heymo

I have doing some research into what bed and breakfasts to stay in for our February trip to the Big Island. I'd love some input on whether you've heard of them and have an opinion (good or bad) about any of them!We're staying for 10 days and thought we'd like to spend time on different parts of the island...we may be looking at 6 or 7 days on the Kona side and 2 or 3 on the Hilo side. (Does that seem about right?)

IN KONA:

POMAIKA'I "Lucky Farm"

Rainbow Plantation

NORTH OF KONA:

Aah, the Views B&B

Luana Ola B&B Cottages

The Inn at Kulaniapia


HILO AND VOLCANO AREAS:

Kia'i Kai Bed & Breakfast

The Bay House B&B

The Country Goose

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!

highflyer

Hi Heymo,

I recently read a fodorite review on the Country Goose (unfavorable!) they said they'd also posted on Tripadvisor.

I've stayed at Art and Orchids B&B which is just outside Hilo. It's small (just 3 rooms) with a communal large lounge/kitchen/breakfast area plus a screened porch. Owners are very arty and serve a great breakfast with produce that they grow themselves including their own Kona coffee.

OldSouthernBelle

highflyer: I noticed that too, but that was the 1st unfavorable post I've ever noted with the Country Goose...they evidently have serveral places to choose from.

Samsaf

Hi, heymo, I'm the one who put the unfavorable Country Goose review on tripadvisor.

We just returned from a 10-night stay on the Big Island. This is what we did (which worked out to be great):

3 nights at Hale Hualalai B&B: This place was wonderful -- it had 2 units, each with its own private lanai, plus a large shared porch where the host served breakfast. This area was convenient for water sports (about 10-15 minutes away from Kona).

2 nights at Country Goose in the King room. This room was attached to the main house, and we didn't like the whole place very much. I think some of the other accommodations of the Country Goose are better; check reviews.

5 nights at the Fairmont Orchid -- wonderful!!!!

We drove the southern route from Kona to the Volcano, and then the northern route from Volcano to the Kohala Coast. It worked perfectly. We had plenty of time to explore the whole island.

One other thing I liked about this plan was that we stayed at the most luxurious place last. It would have been hard to leave the Fairmont to go to another place.

If you have any other questions, please ask.

I'll also top my trip report from a few days ago. If you can't find it, click on my name, and it will come up.

Sherry

ChristieP

We stayed in the Country Goose's king room in May of 2004 and we loved it. The room was very comfortable, and the feather bed was especially nice! The room had a TV and DVDs in it, plus flashlights and rain ponchos for hiking at Volcano. We liked having our own patio, too. Yes, there was a little noise from the kitchen, which is right upstairs, as Joan prepared breakfast but we were up early anyway.

Samsaf

Maybe we were just at the Country Goose at a bad time. The remote control didn't work; my husband asked Joan about it, and she said the last people mentioned that it didn't work, either, but she had not had time to replace it. Consequently, the DVD player wouldn't work, either.

Maybe we were there at an extremely damp time of year, but the room was definitely more damp than outside. It was hard to breathe; I took Benadryl the whole time we were there because it felt like I was getting sick. After we left, I didn't have those symptoms any more.

And I guess I don't like so much "stuff" sitting around. There were geese everywhere (hence the name), and lots of the geese needed to be dusted.

The sheets on the bed were very old, and the pillows were extremely flat. The mattress seemed to dip in the middle. There was a nice comforter on the bed, though. And the ceiling fan was beautiful.

There were gloves and flashlights for us to use. She also left some candy and a lei for us the night before we left.

Joan was a very nice lady, but we would definitely not stay there again.

Barbara5353

We drove by Luana Ola in January and thought it looked like a place we would like to stay in the future. Honokaa (sp?) is an interesting little town. It's convenient for exploring Waipio Valley and the Hamakua Coast, and an easy drive to Hilo. The climate is drier than Hilo, however, which is a big plus for us!

starrsville

http://www.haleohia.com/

We really enjoyed this B&B in Volcano.

I couldn't handle lots of decorative geese around a B&B. That's the kind of decorating that turns a lot of us off B&B's.

heymo

Thank you for all your helpful responses. In regard to the Country Goose,to be absolutely honest I didn't pay as much attention to the B&B as I did the rental houses...the Hale Iki looked so cool I thought it might be a nice treat.

Thanks Barbara for the on site perspective of the Luana Ola...it's one thing to see a picture of a place, sometimes it's a whole other thing to see it in person!

semiramis

We stayed at "Macadamia Meadows" a couple of years ago and enjoyed it.
http://www.macadamiameadows.com/

It is located near South Point - a bit out of the way but very quiet and rural.

sherrie

If you are interested in rental houses in volcano area, you might check out My Island B&B. They had several houses to rent but have since sold them to another organization. Their website will direct you to the new owner. We stayed with them in June in the Forest House. It was very convenient and had everything we needed.

heymo

Thanks sherry and semiramis for your input. I did look on the web site for My Island B&B...only one of the cottages seemed to have been bought by another place. They look nice...have you stayed there?

Macadamia Meadows also looks nice, and from what I'm hearing about people being passed out earplugs at lodgings quiet and out of the way sounds pretty good!

sherrie

The following cottages / houses were purchased from My Island B&B, Cymbidium House, Forest House, Golf Course House and Jade House. You can rent those houses by calling Volcano Lodging 800 361 9628. I got this information from My Island's website. We did stay in the Forest House in June. It was big (three BR, I think), two baths, and most important, full washer and dryer which we needed. It was very clean, and certainly was worth the $$ paid. The breakfast at the main house was good. We met some really nice people who were very knowledgable about the Island and gave us good tips on where to go.

heymo

Thanks sherrie...I will look intot hat. The web site only listed the Cymbidium House as being owned by another company as of Sept. 1, that was the reason I thought the others were still the same. I'll definitely look into those!