep in our rental car instead. Perhaps this place seems awful because everything is in a rough-around-the-edges secondhand thrown-together state. But I must say when the owner was escorting us from our pristine, quite inhabitable 2014 Nissan Maxima through the inn's junkyard to the cabin we would be renting, she expressed embarrassment over the "temporary" mess they had. "What do people think?" she asked out loud. Well, this review is your answer. This place gets two stars, because there weren't any critters or infestations.

Amazing service and epic views and delicious food! We loved it all and huge shoutout to Eddie! He…read moremade this such a wonderful experience

Do you want an experience of a lifetime? Do you want to be a part of living history? Ever want…read moreto walk in the footsteps of those that dared to be a part of something so amazing words fall short? Book a stay at the Volcano House! The rooms take you back to a magical time, a time with character! The staff feels like family. The location....the location is beyond imagination, especially on nights like tonight when the fire and flame meet an unbroken gauze of the bewildered! Stay in the only place on the Big Island Mark Twain would recommend, talk to the family that hosts you, and experience the smells, sights and sounds of the past, present, and future! Make sure to have dinner....Get a reservation for the five star food and the attached Volcano House Restaurant ! Trust me!!!!!! There is Nothing like this in the world

The price felt fair overall, but I think many reviewers weighted the cleanliness and renovated…read morerustic aesthetic too heavily. Having stayed in 2-5 star hotels across the U.S., this property is a good example of how subjective hotel ratings can be. Hilo simply does not have the newer luxury resort inventory you find on the Kohala Coast, so don't assume another hotel is upscale because it has "Grand" in the name. I can understand the appeal of its boutique-style, active-traveler, eco-conscious, customer-friendly atmosphere, hence the skewed 5-star ratings. Our biggest disappointments were room size, cooling performance, and noise/poor acoustic privacy. I'd still give it a low 4 stars because of the location, cleanliness, Aloha atmosphere, and staff friendliness. The property offers very basic accommodations in what resembles an old Travelodge/Motel 6-type property but cleverly renovated. The owners clearly understood that with clean rooms, vinyl plank flooring, fresh paint, and updated furniture, and a hint of a Zen/Environmental/Aloha vibe, they could offer a strong alternative to Hilo's aging high-rise hotels. While there are wheelchair ramps, the property has three stories and no elevators which means you'll have to carry your luggage up the stairs for most the upper floors. Some rooms face the inlet/ocean across the street fronted by a very old looking fish pond, while most others look across to each other with a small garden areas between or the decent pool area (no hot tub.) There's free lobby coffee in a large pump dispenser since rooms lack coffee makers, plus complimentary bikes and paddleboards. A very small lagoon beach is directly across the street, with two decent restaurants within a stone's throw. Downtown Hilo is about a six-minute drive but probably not walkable for most people. Rooms are compact, and the bathrooms are tiny with no exhaust fan. The bed leaned softer than average, and the TV was smaller than most modern computer monitors. The A/C struggled with Hilo's humid climate but managed to keep the room barely cool enough for comfortable sleeping. Shower pressure and temperature were acceptable, though the showerhead sat around chin height for me at 5'11". The biggest drawback was noise and lack of sound privacy. The glass louver windows provide almost no sound insulation, so you hear everything outside your room -- kids running the halls, conversations, foot traffic, and nearby guests. Anyone outside your room could easily overhear conversations inside. There's also noticeable jet noise due to the airport proximity, though fortunately I don't recall hearing flights between 10:30 PM and 6:30 AM. Rates are typically less than the nearby aging high-rise hotels with more upscale branding (and more uneven reviews). If SCP is at least 20% cheaper than those competitors, it's probably the best value in Hilo. If it fits your budget, I would opt for the ocean view rooms with the balconies at the SCP. The hotel appeared to be finishing renovations on its last older rooms during our stay, so many of the older 1-2 star reviews are probably no longer relevant

The staff is amazing! From the desk to cleaning crew, Trisha is so kind! Everyone always so…read moregracious and went above and beyond. Truly tried to do everything and anything possible for my Mom and I. thank you! Also loved the Koi pond we looked out over and the views. The room was clean and comfortable(mattress is amazing) but it is an older hotel and could use some updates. Faucets in the shower were sticky and hard to turn. No fan in the bathroom either. New mirror is great though! Construction on the first floor was very loud as well as traffic due to thin walls. Banyan drive felt very sketchy and unsafe at night and neither of us wanted to walk in that direction Coffee at the front was excellent and got our days started right! From check in to check out was so smooth and easy!

Very comfortable place. We visited Hilo from Kona and didn't want to drive back. So we found this…read moreplace. It didn't have AC but the fans kept us cool. The Mark was very hospitable and got us situated.

Just about everything I said about Wild Ginger Inn, also applies here. In fact, they are so close…read moreas to be within walking distance of each other. The bonus is that the man that runs the show here, John, is incredible! We were doing a backpacking trip at trailhead known for break-ins and John let us store our luggage here while we hiked and camped. When we came back, it was waiting for us in our rooms, I almost never receive service this good anywhere, let alone at a hotel this affordable! John is also one of those rare people you meet in the service industry that isn't just into making quaint small talk for the sake of it. He doesn't robotically recommend things everyone knows about. He really knows every nook and cranny of the island! Everyone else we told about our hiking trips on the island just met us with puzzled looks. John had done those hikes and had useful information to contribute about those hikes. Stuff you couldn't get with just a Google search. I LOVE competent and friendly people that know exactly what they are talking about! So many folks these days just run their mouths in a desperate attempt to make conversation, whether what they are saying is actually useful (or even true). John, if you read this, and ever come to Alaska, look us up, we'd be happy to do the same for you!

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.