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Sam's Hideaway

4.7 (164 reviews)
InexpensiveDive Bars, Lounges
Closed • 12:00 pm - 2:00 am (Next day)

Sam's Hideaway Photos

Business Info

SAM'S HIDEAWAY ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Divey
Casual
Moderate noise
Karaoke

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Recommended Reviews - Sam's Hideaway

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Reviews With Photos

Karaoke after 8 pm......
Legoguy101 E.

Best way to catch a VIBE....... I looooooovvvvvvvveeeee it ova hurrrrrrrrr.... Good clean fun.

Bar
Mariana S.

So I was just in Kona for my solo Birthday Vacation and I definitely wanted to check out Sams. I heard it was a great dive bar and it was! A lot of local, karaoke was fun and I made friends easy. Getting a drink took a bit but it was busy in there. Very small but I would def go back anytime I go back to Hawaii!!

Cheap!
Paul C.

Badass little bar in the back of an outdoor mall in Kona. Great servers, cheapest drinks in the area, free parking a short walk away. We came here three times while in Hilo. I was drinking Mai Thais and mixed drinks, so I can't comment on their beers. The two servers we had were each great. It's a tiny bar with only one person on a shift. They kept our drinks full, were fun to talk to, and even served us popcorn without asking. The locals love this place. Retired boaters, motorcycle clubs, local blue collar workers. Fun stories. Apparently the bar was featured in a Greatest Catch TV show - so look it up!

Mai tai
Tyra L.

Great spot for cheap drinks, karaoke, and to chat with some locals. The Mai Thai was for sure the cheapest and strongest I had while in Hawaii. We had a little trouble finding the place since it's down the center of a mall area, and it's pretty small. If you are coming from the main road Sam's will be in about a block and on the left across from a little sheltered smoking area that also has a Sam's sign.

Joyce P.

Their sign "All Roads Lead To Sam's" perfectly describes my experience with them. Because of them, my 2 week vacation on Big Island went from great, to awful, to fantastic. A lovely Lyft driver recommended Sam's to me and my group of friends so we decided to visit on our last night in Kona. We had an amazing time with the help of bartender Derek, and security guard Josh. The drinks were cheap and amazing. The karaoke vibe was so fun and entertaining that we decided to join. It is definitely a place I would 100% recommend for any visitors in the area. Unfortunately, the next day I lost my wallet. We went on a hike at Pololu Valley and that was where I thought I lost it. Luckily I still had my phone and passport and the items inside my wallet were replaceable, but it was still upsetting. We stayed near Hilo and Pahoa for the next 7 nights. On the last day, we had a late flight out of Kona so we drove back to the west side of the island. It was a last minute decision (literally 1 hour before our airport check-in) but we decided to end our vacation with some goodbye shots at Sam's. I ended up sitting right infront of the sign. And my boyfriend happened to ask them if by any chance they found a green wallet there. And Derek, our same bartender, said he did! So he spent the next half hour contacting his boss and me still being in shock, I finally saw my green wallet in his hands... right infront of me... even after I've accepted it has been lost to the island a week ago. This was amazing! If it weren't for my friend suggesting shots last minute, and if it weren't for my other friend saying we could walk to Sam's, and if it weren't for my boyfriend asking Derek, and if it weren't for Derek and Sam's taking care of my lost wallet that had its own vacation in their safe for a week, I wouldn't have gone home with my wallet and everything in it. All our roads definitely lead to Sam's. Mahalo for an amazing experience!

A great visit!!!
Jeff D.

Great place for good drinks and friendly people. And if Chris is working behind the bar, don't say anything negative about Bo Jackson! If you want a truly laid back bar to go to without any fu fu bling and fakeness, then this is the place.

Mai tai for me!
Anna H.

We were on the lookout for cheap maitais and Sam's was the place! You really can't beat his $6.50 price in the area. It's divey, local, and loud. It's indoors, has bathrooms, and jukebox music. No food is available for purchase. Highly recommend this place for cheap drinks!

Kristen B.

I didn't eat when I went there. But the staff was so friendly. We sang karaoke and had a few drinks. Visiting from the mainland and it was a great experience.

Amber the bartender

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2 months ago

Great local bar with great bartenders. If you need a drink late at night, this is your place to stop.

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2 months ago

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7 months ago

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4 months ago

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

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4 months ago

Best bar in Kona! Bartenders Sam and Michael are so friendly and fun. Will definitely be back!

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9 months ago

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5 months ago

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7 months ago

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7 months ago

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1 year ago

Love this place, had my 82 birthday here and they have some of the best bartenders in Kailua.

