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    Lava Tree Tropic Inn

    4.7 (15 reviews)
    InexpensiveHotels
    Closed 6:00 am - 9:30 pm

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    The live music was BEAUTIFUL!
    Tess B.

    I stayed here in June of 2013, and couldn't have enjoyed my stay more! Irene made sure that we knew of all of the greatest destinations on the island, not just the rain forest. She really helped us map out a trip that only a local could know about. The room was beautiful. The food, oh the food! Breakfast couldn't have been more fresh or delicious, and being able to sit at the table with people from all over the world was truly an enlightening experience. I would definitely recommend that people looking for a homey experience in a tropical paradise stay here!!!!

    Our room
    Krista A.

    This bed and breakfast is beautiful! In a very remote park of the island. Irene has planted gorgeous plants to look at and has fresh fruit on some of them. She has chickens on the property which is pretty neat to see when you first arrive. The house is huge and has plenty of places to just sit back and relax. Breakfast is outstanding! It is normally served between 8-9am. I really enjoyed the guava bread she made. My husband loved her cheese spread she made which is a recipe from Hungary. She gives you a very warm welcome and also gives you a map of the local area which you will need. If you have Verizon service is great at the house but in between towns service cuts out which can make it hard to use GPS and figure out where you are going. Depending on what you want to do each day it can be a little bit of a travel to get from here and there but overall not too bad of a drive. I would recommend getting some type of SUV vehicle for the drive into the house. We had a car and it will make it fine just but you have to be very careful because the road in does have a couple of bumps. Overall I really enjoyed it here and would recommend it to other friends coming to the island.

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    4 years ago

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    5 years ago

    The owners are way cool , beautiful property! It's a jungle paradise! Beautiful gardens and the place is well away from the main house.

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    12 years ago

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    Review Highlights - Lava Tree Tropic Inn

    Irene made sure that we knew of all of the greatest destinations on the island, not just the rain forest.

    Mentioned in 12 reviews

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    Kapoho Village Inn - Back deck outside our suite.

    Kapoho Village Inn

    (6 reviews)

    $

    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!

    Grand Naniloa Hotel Hilo - a DoubleTree by Hilton - Grand Naniloa Hotel A Doubletree By Hilton -  Aerial View

    Grand Naniloa Hotel Hilo - a DoubleTree by Hilton

    (495 reviews)

    $$

    I forget the managers name but it was a young man who was more than amazing. Our reservation was…read moregiven to someone else with the same last name I think. They ended up refunding us completely and giving us a free stay and we got $100 credit on our capital 1 card that we booked with. Restaurant was delicious. We were taken care of. Thanks for the stay can't wait to go back

    Let's give this place a much needed reality check compared to some of the looney-contextually…read moredeficient reviews on this listing. Doubletree in North America is what I call Hilton's second hand store brand. Basically, none are new and all are 20-40 plus year old buildings that started off their life as something else and eventually were brought under the DT umbrella. If you're expecting something else, you either don't travel much or you don't do your homework before making a reservation. With that said, is this building old? You bet. Is it bad? No. Quirky? Yep. Is it a true resort in the cookie cutter Hawaiian context that TV or social media portrays? No, but again, if you expected that, you didn't do your homework on this place. Let's cover a few good & bad things here. The staff here are fantastic. Every single one we encountered was personable and willing to do whatever to make the situation great. The elevator situation. Yeah, it's bad. The issue like at a lot of hotels is made worse by the staff needing to use guest elevators during the day but even without that, I gave up waiting one night after the bar closed at 11pm with no one else in the lobby while all three elevators just sat there non-responsive to the call button on the first floor and then for science, I walked up to the second floor with nothing there either. The lobby bar and the restaurant are actually very, very good. Sure, sure, the prices are hotel/Island high but nothing we ordered was bad. Pizza, seafood, drinks, happy hour apps were all as advertised. I don't believe in valet parking or paying for parking in general. While they reference a self parking charge on their website, I was never asked about a car at check in and I parked across the street in the golf course lot, along with many others, for free. Also, unlike another Yelper referenced, parking is very much not mandatory valet only. Speaking of that lot....it's in bad shape. You practically need 4X4 just to enter/exit the lot. Massive potholes everywhere. I think a lot of people would go nuts paying to park in conditions like that. While the Big Island, at least to me, is very car centric as everything is spread out, there are places you can within reason walk to from the hotel. Restaurants like Hilo Bay Cafe and Ken's House of Pancakes are close and the little bodega of the Banyan Mini Mart is invaluable as the hotel does not currently have a shop that sells things on site. While I would have liked to have tried the golf course, being free and all, in some form or other, it rained or drizzled nearly everyday and I never saw anyone out there aside from the little driving range. If you're looking for sandy beaches, they don't exist at the hotel or on this side of the island. That shouldn't be a shock. It's been that way since the beginning of time. You can get in the water here or a short drive away is Carlsmith Beach Park which offers excellent swimming/snorkeling opportunities but yes everything is some type of rocky. If you come, understand this. Hilo is not Kona. The two sides of the island are very, very different in what they look like and what they offer. All things considered, the Hilo DT is a very good property. Excellent views and excellent staff. Are there some quirks and oddities? Of course there are but nothing is that bad or odd. No problem coming back here again.

    Hilo Hawaiian Hotel - Hotel lobby area.....

    Hilo Hawaiian Hotel

    (380 reviews)

    $$

    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.

    Island Paradise Inn - bedroom 2

    Island Paradise Inn

    (5 reviews)

    $

    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.

    SCP Hilo Hotel - Lobby to koi pond

    SCP Hilo Hotel

    (244 reviews)

    $$

    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

    I love this place. It reminds me of old school Hawaii. The rooms were big enough for two. We slept…read morewith the sliding doors open(screens shut) and just a ceiling fan on. We had a balcony which was nice, it over looked the Hotel lagoon and the park. Couldn't see the ocean but we know it wasn't far from there. The pool area is great to kick it after a day of sight seeing. Also not to far from restaurants.

    Dolphin Bay Hotel - Bathroom is clean. Hairdryer is underneath the sink. Comes with free soap and earplugs.

    Dolphin Bay Hotel

    (105 reviews)

    $$

    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!

    Lava Tree Tropic Inn - hotels - Updated August 2026

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