I came here as a volunteer in March of 2012 knowing nothing about Hawaii or the Big Island. I…read moreintended to stay for only 2 weeks, but ended up living here for about 6 months. This place was the most amazing experience of my life. This is where I met lifelong friends, travelers and business contacts. Hedonisia attracts eccentric, interesting, talented hippie types and the like who all have something to contribute to the "community of individuals" that comprises Hedonisia. At Hedo, I learned how to do yoga, cook curry, tend tropical gardens, build structure from re-used and re-purposed materials, build trails, hula hoop, among many other fascinating hobbies that I would have ordinarily never have tried, all in one place, none the less! The most amazing aspect of this place is the people. Without them, Hedonisia would not be as enriching of an experience. Hedonisia is on roughly 4 acres of tropical rainforest and it's built in a whimsical play land sort of way. There are fun funky nooks and crannies to explore, lots of colorful art, cooky but functional structures, a converted hippie school bus, the works. One of my friends I met here described it perfectly once: This place feels like adult hippie summer camp. You work hard, you make friends, and most of all you have so much fun! In addition to all the property has to offer including fresh fruit, beautiful flowers, vegetables, it is located in an amazing spot in Lower Puna which is rich with folklore and culture, as it is in the wake of Kilauea (active volcano's) path. There are geothermal warm ponds just up the street, black sand beaches, amazing camping, cool farmer's markets and night markets and overall the most interesting mix of people you'd ever hope to meet. This place is somewhere to go if you have an open mind and an open heart, if you are eager and hungry to learn, explore, adventure and have fun. The owners are open, honest, fun, youthful and amazing people who I have become lifelong friends and business contacts with. They have an open door policy and often get their hands dirty themselves doing work, weeding around the property, getting to know all their volunteers, all their guests, and generally opening their little slice of paradise up for everyone to share and enjoy. Do yourself a favor and volunteer here. Now.

From the first moment I got to Hedonisia I felt at home. I came as a volunteer with no return date…read morein mind so far from home I was so glad to feel comfortable as soon as I arrived. Everything is rainbow colored and mostly open air, even the kitchen which was one of my favorite parts! The property has multiple levels and its own volcanic crater! I stayed in the Avocado Tent which to my surprise was a large tent with carpeting and a real bed inside! Over my time as a volunteer I got to meet lots of really great and interesting people. This is a great place to spend some time at getting to know people. You wouldn't really get a chance to appreciate this place if you only stay for a couple of nights. If you are looking for something truly unique I would highly recommend checking this place out!

I spent a week at Gay Hawaii B&B during Xmas holidays 2018. What a fantastic and wonderful…read moreexperience! The host is perfection, he is so knowledgeable about the island and the local sights and so helpful, sweet, friendly, and fun. The house is comfortable, clean, calm, and I met some other guests that have become forever friends. The area is amazing with the ocean so close you can walk and a black sand clothing optional beach a short drive away. Uncle Awa's bar is very close, also a little market there, and don't miss the Wed. nite food and arts festival. Also a short drive to Pahoa, a quaint sleepy town with wonderful hippie shops and great Thai food! Also a not too far ride to Volcano National Park, and also several waterfalls- very cool! We picked fresh passion-fruit and lemons in the tropical garden and made passion-fruit lemonade. The kitchen is fully stocked and we made fabulous meals. All in all it was the perfect vacation. I will definitely be returning and can not recommend Gay Hawaii B&B highly enough!!

This is my worst experience ever staying at a B&B. I've…read moretraveled all around the world. What was supposed to be a lovely getaway for a personal holiday, it was basically a nightmare. The owner over booked & offered a BALI HUT which is The NIGHTMARE. Rainstorm downpour 5 days. Dripping roof from rain, screens not secured & 2 inch opening under entry door for easy access from jungle critters. The door doesn't lock. If you're looking for numerous mosquito bites, critters & way too many ghekos trying to get out of rain. They live between the rafters. I tried to move back & reclaim my room main home. No one replied, owner got angry & accused me of coming all the way there & making this up not to pay. I also was accused of stalking because of trying to get moved or something? This is NONSENSE. I had to check out after 2 days with no sleep. Because of a holiday wee I paid triple the cost at a last minute hotel back in Hilo I've had nothing but contention & threats trying to be compensated for overbooking & my experience in Bali Hut. I have no reason to lie or make this up. Please Beware