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3 years ago

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2 years ago

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5 years ago

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3 years ago

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5 years ago

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3 years ago

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

Super fun local bar, right in the heart of Kona. Great vibes and a perfect place to karaoke!

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2 years ago

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4 years ago

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3 years ago

Service is great. Whenever I'm in Kona this is my go to spot. This is a comfortable local bar. Karaoke starts at 8

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4 years ago

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3 years ago

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2 years ago

Had a great experience at Sam's..daytime was the best because of Celeste.. she was so sweet and accommodating! Will be back.

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2 years ago

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3 years ago

This place is a divey vibe for sure. It's fun, and friendly. It's loud, a definite local crowd. It's a cute little place.

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Page 1 of 5

Ask the Community - Sam's Hideaway

Review Highlights - Sam's Hideaway

“(Regulars at the bar also were chatty and helpful!) When we went back later, Baili recognized us right away.”

Mentioned in 7 reviews

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Dolphin Spit Saloon

Dolphin Spit Saloon

4.2(93 reviews)
0.4 mi
•$

A Great Little Neighborhood Dive Bar!…read more We love finding a good dive bar when we travel, and Dolphin Spit Saloon was exactly our kind of place! This is such a fun, lively neighborhood bar with a really welcoming atmosphere. The bartender was a genuinely nice guy and even gave us a recommendation for food we could order nearby and bring back to eat at the bar. We took his advice and ordered Thai food from right next door--and it was AMAZING! What we loved most was how friendly everyone was. People at the bar actually talked to us, which made it feel less like a tourist stop and more like a true local hangout. We even met the cutest little pup who was 18 years old! His owner was just as friendly, and moments like that are exactly why we enjoy places like this. The artwork throughout the bar is so much fun, and there is so much to look at and read. Even the bathrooms were clean and had entertaining artwork! If you are looking for a polished resort bar, this probably isn't your spot. But if you want a fun, friendly neighborhood dive where you can connect with people, have a drink, laugh a little, and feel like a local for a while, Dolphin Spit Saloon is absolutely worth a stop. If you're looking to connect and quench your thirst, this is the place!

Always our first stop after landing before heading to the condo. Drinks are great. People are…read moreawesome. Their shirts and stickers are pretty sick too

Photos
Dolphin Spit Saloon
Dolphin Spit Saloon
Dolphin Spit Saloon

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On The Rocks - Mud pie with coffee ice cream

On The Rocks

3.8(2k reviews)
0.4 mi
•$$

We decided to catch a happy hour for one of our dinners in Kailua-Kona, and On The Rocks ended up…read morebeing our choice. It's a great location, right on the rocks, with great water views. We initially were seated at a table right on the rocks, but the sun is still pretty brutal around 4:30, when we visited. So we opted to change course and sit at the bar, in the shade. You're not going to get the best food service at the bar, because let's be honest...the bartender's job is making drinks. And our bartender/server never stopped. He took our order, and got our food & drinks. But never stopped moving the entire time we were there. Tombo was the fresh catch that day, so my wife went with the grilled furikake crusted fresh catch grilled sandwich. I went with the Manini sliders, and we both had coconut coleslaw. The coleslaw was nothing special, but the sliders were very good. And my wife swore her fresh catch fish sandwich was the best that she had on the Big Island. And to top it off, we split a piece of Manua Kea ice cream pie....which is huge! And very, very good. We enjoyed the food and the atmosphere so much, that for our last dinner before heading to the airport to fly back home, we went back to On The Rocks and had dinner a second time. Tombo was still the fresh catch, so my wife ordered the fresh catch fish sandwich again, and so did I. And she was right, it was the best. Over the 17 days we were on the island, I had a LOT of fish sandwiches at different restaurants. And this is the best one.

the food was delicious. i got the pork sandwich (ate it before i remembered to take a picture) and…read moreit was delicious. my lava flow and my aunts pina colada were both great. the ambiance is fabulous with live music every night and you are right up on the sand watching the sunset and the waves. the only disappointment for me was our server. the service was INCREDIBLY slow and when we asked her to take a couple cups out of the way because we were running out of space on the table she rolled her eyes at us. she also didn't come back to check on us between the time we got our drinks and halfway through our meal which was unfortunate because we probably would've ordered a couple more rounds of drinks had she been back. * edit : servers name is amani. she disappeared every time we needed her all night. she dropped our checks and didn't come back for like 20 mins even though we immediately put our cards down. she wasn't friendly and she also didn't let us know it would be an up charge to sub fries for salad. she was rude and absent most the night and definitely put a damper on the experience.

