Waipiʻo Lodge — Hotel in Hawaii

BEWARE!!! This place rents both rooms and big tents. I think the most good opinions are from tents. We were in the room. We were staying in 6 different rentals on the Big Island. This one was the most expensive and simply the worst one.

The rooms are in the basement. There is no airflow, it stinks. It is dusty. There is nearly no daylight in the room. It feels really claustrophobic.

The owners live upstairs, directly above the rooms. You can hear every step they take (even before 6am). The ceiling is really thin. On our first night the hosts were visited by their friends that have kids. Kids were behaving really loud. They were jumping, running and playing the piano. When we talked with Greg (host) he told me that they have guests and he is sorry for the noise. But it didn't change anything. The noise was still there. I thought that we are also their guests? We had to go outside and sit in the kitchen to avoid the constant noise.

Booking.com room photos are manipulated to hide some inconveniences. They show that there is a lot of light in the rooms by illuminating the photo. In reality there was very little light. There are two doors to the room. One door has a mosquito net and the second one are the doors you can lock with the key. You have to use a lot of force to keep the mosquito door open. For example when you try to lock the doors with the key. It's very easy to slam the first door and there are 3 rooms in the basement. I wouldn't like to wake somebody up when I'm going to the restroom during the night. But hey, wait. Should I worry about it? Hosts don't care.

They advertise with the drone shot of their house and the cliff. It is really close to the cliff but you don’t get such view from their house. It is just an advertisement. There is no view of cliff at all. You can see the Ocean a bit, but only from the place where tents are located, so you would have to go in front of them and disturb...

Please avoid this place if you don’t like noise and lack of respect. PEOPLE WHO RENTED TENTS HAVE GIVEN BETTER REVIEWS. ROOMS IN THE HOUSE ARE IN VERY POOR CONDITION! The photos on the website don’t reflect the real state of the building. The rooms are in the basement, actually underground, with small, dirty windows. It’s dusty and has a bad smell, with no airflow at all. The walls are in poor condition, and I don’t want to imagine what’s beneath the paint—it looks unsettling (photo attached).

The second issue is cleanliness. The room wasn’t very clean: windows, walls, blinds, and pillows were dirty (photos attached). I felt very uncomfortable there.

The third issue is noise. The hosts live in the same house, directly above the basement rooms, and we could hear every step, including late at night and early in the morning (before 6 am). The worst was the evening we arrived. They had guests over, which they explained, but I noticed in other reviews that noise seems to be a regular issue. It was unbearably loud and impossible to relax in the room. Children were running, shouting, and playing the piano. When the host came to greet us, I mentioned the noise, and he only replied that they had guests and apologized, but the noise continued. I felt ignored, wondering why we weren’t considered guests too.

Value for money here is terrible. You can find much better places at a better price (this was my most expensive rental on the Big Island and by far the worst).

There is a well-equipped outdoor kitchen, two tables, and a shared bathroom with hot water. The garden is beautiful. The ocean view is only visible from the upper tent area. To see the view, you have to stand right in front of the tent, which may be occupied by...

This was an amazing experience, but it's not for everyone. First of all, it is a "hostel" - it's not a motel, and it's not a B&B. It is way off the beaten path, and is quaint. But, it has a lot going for it. First of all, it is minutes away from the Waipi'o Valley lookout. Even if you don't do a tour down to the valley, the lookout itself is a must-do. We were driving from Kona to Hilo, and wanted to stop midway for the night, and the location was perfect for that. The hostel itself was super clean, and cute. You have 3 bedrooms in the main building and two "tents" outside. I put the word tents in quotes because they are quite large with high ceilings and hardwood floors. Calling them tents is just not doing them justice. They are a bit more private than the rooms, so if that's important to you, or if you're traveling with kids, it might be a better option. As the descriptions says, you do share the bathrooms, but the number of people is small, and the place is kept very clean. It is really nice and quiet. The biggest attraction is the garden. As a guest, you are allowed to pick any fruit from the property. We had fresh tangerines, papayas, oranges, and some other exotic fruit I didn't recognize for breakfast. We also picked and roasted some macadamia nuts too. Everything was very delicious. The place is also well stocked with tea, coffee, and other essentials. There is a fridge and outdoor kitchen for people to use. We really enjoyed socializing with the other people staying there. If you're looking for a quiet and unique experience and the chance to taste some fresh fruit right off the tree, this is the place to go. If you need room service, it's...