Lai NaniOceanfront Estate — Hotel in Hawaii

We stayed two nights at Lai Nani and wished it could have been longer. The property is just as pictured. There's a "big house" with steps leading down to three small buildings ("villas"), each with their own private patio space and bbq grill. We were in villa 1. We had a small kitchenette area with microwave, mini-fridge and some dishes, a comfy bed, sofa, very small closet, and bathroom with walk-in shower (no tub). Just outside our door was the pool/hot tub area. You need to turn on the hot tub's heater in advance of using it, but it eventually does heat up pretty well. The pool was too cold for us to swim in. (We only had time for pool/hot tub during the early morning or late evening hours, though.) The pool/hot tub are communal, but I didn't see the other guests while there, so it felt pretty private to me. Besides the pool area, there's a gazebo overlooking the ocean. We saw whales breaching and a lovely sunrise. Another part of the property has a lovely garden; there's also beautiful, well-maintained landscaping throughout. ||The Lai Nani is run by a property manager who lives nearby and responds to texts if you have questions or concerns. Our first night, I was cold, and learned to my dismay that our villa had no heat! It has air-conditioning but at night, there's nothing but a blanket to keep you warm. I slept with my winter coat on that night. BUT we discovered the next day that the windows (which are covered with blinds) had been left open. We closed them and also did not turn on the air-conditioning before we left for our day's adventures. When we got back, the room was nice and warm from the sun, and it retained that heat all night. Do keep in mind, though, that Hawaii can get cool at night (just as California beach towns can), so bring a sweatshirt or jacket for comfort. ||The Lai Nani can be difficult to find, especially at night. We learned to look for mile marker 16 on Hwy 19. The property is 17 miles from Hilo, which is where most of the restaurants and grocery stores are. We found Hilo to be crowded with difficulty locating parking at the restaurants we chose; we wished we'd just bought some food and grilled it at the Lai Nani instead. The property is also about a half hour or so from the volcano national park, which we very much enjoyed seeing. No restaurants or shops are within walking distance, as far as I could tell, though there is a zipline place across the street, which we didn't try.||The Lai Nani would be a great place for a family get-together or similar occasion where instead of getting three separate hotel rooms, you get three villas and then have the run of the place. There's even a bar next to the pool. ||Or, you can do as we did, and just go as a couple, and enjoy the serenity...

We stayed two nights at Lai Nani and wished it could have been longer. The property is just as pictured. There's a "big house" with steps leading down to three small buildings ("villas"), each with their own private patio space and bbq grill. We were in villa 1. We had a small kitchenette area with microwave, mini-fridge and some dishes, a comfy bed, sofa, very small closet, and bathroom with walk-in shower (no tub). Just outside our door was the pool/hot tub area. You need to turn on the hot tub's heater in advance of using it, but it eventually does heat up pretty well. The pool was too cold for us to swim in. (We only had time for pool/hot tub during the early morning or late evening hours, though.) The pool/hot tub are communal, but I didn't see the other guests while there, so it felt pretty private to me. Besides the pool area, there's a gazebo overlooking the ocean. We saw whales breaching and a lovely sunrise. Another part of the property has a lovely garden; there's also beautiful, well-maintained landscaping throughout. ||The Lai Nani is run by a property manager who lives nearby and responds to texts if you have questions or concerns. Our first night, I was cold, and learned to my dismay that our villa had no heat! It has air-conditioning but at night, there's nothing but a blanket to keep you warm. I slept with my winter coat on that night. BUT we discovered the next day that the windows (which are covered with blinds) had been left open. We closed them and also did not turn on the air-conditioning before we left for our day's adventures. When we got back, the room was nice and warm from the sun, and it retained that heat all night. Do keep in mind, though, that Hawaii can get cool at night (just as California beach towns can), so bring a sweatshirt or jacket for comfort. ||The Lai Nani can be difficult to find, especially at night. We learned to look for mile marker 16 on Hwy 19. The property is 17 miles from Hilo, which is where most of the restaurants and grocery stores are. We found Hilo to be crowded with difficulty locating parking at the restaurants we chose; we wished we'd just bought some food and grilled it at the Lai Nani instead. The property is also about a half hour or so from the volcano national park, which we very much enjoyed seeing. No restaurants or shops are within walking distance, as far as I could tell, though there is a zipline place across the street, which we didn't try.||The Lai Nani would be a great place for a family get-together or similar occasion where instead of getting three separate hotel rooms, you get three villas and then have the run of the place. There's even a bar next to the pool. ||Or, you can do as we did, and just go as a couple, and enjoy the serenity...

We had a bungalow all to ourselves. Beautiful views. Our own lanai with our own grill. A great kitchenette we used frequently. The room is quite large. The bathroom was perfect. The bed was super comfortable. So much so, that we pulled up the sheets to see who made it (tempur-pedic), because we'll likely get one too. ||The staff was very helpful and polite. ||You enter the property through a secure gate. I don't know if you really need it secured excepted from curious tourist. We were enjoying a few relaxing moments at the gazebo when we spied whales. What a treat! We also enjoyed the hot tub. ||The only real drawback of the resort, was the location. It's about a 20 minute drive from downtown Hilo. Not a big deal for most, but we were there to see family in town. Not really a vacation trip for us. We were unable to find a decent room in town. So many of the Hilo hotels are really run down. Lai Nani is quite new and lovely.||To find it, go to mile marker 16 on the "belt" road heading North of Hilo. The entrance to a frontage road is right there, ocean side. Pull into the community frontage road, turn left. It's the third property. Blue gate with "Lai...