Hale Maluhia Country Inn (House of Peace) — Hotel in Hawaii

We rented a car at the airport and was able to locate the Inn in the Dark with the help of Siri, but initially were shocked that our room was up a flight of outside stairs. We are all seniors. My husband was able to carry 3 sets of luggage up. Turns out since there were 3 of us sharing a room, this is what was available. The owners are just lovely, Miriam and David. They have 7 children -- 3 now living in Texas. We were greeted by Miriam, and she showed us the shared kitchen, living room and outside Lanai, all spacious areas. Since we had just finished a cruise, 4 days in Waikiki, and 4 days in Maui, this was to be our 4 days to wind down on the big island and return to reality, cold Pennsylvania. We had forgotten it was still winter here since our weather during this trip was absolutely gorgeous. This Inn is right off the Queen's highway... one left turn up the hill, then one right turn at the stop sign to our road. Entrance is at a sharp turn that continues up the hill. You do need a car, but parking here is not an issue. The driveway is a little sloped, so pull all the way up to unload luggage, then park back down the driveway. Because of the slight elevation, it is cooler than at the ocean (less than 2 miles away), amazing. Day one we drove the north route around the Island to Hilo, stopping several times for sightseeing (Akaka Falls was my favorite - $5.00 per person). Even stopped at a local Flea/Farmers Market and had breakfast and conversation with locals. They started this co-op market on Sundays to get locals out socializing with each other during covid. Such nice, organic people, distancing in the outdoors. We stopped at Safeway Foods (Queens Highway and Henry Ave) for dinner (from their prepared foods area of store) and returned to the Lanai to enjoy our food and adult beverages. Day 2 we did the southern route to the Volcano National Park, normally $30 a car, but we have a senior pass to National Parks, therefore cost us nothing. Drove the Crater Drive, saw the live lava area, lava tubes, etc., and did not comprehend until I saw this just how big this park is. Wow; massive, craters from different eruptions for a 20-mile stretch. Both days we drove all day, stopping along the way. Again, stopped at Safeway for dinner things and enjoyed our evening out on the Lanai. David, landlord, gave us directions for the 3rd days visit to a beach about 25 miles away. Just perfect. Sun and shade (provided by the trees). David and Miriam lent us two beach chairs. Saw the famous green turtles on the beach that day. Near Lava Lava Beach club. Before leaving for the beach, made reservations for dinner at the Fish Hoppers Restaurant for 6 PM. Uber took us since we were planning some adult beverages with dinner. Went early and browsed the shopping area, and pier. Waves were coming up over the wall, splashing pedestrians unexpectedly. Wonderful sunset there during dinner. Dinner and shopping were great and Ubered home to hang out on the Lanai again. Each morning we were on the Lanai for coffee and breakfast items we had bought from Safeway, storing milk in the community kitchen's refrigerator, and cereal on the counter, along with paper throw away bowls. The only time we saw other guests was at breakfast. No one was out at night except us. No one ever used the community living room, though it was beautiful. We actually grew to love this place away from the hustle and bustle of the large hotel chains. We reflect on whether we were disturbing anyone while we sat on the Lanai each night, chatting away and planning our next day, reviewing the day that had passed. Miriam said she was so happy that someone was enjoying this space. It was big and beautiful. Why others stayed closed up in their rooms is beyond me. They have many board games and puzzles to use, as well as reference books on the island there for all to use. It was such a peaceful place, and, in the end, we were not disappointed we booked here and would stay again. Great location, off the beaten path, close to the highway. We did almost the entire perimeter of the island, except 28 miles, from this location and saw the islands western, dry, black lava fields, which was a little disturbing signaling death and destruction from the volcanic activity of the past, as well as rebirth as things are growing again in some of this area, to the lush, tropical side of the eastern part of the island, with waterfalls, and fog and misty rain, as well as shopping and a new Hawaiian dress for me from Hilo... just beautiful. Miriam, David and her family are faithful people, spreading uplifting Biblical passages throughout their community areas, and were so happy to be living in their oasis and sharing it with everyone. They purchased this property 4 years ago, leaving the Northern California area behind, with no regrets. David shared that the hardest day of his life was obtaining one-way tickets for his family to embark on this purchase. Again, they have no regrets and love the island. You are free to use anything in the kitchen, as long as you clean up after yourself., including the stove, microwave, plates, utensils, glasses, etc. A very inexpensive (considering the alternatives), quiet, peaceful retreat, with lovely hosts. BTW, there is a hot tub there for you use as well, though we did not use this. Giving this a 4 star only because of the shock on day 1 regarding the stairs with luggage... thank God my husband still lives... lol. ...

