I heard about this place browsing online. I checked the reviews. All 5 *s. Could not find one bad or even mediocre review. We booked the place and talked to Rick and Amy. We stayed for 5 nights with another couple. WELL, THE REVIEWS ARE ALL TRUE. THIS PLACE IS ABSOLUTELY THE BEST! Private, quiet, great views of Kona, immaculately kept, 10 acres of heaven in lieu of resort hotel hype and glitz. The owners - Rick and Amy Decker - are top drawer and committed to providing the very best experience that they can for their guests. Their attention to detail - Amy's welcome food basket - fresh eggs from the ranch, chocolate covered mac nuts, fresh bagels, etc. Rick's lending of his personal swim fins so i could propel not only myself but my wife as well. The tons of beach stuff provided, 2 laptop computers lent for us workalcoholics, Rick and Amy's advice on sights and great snorkel places. Simply a great and warm couple. Our advice - Book the place. Indeed, plan your trip to Hawaii so that if you are visting "The Big Island" you can stay at the Decker's Silver Oaks Ranch. You won't be sorry. BTW, there is much to see and do on Hawaii. We thought 3 nights would be enough. We stayed for 5 nights and could have stayed for a week or more as there are tons of things to see and do on The Big Island.
If you stay at Silver Oaks, please pet Gigi, one of the ranch cats, for us. If you do, she will greet you every morning with a meow! And, if you are not a cat person, she is not a problem.

We stayed at the Silver Oaks ranch this past April, and thoroughly enjoyed our stay. Rick and Amy were gracious hosts and ensured that our stay with them was as comfortable as possible.
Silver Oaks Ranch is a very calm and relaxing place, we especially enjoyed being surrounded by countryside, and loved listening to all the birds and watching the goats playing in the field. Amy is very passionate about her goats and we felt privileged to be able to get up close and even hold one of her 'kids', something we city people don't get to do very often. Both Rick and Amy also provided us with farm fresh eggs and delicious bananas which were a real treat! Our room, (the Ranch House cottage) with all the great amenities, the snorkelling and diving recommendations, and the photo trip to Volcanoes National Park to see the active vent with Rick, gave our vacation the 'personal touch' - like you were staying with good friends. We hope to someday return to the Big Island, and when we do we will definately stay there again!

Lisa and Lee
Vancouver, Canada

What a wonderful experience! Silver Oaks Ranch is listed in Frommer’s tour book and, after checking out the Trip Advisor website, we made reservations for the Ranch House Cottage. Amy greeted us upon arrival, and both Rick and Amy stopped by each day to check that everything was OK and offered suggestions of where to eat, snorkel, shop, etc. The cottage was clean, spacious, quiet, has free internet access (including a computer if you didn’t bring yours), and there is a fabulous view of Hilo harbor. In the kitchen we found enough food to provide breakfast for the entire stay including juice, milk, cereal, bread, butter, yogurt, and eggs (provided by Amy’s free range hens). In the common area guests have free use of the washer and dryer, gas grill, picnic supplies, snorkeling gear (instructions if needed), and a refrigerator stocked with bottled water and pop. The Ranch View cottage has a hot tub (which we used most every evening while watching the sun set), a lanai, complete with swing, table and chairs, and a very verbal cat. Another hot tub and swimming pool are located in front of the Decker’s house and are available for guest’s use. Amy raises goats and chickens and loves to give guests tours of the ranch early morning or mid-afternoon. During our stay, the lava was flowing into the sea, so we went with Rick over to the viewing area and spent the day and early evening to watch and take photos. It was such a pleasant stay, and since we did not have time to see and do many things, we have booked another week in 2009 at Silver Oaks. Well worth the visit!

Our stay at Silver Oaks Ranch was great. The best part is how comfortable Rick and Amy make you feel without being too "there".

The cottages were comfortable and the breakfast fruit from right there at the ranch, and the farm fresh eggs and other food they brought to the cottages made a great breakfast.

We didn't use the pool as the weather wasn't that warm, but did use the boogie boards and snorkeling gear that they have for their guest to use.

Their suggestions for dinner and beaches were great also.

All in all - we left there for Hilo for a few days - and then wondered just why we had left such a wonderful place.

It was also great to go back to the ranch away from the commercialism of Kona and relax.