We stayed here for 7 days, and even though the full bathroom is a shared bathroom, there is a half…read morebath located outside the main home. Access to the indoor bathroom is always available 24/7! The outside half bath is sans showering capabilities, BUT there is an outdoor shower if one wishes to partake of that! Hot water is plentiful and the indoor bathroom is clean! The full kitchen is shared and using the fridge is fine too, if you have perishables! The kitchen has everything your own kitchen would have, and you are free to use those facilities, too, if you are inclined to cook! Drinking water was provided by a big jug in the main kitchen, but we opted to buy gallon jugs of Distilled Water as we drink a lot of water!! (a gallon/day!) There is also access to a semi-kitchen (just lacking a hot plate and/or a stove, no big deal as were on vacation and NOT cooking-LOL) BUT there is a microwave available to the 3 different rooms we were shown! Access to the smaller kitchen was by way of another door in the room and was very convenient! The largest rentable room is inside the home and is opposite the hallway from the full bathroom, for good convenience' sake! The bedrooms are all about 10' x 12' and plenty spacious for the wife and I! Beds are okay, but could use one of those toppers for the single-size mattress due to the bed springs being felt so easily! yikes! The double or the queen bed rooms were just fine, though! These two rooms had entrances from outside, close to where you'd park your rental car! Nice!! These accommodations fit our mode of vacationing, as we didn't come to Big Island, Hawaii to stay in ANY hotel or hostel room!! We were out on the road by 7am and sometimes came back around 9 or 10 pm!! And we were always able to access the full bath, get cleaned up for bed, and refresh in the morning without any hiccups! or delays! This is a very safe place to rest up for the night and head on out to partake of the Hawaiian adventures which are so plentiful that we ran out of time to do everything we wanted to do!! Security cameras are monitoring everyone coming or going but were not intrusive at all! It felt good knowing we could leave our big luggage and smaller luggage in our unlocked room, knowing if there were to be an issue, Mike or Ethan could check the monitors and find out what went awry! Fortunately, no issues happened, no worries either, and we all got along great! If you need anything, the hosts will gladly take care of your needs or wants, I surmised rather quickly when they let us check in way later than 9pm, as our plane's landing got pushed back about 4 hrs! Praise these guys for understanding and even allowing us to pick whichever room we wanted and even upgrade if we so chose to, so late into the evening (almost midnight)! Pahoa is about 2 hours from Kona Airport, so plan accordingly!! Hilo is only about 20-25 mins away and is a great place to go exploring....so much to do there and to see! We will be staying here again, next time we visit Big Island! Thanks Hale Hale Hostel for great accommodations and wonderful hospitality! One of the host's daughter graduated Hilo U and he invited us to eat great food and mingle in with the festivities, but my wife and I were just too exhausted from our adventurous excursions to imbibe! But kudos, brother, for the invite! It's the thought that counts, and you made our stay very memorable in a great way!! And we saved a ton of money from what the popular hotels of Kona want to straddle you with!! ugh!! No thanks! Hometown hospitality at a very reasonable price beats that by a long shot, IMHO! Mahalo nui loa!!

Cute quaint space. They just finishing renovating when I stayed in Feb, so it wasn't fully booked…read more It's located pretty centrally, so it was easy for me to walk to a few places. Staff was so friendly, gave recommendations and even had a white board with local events happening some nights. The lotus (female) dorm doesn't not have outlets near all the beds. It wasn't a huge deal for me, but something to be aware of. Everything else was great, and so clean!

This Hostel is pretty cool, about the best choice when staying in the area. Is super clean, fully…read moresecured, has small parking space for the rental but also is close to many places we could walk to. We were able to use their lockers to store our stuff while we were out and about. They have your typical amenities like kitchenette, fridge, free coffee and tea and whatever one may need to prep a small meal. Showers have shampoo and conditioner available. The hostel did provided us with a towel each. The restrooms were very clean actually and you are able to lock the showers so that its at least private while you shower. Our room in the back had its own bathroom and shower, which was neat. The guests were super nice and it was a nice mix of guys and girls. I love hostels and I have actually stayed here before and made a few friends I stay in touch with. Overall I recommend this place, the employees will totally help out with whatever you could need while you stay.