Photos
On The Rocks
On The Rocks - First Kona Fish Tacos

First Kona Fish Tacos

On The Rocks - Ka'lua (Baked) Pork Nachos

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Ka'lua (Baked) Pork Nachos

The HI Dive Bar - Chocolate coffee macadamia nut mud pie with a chocolate ganache.

The HI Dive Bar

4.2(20 reviews)
8.8 mi

After spending most of our time in the touristy area, we decided that all we really want was just a…read moregood dive bar. As I was trying to find a place, I came across the HI dive bar. After checking out their photos and their reviews online, we had our way down to the bar. There's nothing fancy about this bar so if you're just coming here for a cocktail, that's all you're here for the bartender was super sweet and nice and really was helpful when deciding what I wanted to drink , I ordered their special lemonade like a dirty Arnold Palmer. When I drink my sweet tea, I like it like a southern sweet tea where it's extremely sweet. This cocktail was not sweet and they use a brown sugar as their sweetener. The drink itself was very fresh tasting and the only thing they do here that I wasn't happy about is they use a trigger to measure out how much alcohol is in your drink. This was the first location that I saw in Hawaii really doing this. Every where else we visited had a nice and strong pour. We didn't order any food here, pleasing from the photos and just didn't want any bar food. This is really a dive bar and the ambiance is your regular old place. They did have a few games that you could play having a cocktail. There is a patio outside that is screened so that helps with the bugs but it's nothing fancy. It literally looks over an apartment complex.

Stopped in just to check this place out and was very pleasantly surprised! Friendly place and…read moreexcellent drinks!! We sat on the lanai and it was perfect. Great place to pop in at and chill for a bit!

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The HI Dive Bar - Covered patio

Covered patio

The HI Dive Bar - Peach cheesecake for dessert this afternoon. You gotta get here.

Peach cheesecake for dessert this afternoon. You gotta get here.

The HI Dive Bar

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Lava Lava Beach Club - Macadamia crusted fish

Lava Lava Beach Club

3.8(4.1k reviews)
20.2 mi
•$$$
Outdoor seating
Sports on TV

A co-worker highly recommended Lava Lava to us, and we are really happy we decided to go. They only…read morehad 4pm reservations, but we got there at that time and slow played our dinner to ensure we were there for the sunset and live music. We had a prime table right on the end of the sand. It had an amazing view, and the sunset is fantastic here. You will see a bunch of people taking photos. The live music was a great touch, though you won't be able to hear it if you are seated on the other side. In terms of food, we were generally happy. The kids enjoyed the parmesan garlic bread and edamame. My favorite dish was actually a salad called Spinugula. It was huge, and a great mix of arugula, spinach, gorgonzola cheese, strawberries, and candied macadamia nuts. My wife had the coconut crusted tofu, and said it was solid. I had the ahi poke nachos, and they were disappointing. They just didn't wow me like I thought they would. Dessert was good- we had the Kona coffee cheesecake. The beer menu is also impressive with a ton of local draft options. They also have TVs at the bar, so this would be a good place to catch a game. And the waiting grass area out front has a ton of fun games for kids.

I don't understand why LLBC doesn't have a higher overall rating! It almost kept us away but I'm so…read moreglad we checked it out on recommendation of friends. We were seated promptly upon arrival at our reservation time. The hostess was super friendly and chatty. Our server was not one of those big personality type of servers, but she was friendly, polite, helpful, and very attentive. She was exactly who we needed at the end of a long week. The food was so wonderful. There were 5 different entrees among the 6 of us and no one had a single complaint. The seating on the beach and the spectacular sunset view is unmatched. There is nothing like seeing sea turtles on the water from your table. Everyone was casually leaving their seats to go next to the water, taking photos, enjoying the scenery. It was a really cool vibe. When the sun peeked through the clouds at sunset almost everyone got up from their seats to take photos and enjoy the moment. It was beautiful and peaceful. The live music with a dancer topped the ambiance off in a way that I find difficult to describe. I'd like me you read the negative reviews and wonder if you should check it out please do yourself a favor and GO! The food, service, and views are hands down the best we've had after 8 days in Hawaii.

Photos
Lava Lava Beach Club - Main floor

Main floor

Lava Lava Beach Club - Tipsy Tots with teriyaki steak

Tipsy Tots with teriyaki steak

Lava Lava Beach Club - Pina Colada

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Pina Colada

Sam's Hideaway - divebars - Updated October 2026

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