My family vacation started off pretty rocky in Hawaii. The first three days we struggled to find a place to stay because the resort we had booked ended up having bed bugs when we got there. So each day we were searching for a place to rest our heads. On the 3rd day we were blessed to find Dave and Miriam’s “House of Peace” and it was just the peace that we needed to truly start enjoying our family trip. We arrived for check in and the hosts were so kind and informative. They walked us around the property to point out different amenities that are available such as the hot tub, guest kitchen, the laundry area and the lanai which is the perfect place to enjoy a cup of coffee, get some reading in, or you can just watch the many kinds of birds that visit right in the yard! We went up to the Banyan House which had a small kitchenette in it, full bathroom with a huge tub, a king bed and a queen sized futon. It was PERFECT for our family of three, but you could easily sleep 5-6 comfortably. The noise of the frogs was something I had never heard before, and I loved every second of it. We don’t get sounds like that in Alaska so we soaked up every bit of Hawaii that we could. To be in such a lush area with fruit trees on every part of the property was incredible. Our second day there we realized the tv wasn’t working so we let Dave know just so that he was aware for future guest. I told him “don’t worry about it right now because we’re on vacation and shouldn’t be watching tv anyways”. That evening Dave and his son brought up a brand new tv and got it all set up for us-which was truly a lifesaving moment because my kiddo falls asleep with the tv on. We would have made do without, but the hosts were so attentive and wanted us to be as comfortable, if not more, than we were at home. We stayed for a total of 6 nights, 7 days and each day we woke up feeling blessed to be where we were. with the location of the property we were only about 10 minutes away from the fruit market, Walmart, Ross, etc. we had everything we needed within a short distance. We had plenty of space to park our rental car which was awesome! On one of our last nights there my kiddo ended up taking a fall in the tub and cracked one of the tiles around the tub. We let Dave and Miriam know the next day and they were so sweet about the whole situation. First thing they did was ask how our daughter was, which meant so much to her. Our final day at Hale Maluhia Country Inn was amazing. My daughter woke up and wanted to spend time with Miriam before we went back to Alaska. (It worked out perfectly because my partner and I were able to pack our suitcases and prepare for the flight out). They picked macadamia nuts from the trees on the property and also hibiscus flowers and leaves to make a homemade “pretty pink princess tea”. Miriam let Rory pick out the teapot, cups, and plates to use for their tea party. She took the time to really teach my daughter about place settings at the table, how to prepare something to nourish the soul, and how to have a proper tea party. I know that this is a core memory that she will always have now and am so grateful for the love that was present during our time there. Throughout the stay Rory and Miriam would exchange gifts. On our last day Miriam gifted a beautiful pearl bracelet to Rory with a wonderful little note in a gift bag. I know that both Rory and Miriam will treasure their presents from eachother for a lifetime. Our family went to adventure for a few hours and then went back to the house of peace to load up our luggage and head to the airport. We said our goodbyes and were on our way. We reached the airport and realized that we had forgotten one of our duffel bags outside by the porch so we reached out to Miriam to see what we could do about it. She contacted her husband who was already on his was to pick their kiddo up from church and he turned around to grab our bag and brought it to us at the airport. Dave and Miriam are truly stand up people with a property that you will will always want...

My wife and I spent seven nights at the Hale Maluhia County Inn recently. I t missed the mark in so many ways. When we booked the room six months ago, they were advertising themselves as a BNB. There were numerous pictures on the website showing wonderful breakfast foods. I was looking forward to our stay there, getting up in the morning, having a sumptuous breakfast, leisurely hanging out in the morning reading, before going sightseeing in the afternoon. Upon our arrival we were informed that they weren’t doing breakfast anymore. (They took our money when we booked for a BNB experience, but made no offer of a partial refund since they were no longer providing something we had paid for). So instead, we had to go into town each day for breakfast. Maybe they should advertise as a BNBYOBreakfast.||They advertised that our room had a Cable TV. Since we were there the last week of the Olympics, we were looking forward to enjoying watching that in the evenings. Surprise, surprise; there were no network channels, movie channels, or sports channels; only what came free with Roku; this is not Cable TV. Another disappointment.||They also advertise a “Pleasant Guest Common Area”, which the family also seems to use; including an adult daughter having her afternoon nap on the sofa in the “Pleasant Guest Common Area” as well as a Bible study group one morning.||There were fees and threat of fees. After paying more that $300 a night, to be charged an additional $50 cleaning fee; I guess we should feel lucky that we didn’t have to clean the room ourselves as well as do laundry.||Guests had the use of a kitchen, which apparently the family also uses, because the refrigerator was mostly full with the family’s food||One afternoon as we were getting cleaned up and getting ready to go into town, the power went out. We were able to finish getting ready and when I left our room, I could not find a responsible person at the Inn. I finally called Dave, our host, to report that the power was out. He said yes, he had been informed that it was out and that it should be back on around 6:30pm. Don’t you think that it would have been nice to have let us know that without us having to track him down?||As other reviewers having mentioned it, there is plethora of Bibles, religious Christian books, verses on the walls, and offers to pray for you. Even as a Christian, I don’t need this. For others who are not Evangelical Christians, it is at best unwelcoming and offensive. So, if you are an Evangelical Christian with money to squander, this might be the place for you; for others, it may be some...