Nothing good to say about this place…read more We couldn't stay because it was bad from the moment we got there. Hot water would take 15-20 minutes to get to the shower. No ice machine, no internet, no TV, no place to set your luggage except the floor. The pictures must be old because when we got there it was more rundown. Stairs were sketchy and the place really needs some work all around. Unsure why anyone would give this place a 5 star review when I am giving it one star because you have to give something. Do not make a reservation unless you want to give your money away because they have it posted that if you have a complaint about this place built in 1911, it will not suffice to get a refund of your first day if you don't cancel 24 hours prior. I highly recommend asking to see your room and tour the property before choosing to stay there so you know what you are getting yourself in to.

if I could give it minus stars I would. I urge you not to stay here. Everything is rundown what…read morethey call a superior room is a dump. They will tell you your room will have a king bed, but they give you a queen there are no phones, TV or alarm clock in the room & the toilet wobbles. There are holes everywhere. Someone tried to enter my room, and suddenly the manager claims it was a room check. I don't understand it and she didn't seem to care about my safety or the fact that I got an anxiety and had to sleep with when I open I didn't even feel safe to leave the room with my belongings to go into town to get something to eat. It was a nightmare. I didn't trust to leave my belongings for fear that someone would enter my room to steal them by the way, the manager says her family sleeps at the hotel. It's more like a motel dump.

This is a great location and a cool old building. What kills it for me is the giant TV that is the…read morefocal point of the common area. Nobody talks to each other because the giant TV sucks everyone in. And you hear it everywhere. Oh, and cigarette smoke is constantly coming in because they have a smoking patio right outside. Ugh I come to Hilo often but will not want to come back to this place, sadly.

First off there is a massive rat and roach problem. I can hear the rats running along the wall but…read morethat does not phase me. What upset me is Linda's treatment of an African American patron. She was verbally abusive, accusatory and then kicked him out without cause. My phone was dead otherwise I would have included a recording. Why 2 stars, when I read reviews I tend to avoid the 1 stars and 5 star rating.

What an awesome place! We spent two days in the volcano park and this was an amazing daily…read morelaunching point for our stay. Satoshi and My Huong Yabuki are fantastic and kind hosts! The initial drive-up might make you wonder what's going on w/ this place given that the garage is full of appliances and wires, but don't be fooled. The hostel rooms are great! Very clean rooms, comfy beds, clean bathrooms with good towels and hot showers. There's a large communal kitchen and sitting area w/ a TV. Their home/hostel is off the main drag and peaceful and quiet. One room--the one we had--had a private bathroom. I believe the rest of the rooms have shared baths, but not sure. Satoshi and My Huong Yabuki also have two lovely kids ours really enjoyed playing with both throughout the house and the large property. It was a great stay for all of us and we'd definitely go back!

Great place. Nice room. Comfortable bed. Very very clean. Other guests were very interesting and…read morefriendly. Great communal kitchen. Large TV room. Satoshi was very nice. Highly recommend.

This is a late review when I stayed here with my friend as we were traveling through. We opted for…read morethe bedroom with shared common bathroom. My blankets did not smell clean and I noticed some dried blood on it. During the night we heard loud puking noises in the shared bathroom around 2-3am. It echoed and was super loud. I felt afraid to use the bathroom. In the morning my friend who is highly connected to spirits said that she had a dream about the mirror and dresser that was in our room. In her dream the woman who owned the old dresser and mirror told her about it and about herself. My friend said she was a friendly spirit and didn't feel scared. The hotel definitely feels haunted. If you like that vibe, totally go for it! It was quite the experience.

I had the pleasure of staying here for two weeks as I was looking for temporary housing as I was…read moreworking in Captain Cook for about six months and I had such a great time I stayed primarily in the owners room which a bit more but well worth it, I recall the floor floor mats all of the mirrors were covered, Most notable is a very short and length however extremely deep bathtub to it you could almost stand up in, And incredible views of the ocean from the balcony. The restaurant located within the hotel is extremely noteworthy and well-known across the whole island, many people simply come here just to have breakfast lunch and or dinner. The pork chops have been written about all over travel sites and I must say I can still remember how delicious they were. A yelp or just like the photo that I took from this hotel, and it reminded me that I never added my review. I will be back on the island in the new year and look forward to coming back. What I will say this is far removed from all of the fancier hotels like Lanikai etc. this place is more residential for people that are looking for longer-term stays, and it's to my knowing that a separate building within the property is for residence or long-term stays. I do understand that some people have an issue with the tenants that live here versus those staying here on vacation. I luckily had no issues whatsoever. Don't forget to tip your housekeeper or leave a nice tip on the dresser before you leave