Hilo Reeds Bay Hotel — Hotel in Hawaii

We had a wonderful stay at Reeds Bay Hotel - please consider my review as I address the good and the "room for improvement".

The family that runs this hotel were extremely hospitable and friendly. They said hello to us every day. The cleaning service comes through every day and they are very friendly as well. They are generous with clean linens and towels. The security guards that oversee the parking lot always made sure we had a spot for our large Suburban and always had smiles on their faces. Everyone was always very happy to answer my questions and make my family feel taken care of. I saw familiar faces every day.

The location was very central and a short walk to many fun places like the bay itself, Coconut Island, an Ice Cream Parlour, Ken's Pancake House, and Suisan Poke. Many colorful birds, cats, chickens, and lizards greeted us on our daily walks. The sounds of frogs are soothing at night (you might think they are birds at first, but it is an invasive species of frog that found their way to the island). Local families hang out in the surrounding areas giving it a very authentic vibe and not so touristy. It's easy to make friends. Someone offered us their boat to use! There also seems to be a lot of vagrants in the area, and some questionable characters hang out (outside the premises) as well. We were never bothered by anyone and did not experience any problems or confrontations, but it's something to note. It is a short drive to beautiful Rainbow Falls and Akaka Falls. There's a Zoo and a wonderful Farmer's Market. Don't miss out on the fresh island fruit!

I'd like to address a couple of things that I saw in other reviews: The pool had a "closed" sign on it, but it was open (all we did was ask the staff). We played in it all week. Yes - there is no a/c! It says it plain and clear on their website. Our room was equipped with a ceiling fan and 3 oscillating fans and we were quite comfortable. As for the wifi, unfortunately we could not get any devices to connect to it for our entire stay. We also did not have a deadbolt for our door, and the chain inside was broken. This wasn't great, but I felt safe and secure with the constant activity of the staff and parking lot security on the premises.

The building is outdated and sea-weathered (as are most things in town), but the rooms are clean and the beds are very comfy. You can't hear a darn thing through the walls! Our whole family was comfortable.

We will be happy to stay here again in the future. We felt truly welcome and valued. I recommend Reeds Bay Hotel if you enjoy authenticity, hospitality, and a chill vibe over luxury things like a/c, hot tub,...

We were not happy with our stay here, so much so that after our first night we seriously considered eating the cost and getting a different place for the other night.

Admittedly, we did book this place as a cheap option in a good central location, and we DID get those two things, but sadly little else. I wish we had payed a bit more and stayed somewhere nicer.

The hotel feels like it is in serious need of a remodel and appears to not have been maintained well. The floors in our room felt dirty and a little sticky (including the carpet). The room had a lot of furnishings in it but felt cramped. A standing fan instead of AC unit. No wifi. Ice machine was broken so they gave out bags of ice.

If you look at two of the pictures I added you'll get a feel for what I mean when I say this hotel has not been maintained. The exterior looks old and dirty. They did something monstrous with our room's bathroom door. It looks like someone punched a hole through the door and they filled it with foam only to realize it was really ugly. So they covered it with seashells. PLEASE JUST REPLACE THE DOOR.

Interactions with staff were generally awkward both for me and my wife on several different occasions.

I will say they got a few things right like the fridge and kitchen in the room, good clean beds and towels, and a couple different pillow choices. But that's really about it.

In summary, if you REALLY only care about a cheap place to crash with a good location this will do, but expect really low quality. If you can pay a little more to go somewhere else I'd...

My wife and I spent a pleasant 12 nights here exploring the Big Island. Our bay view room with king bed was spotlessly clean and quiet. Beautiful view of the harbor, nice balcony with sliding doors, sliding full length windows on the other side. Bed was huge and comfortable. Kitchenette had refrigerator, microwave, and all utensils, but no stove. Kitchen sink doubled as bathroom sink. The lack of air conditioning was not a problem for us since the temperature naturally drops into the comfortable range at night; during the day there was usually a cool sea breeze, otherwise a ceiling fan and powerful floor fan supplied acceptable ventilation. We lucked out with a first floor room, since hauling luggage up flights of stairs could be challenging with no elevator in a 3 storey building; even for first floor rooms there are two short flights of stairs from the parking lot. All staff were friendly and helpful; rooms were made up promptly with change of sheets and towels whenever we asked. The immediate neighborhood is walkable and has pretty shorefront parks, a tiny "beach" (people swam there, not sure this is legal), a convenience store, and a restaurant or two (like Ken's Pancakes, a pretty good diner). To get to downtown Hilo, though, you would probably want to drive (as we did) since it's a 5 minute drive, but maybe a...