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

Came in on a Saturday night to sing karaoke with friends and have some drinks. The place was mostly…read moreempty when we got there. We never got the songs that we paid for. The staff just kept playing their own stuff which is fine, but not if you're charging people for stuff you're not gonna give them. Also the drinks were very watered down and the staff had a very poor attitude even in lieu of the service they were not providing. And all with a spending minimum? For what? Being ignored? Would give it a half star if I could. Very bad experience. Will not be returning.

My husband and I both live on Oahu. We enjoy dive bars and hanging out with locals whenever we…read moretravel. The reviews weren't promising, but we understand that sometimes places like this get a bad rap because some people may not understand the local culture. Well, I'm disappointed to say the reviews were right. We left a popular spot with overpriced drinks to come here, thinking it would measure up to our favorite dives on Oahu. Strong drinks and friendly service with Aloha are the two basic requirements for a good local dive. This place had neither. The service was bland unless they knew you, and the 2-count pour for overpriced drinks was an insult to injury. They had two vodka selections--two! That wouldn't be so bad if Tito's wasn't priced like Ketel One. I actually have no idea what it cost because we didn't receive an itemized bill. The environment was okay. I enjoyed some of the karaoke being sung in the background, but I would not return here. I'd rather grab a bottle from the store and share it with friends at home.

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.

Local dive bar for regular Pau Hana's!…read more This place was made for the local aunties and uncles. We came here after work on a Friday Night. Right away Aunty Joy greeted us with her pretty smile! Got us our drinks and gave us pupus! She made her rounds regularly and talked story with us between rounds. So sweet. Had live music playing and had the most fun time with the later waitresses that came in for their night shift. This is a mom and pop dive bar. Less Michelin star and more homey feel. Defs go back and talk story with aunty!

Awesome hole in the wall place. Was looking for a late night tasty beverage and it did not…read moredisappoint. Beer is cold, place is clean, bartender (wish I woulda gotten her name) was welcoming and very sincere. Will be coming back !

Had a really nice meal and cocktails, excellent and very friendly service from Soleil! Shout out!read more

Timing. I was the only one in there and it took 45 min. To get my Ribeye. I sent it back. Looked…read moreboiled and tasted like propane. Really disappointed. I might comeback... someday

Not much to see here folks, but at least in Hilo, there is a Hawaiian Airlines Premier Club lounge…read morefor all you frequent flyers. The lounge has seen better days, as it probably needed a few repairs, as I noticed a few "gashes" in the dry wall. The club lounge is simple, NO Food, or frills........just soft drinks, coffee, and a few small snacks. That's all folks! Although you can't compare this lounge to any of the airline lounges on the mainland, if you want to get away from the crowds at the airport & just hang out in a quite place, then this lounge will certainly fit the bill.

I know this is only Hilo but we love waiting in a nice lounge before a flight too! This lounge was…read moreso sad. No drinks and no snacks. Basically a secluded room at the end of the terminal for a place to sit. So sad. Save the trip and hang out in the main airport.

Food is good, service is nice, if they busy be patient. Get one girl that sing good karaoke…read moresometimes.

Terrible place it was like a ghost town. Don't go Here if…read moreyou have vibes that are ecstatic. They lie about their machine working for karaoke

Jessica would give 10 stars!! Food, drinks, ambiance,…read moreservice all excellent! Check it out!

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.

I've never had the most horrible front desk service in my years coming to Hilo & staying at the…read moreHilo Hawaiian. if the front desk lady thought she could get away with her stink attitude she's sadly mistaken. Her disrespect towards me (and I'm LOCAL! BORN & RAISED! She spoke with no respect! No friendliness, NO ALOHA! Why would you employee someone like this! Im not sure if housekeeping was short staff, but we waited patiently for 4 hours for a room! it's sad that one rotten employee can act this way and get away with it! I hope she apologizes to us for the wait as a common courtesy...if not I will take this to the higher ups...Saturday 2/14/26 3:31pm HER NAME IS ALICIA...

Fantastic hotel in Hilo! We stayed here for a couple of nights on our vacation and it was great…read more The lobby is spacious and modern looking with plenty of places for lounging. There is a pool to the side of the hotel and lots of parking available. The hotel also has a restaurant bar and a proper restaurant, a steakhouse that does buffets on the weekend. We didn't do the buffet as neither of us really enjoys eating at a buffet but we did have breakfast there and we went to the bar side for a couple of drinks, including a free cocktail upon check in. The room was clean and had everything we needed. We booked a room facing the water and the coconut island which was a lovely view. You can hear through the wall quite loudly but if turning on the fan constantly helped drown out the noise at night. I was a little annoyed that we were placed in a room next to a family with a bunch of kids, including a crying infant when the hotel didn't seem to be too busy during our stay. I went outside a couple of times to enjoy the view with some drinks but had to get back inside immediately due to the loud crying. We were also issued a $10 voucher to use at the restaurant. We used one for breakfast but could not use the other 2 vouchers. There are other restaurants nearby and even one that is a walking distance. Had there been an option to order from a menu at the steakhouse, I would have loved the chance to do so. Perhaps next time. Overall, the stay was good and would not hesitate to book this place again if ever in Hilo in the future.

It was a pleasure to discover this exceptional establishment offering a fusion of Asian cuisines…read more Food quality: Everything was fresh, tasty, and good portions for the money. Ambiente: Cozy, clean, and nicely decorated. Price: Priced right, and two people can enjoy a wonderful meal for under $116. Service: Right off the bat, the hospitality felt welcoming, the service was attentive, and our orders came very quickly. Good job!

Very underwhelming experience, this restaurant is Japanese in name only…read more For starters, after being seated we had a 1 hour wait to be served food for a table of 4. And then we the food finally came, it was cold and unappetizing. Miso soup was way too salty and the salad was perfectly average. The beef teriyaki and chicken katsu combo plate came out lukewarm which is unacceptable considering I waited 1 hour and they can't even bring hot food. Shrimp tempura according to my mom was underwhelming and not the best tasting. Beef curry was the worst out of all the dishes. It was so watered down and tasted like water, 0 curry flavor whatsoever. Considering these plates were $25 each, I'd stay clear of this place. Definite tourist trap. If you want authentic Japanese food, go to the ramen place nextdoor instead. They have a better curry rice bowl despite being a ramen place.