Lotus Garden of Hilo — Local services in Hawaii

It was really really unfortunate that I did not get to experience the Lotus Garden to it's full capacity. It had looked fantastic on it's website, the location couldn't be better, and the payment process was easy over the website.

Unfortunately, I arrived at the location of this hotel with my family of 5 around 8pm in the evening of 28th December and apparently there were no rooms available even though I had paid for it.

The owner had explained that his wife who usually manages the website was absent and so it did not update it to say no vacancy. As this was Hilo in December, all other places had no vacancy and my family were almost turned away to stay in the car for the night. The owner offered a refund.

Luckily someone else overhearing the conversation (possibly his son?) suggested that we could use one of their private rooms that was unused. My family was very thankful for this solution and the owner agreed and provided the room and some extra beds and pillows for my family.

The room was more of an attic turned into a bedroom and the window did not close properly so it was open all night. Although not as comfortable as we expected, we still generally enjoyed our stay here.

The owner also offered to still pay back some of the cost, though this was not specified how much. It has now been a few months ago and I have checked all my statements and I have not received any payment back yet. However, since and I honestly don't want to bother with getting my money back so I decided I would give a review and a lower rating instead.

Thank you for letting us stay, it was unfortunate that we could not experience it to it's...

This wonderful place offered our family a unique experience for sure. We’re used to the standard western comforts of A/C and tv in our rooms - we didn’t have those here which allowed us to slow down and engage with our surroundings differently. Imagine being woken up by rain on the tin roof of your dwelling, but then being lulled back to sleep with that same sound. NOTE - our specific dwelling had a tin roof, other family members who stayed in a cottage on site had a regular rain on roof experience.||Cats, dogs, birds and fish all inhabit the premises, which is a collection of cottages walled off from a central spot in Hilo town. It’s seemingly a world away from the bustle of Hilo, until you’re reminded where you are by a serenade of night music from the restaurant across the way. No worries because Hilo tends to shut down earlier than the Kona establishments and so sleep might only be hampered by nature’s music. I needed earplugs to silence the nightly bird noises, but others in the group were fine without.||If you do decide that this bohemian experience is for you, I’d suggest contacting the establishment directly. Megan is so friendly and accommodating. She helped me consider some trip logistics during our planning stages - so helpful to have local knowledge when planning! And, on the day of check-in, although our original cottage of choice was no longer available, Megan communicated this up front with us and found an arrangement that worked even better!||Thank you Megan and Jasper for helping to make our time in Hilo...

I have been to Hawaii on four previous occasions, but always to Oahu, Maui and Kauai. Before leaving for my latest trip to Maui, a friend told me I HAD to visit Hilo, and to stay at the Lotus Garden. I followed her advice, and after all these years, I have finally found the authentic Hawaii.||Hilo is charming - it reminds me of Key West before thousands of cruise ship passengers overwhelmed it. There are great little local restaurants that are a bargain, and beautifully friendly people. ||My stay at Lotus Garden was a unique treasure. My bungalow took me back to my time as a child when my family had a seaside summer bungalow at the beach. The garden around which the bungalows are arranged is charming, and the owners Megan and Jasper go out of their way to help answer questions.||I was put off at first by not having AC, but discovered that at night I could hear the myriad of tree frogs, night birds and crickets that are a lovely serenade. I realized that in all my yeas visiting Hawaii, my AC had insulated me from the beauty of the evening sounds. Who knew!?!||The Lotus Garden and Hilo have now defined my memory of what Hawaii is capable of being for the visitor from...