You will experience Hawaii the traditional way by staying here. Not luxurious but comfortably rustic (though nights could get rather warm without AC, even with the night's chill). Staff was very friendly and down to earth. Beautiful garden. Should be appreciated by nature lovers but pass if you are looking for luxury. I am not recommending a friend simply bc many vacationers may find its bare bone features inconvenient.
After a good experience in October 2010, I booked another stay for a family vacation. As has often been noted before, the Dolphin Bay is NOT a resort hotel and probably not a good choice for Type A personalities. But the friendly staff and funky atmosphere make up for a lot. The rooms continue to be clean and comfortable. The lack of air conditioning is not a major problem as long as the whir of fans doesn't bother you. The garden in back of the hotel is still beautiful, and the frogs and occasional gekko are actually charming. The fully outfitted mini-kitchen is very useful, especially if you stay for more than one night. And we probably ate enough of the free papayas, bananas, and pastry to be embarrassed about. Rubble, the primary resident cat, is well-cared for and has plenty of kibble & water in the hotel office; however, we probably made a friend for life by sharing some leftover salmon from the previous night's dinner. Overall, you will enjoy your stay more if you concentrate less on what amenities the Dolphin Bay does not have and more on the relaxing and friendly experience that staying there will impart. Will definitely stay there again when we visit Hilo.
My husband and 2 teen girls stayed here for 2 nights basically to use as a home base for some adventures on the Hilo side of the island. The place isn't fancy and has no pool but we loved it. The rooms were old (in a cool retro sort of way), but super clean, and the shower was fantastic. The grounds were beautiful with avocadoes, papayas and bananas and a slightly testy cat. The staff and owners were absolutely wonderful. They spent a lot of time giving us advice about our day trips. One night they even lent us flashlights and and warm jackets to drive up Mauna Kea (on their advice) and we also went to Volcano National Park in the dark to spot some lava. Overall, we had a great time, particularly thanks to all the helpful advice.
We stayed for two nights in August in this hotel. The place was ok, not very clean nor dirty. Enough space with a full kitchen. I really liked that there were fresh bananas and papayas from the garden and the coffee and sweets in the morning.
The frogs were really loud so that we could not sleep very well. And I didn't like that the cat was looking everywhere for food and eat many non-appropriate cat food (cats need to eat meat!). If it is your cat you should feed it, if it is not your cat you should not advertise with it!
Warning, this is not a resort. This trip is about volcanos, mountains, and the jungle. The hotel was a perfect place to operate from. The staff showed us how to get the most out of our trip. Avacados, papayas, and banana trees right on the property, help yourself. We had a great vacaqtion thanks to Dolphin Bay and their staff.
I'm on a bit of a time constraint, but wanted to review this wonderful place before I leave for a month long trip.
This was the best hotel I stayed at in all the Hawaiian Islands. The service was so impeccable, I couldn't believe it.
Sure the rooms were a TAD shabby, and you could hear the frogs croaking all night. The bathtub was a bit small, and there were mosquitos in the courtyard.
But they offered great pastries for breakfast, a full juice bar, and very private accomodations. It was an outside door hotel, but you didn't feel like it was. I was very impressed with their air conditioning as it was only a fan but worked INCREDIBLY well. We stayed here for two days and completely loved it.
The service was really what gets this hotel a four star. The owners are a lovely lovely lovely couple. The man was such an incredible guy and basically planned our entire stay there giving us detailed directions and even secret little shortcuts and telling us the best and cheapest places to eat! He truly never lead us wrong. And in the end, he gave us all the green sand he had to take home to our families.
The best part of the service however was that I had left my passport in the hotel, and left for a flight around 6:00 am. I called the hotel and within 15 minutes the owner herself personally drove it to the airport and helped me still catch my flight with FOURTY MINUTES TO SPARE!!! When I tried to tip her for truly going out of her way to be kind, she refused to take it. Truly an amazing hotel, I have never been treated that well before. If you go to hilo, STAY HERE IT'S COMPLETELY WORTH IT!!
