Island Goode's — Hotel in Hawaii

We booked Island Goode's for our honeymoon based off of reviews and pictures we had seen online. What we got for our money was way more then we could have expected. Our flight into Hilo was an early one and we arrived at the property well before check in, we figured that if we couldn't check in early we could at least stay on the grounds until it was time. However, Laura and Garvin were more then accommodating, allowing us to check in early and enjoy our beautifully spacious room. We stayed in the Hilo Bay room and my goodness what a room it was! There are plenty of amenities available, a small television, air conditioning and several fans, bathroom complete with shower and a bath, coffee making facilities including an actual kettle!!! (A rare occurrence in the US.) and a fridge freezer. We also had a huge outdoor area to ourselves and this included cooking accessories so you can do some home cooking if you want to. ||||One thing that should be mentioned for couples travelling from outside of the United States is to hire a car to get around. Uber travels to the hotel and will pick you up from it, but if you travel further north without a vehicle you will not be able to get back. If you cannot drive, there is a Safeway that delivers groceries to the hotel should you need to get some groceries in. There are no safe facilities on the property but there are not needed, the hotel is in a nice secluded spot 15 minutes outside of Hilo. You could leave your room unlocked if you wanted to knowing full well that your possessions are safe. It also felt like we had the place to ourselves as well, Laura and Garvin were not overbearing but were polite and hospitable and when they were around we had some fantastic conversations about the island, the property, their animals and life in general. ||||The hotel also has its own stars in the form of Jake the dog, Prudy and Jasper the donkeys and Agnes the (illusive) cat. All animals are friendly and deserve your pets as they are all good boys and girls, if you ask Laura she may also allow you to feed some carrots to the donkeys! Other animal life is in abundance too with wild geckos plentiful throughout the day and at night-time you get amazing views of Hilo bay and the stars all to the chorus of the coqui frogs, make sure you have insect repellent at hand as well, the mosquitos also enjoy your company. ||||Overall there is plenty to do here at Island Goode's, there is a small swimming pool and hot tub which will keep you satisfied on those lazy days and there is links to the city where there are tours aplenty for those who are adventurous. Beach days can also be had too! We would recommend this place to anybody who wants to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life and to anyone that wants a base of operations to see the beauty of the Big Island. ||||Laura and Garvin, thank you for making the last leg of our honeymoon...

We booked Island Goode's for our honeymoon based off of reviews and pictures we had seen online. What we got for our money was way more then we could have expected. Our flight into Hilo was an early one and we arrived at the property well before check in, we figured that if we couldn't check in early we could at least stay on the grounds until it was time. However, Laura and Garvin were more then accommodating, allowing us to check in early and enjoy our beautifully spacious room. We stayed in the Hilo Bay room and my goodness what a room it was! There are plenty of amenities available, a small television, air conditioning and several fans, bathroom complete with shower and a bath, coffee making facilities including an actual kettle!!! (A rare occurrence in the US.) and a fridge freezer. We also had a huge outdoor area to ourselves and this included cooking accessories so you can do some home cooking if you want to. ||||One thing that should be mentioned for couples travelling from outside of the United States is to hire a car to get around. Uber travels to the hotel and will pick you up from it, but if you travel further north without a vehicle you will not be able to get back. If you cannot drive, there is a Safeway that delivers groceries to the hotel should you need to get some groceries in. There are no safe facilities on the property but there are not needed, the hotel is in a nice secluded spot 15 minutes outside of Hilo. You could leave your room unlocked if you wanted to knowing full well that your possessions are safe. It also felt like we had the place to ourselves as well, Laura and Garvin were not overbearing but were polite and hospitable and when they were around we had some fantastic conversations about the island, the property, their animals and life in general. ||||The hotel also has its own stars in the form of Jake the dog, Prudy and Jasper the donkeys and Agnes the (illusive) cat. All animals are friendly and deserve your pets as they are all good boys and girls, if you ask Laura she may also allow you to feed some carrots to the donkeys! Other animal life is in abundance too with wild geckos plentiful throughout the day and at night-time you get amazing views of Hilo bay and the stars all to the chorus of the coqui frogs, make sure you have insect repellent at hand as well, the mosquitos also enjoy your company. ||||Overall there is plenty to do here at Island Goode's, there is a small swimming pool and hot tub which will keep you satisfied on those lazy days and there is links to the city where there are tours aplenty for those who are adventurous. Beach days can also be had too! We would recommend this place to anybody who wants to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life and to anyone that wants a base of operations to see the beauty of the Big Island. ||||Laura and Garvin, thank you for making the last leg of our honeymoon...

This place is an enormous house that, aside from having a separate living space for the proprietors, includes 3 separate large private apartments/rooms for rent. Each comes with a microwave, a toaster, a refrigerator, cutlery/plates, a ceiling fan, an air conditioner, a screen door, a television with satellite, wi fi, a hammock and outdoor lounging area (lenai, if you'd prefer the Hawaiian term), and access to a nice hot tub.

The place itself is about 10 minutes north of Hilo, and about 10 minutes from the Botanical Gardens/Onomea falls. Since it's situated on a hill outside of town, there are nice views of Hilo harbor from pretty much anywhere on the property. The lady running the place said that they regularly can spot whales in the bay in the right season, but we didn't see any when we were there.

There's not many restaurants or things right nearby, but if you have a car it's very easy to get into Hilo, and the people running the place are more than happy to recommend bars and restaurants you'll love.

This place is truly a hidden gem. The property is filled with songbirds, tiny lizards, and coqui frogs, which make you feel like you're actually in Hawaii, instead of just a nondescript hotel/resort located in the middle of Hilo. They even have a few horses that you can befriend (with the permission of the owners).

That being said, it has just as many amenities as the nicest hotels in Hawaii that I've stayed at, and a LOT more space in every room. They do offer breakfast as an option, but since there's enough stuff to make your own breakfast, I didn't avail myself of that option, so I can't say anything about it, but I bet it'd be delicious.

I really can't recommend this place strongly enough, and if I ever come back to Hilo, this place will be the first place I call to try to...