Lower than what? Probably much lower than a hotel such as the Marriott, Hilton, Prince, etc. Maybe more than Uncle Billy's (under new management), but you won't get 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, living room, kitchen, and private lanai, either. A $125/nt might end up (with apprx.14% tax and avg. Cleaning fee of 150 for a stay) as about $1150 per week. Still a good deal, if you like having more space, privacy, ability to fix meals, etc., than a hotel offers.
These days in the USA, hotels in popular areas will gouge you with fees they didn't disclose, for services you didn't use.
Just caveat emptor, and know what's important to you on vacation.:)

Hotels are trying to compete with vacation rentals by adding on fees like ornaments on a Christmas tree...the biggest one is the "resort fee". We had a "linens fee" not too far back. Aside from tax, which hits visitors through the transient accommodation tax,our only add-on is cleaning charge. We experimented with an all in one pricing but in the end it's unfair to the longer stays as we ultimately raised the nightly cost to cover the cleaning expense. Plus, in Hawaii (when remitting as merchant) it matters if the tax is or isn't visibly passed along to the consumer.

Still, as noted above, in the end a vacation rental almost always is less expensive and better (in terms of bigger & more amenities such as kitchen). Just ask questions before you book and see a complete price. One of my frustrations is that we charge a fully refundable damage deposit that makes the final balance due seem extremely high. Yet, most guests are wonderful and we nearly never have to retain even a small portion of the deposit.

Bookmarking your site, TJM; looks terrific! (Any good snorkeling at your beach?) and

Thanks for the kind comment, it's a very unusual spot - isolated and rural but with a small resort. We love it there.

Punalu'u Beach is an interesting place...you read in many guide books that it's not recommended for swimming, but, we swim there frequently as do many locals. There are fresh water springs flowing into the sea here, so the water is a little cooler. Ka'u doesn't have too many beaches in general, so it's one of the better due to access and the fact (which I love) that it has lifeguards ( a huge plus for visitors). Snorkeling there is fun but it's a lava rock bottom so no coral to speak of, so it's just very different. There are a LOT of green sea turtles, always, and the beach itself draws a lot of visitors. All in all, for a place we can walk to in 10 minutes or so, fantastic. South East facing, so great for sunrises and we frequently walk over there at that time. Popular with locals and gets lots of day trip visitors who want to see a black sand beach.

We looked at your complex a decade ago; just couldn't put a plan together for a second home!

Lower rate explanation; After looking through many vacation rentals I found that for example one place might give the nightly rate $150, and then add on booking fee, management fee, cleaning fee etc adding up to the total cost per night, another place that gave a nightly rate of $195, added less extra fees and ended up with a total cost per night that was less than the first example, meaning I can't go by the listed rate per night as an indication of what the total cost would be

To be fair, this scenario is the same with just about any hotel any more. There's the rate and then surprise fees (in most instances) and, of course, taxes.

I am like you and prefer an all-in price to make an apples to apples comparison. But, it's tough. In our condo complex, there are (naturally) many units for rent. Our price listed one OTA site is the price with taxes included, many other owners add the tax later...thus creating the scenario you refer to: our listing, with a seemingly higher price initially, ends up being less expensive after the whole price is considered. It's a case where the cautious consumer will come out ahead but it requires homework.

I live on Oahu but visit the Big Island a fair bit--- I highly reccomend making Hilo your home base for exploring Volcano national park. The drive isn't particularly long and the food options are better and more numerous in Hilo. As for lava viewing I highly reccomend hiking Kalapana---its approximately 7 or 8 miles roundtrip on relatively flat trail. For the best viewing go at night---later is better to avoid the crowds. As long as you bring water and a flash light it's a very manageable hike in the dark. If you start the trail after 8pm you will be rewarded with stunning views of red hot lava hissing and gushing into the sea and very few crowds at the end. The stars above are pretty spectacular too. There is also an option to rent bikes, but we elected not to as the bikes have to be returned by 9 or 10pm. For food in Hilo I highly reccomend Nuang Mai thai or Pineapples Kitchen (get their plate lunch if you want to go more local). If you like hiking I highly suggest hiking down to Pololu beach (black sand beach with dramatic coast---a little bit like big sur)...or if you want more of a challenge hike down Waipio valley (it's basically just a steeply graded asphalt road) then trek across the valley to start the "Z trail"---this is definitely a rigorous hike but you are rewarded with stunning views quite quickly. The entire z trail requires an overnight camping adventure in one of the adjacent valleys, but the hike is well worth the effort if you decide to forgo the camping and instead only complete a small portion of the trail.

for Kona side I highly reccomend avoiding the resorts--- they are so expensive and so removed from Hawaii culturally. Stay in Kona instead in a condo or airbnb---will cost significantly less and place you within the community. There's also some pretty tasty food--- if you want to eat local seek out "plate lunch" or Asian food (very good thai, malay, Vietnamese etc). For a truly amazing beach experience--- go to Kiholo bay to look for turtles ;) every time I've gone to Kiholo I've seen at least 15 to 20 turtles relaxing on the sand and feeding in the shallows. Much better than any mixed drink and umbrella that the resorts can offer. Finally for a really unique experience try the night snorkeling with Manta Rays. I know you said you are a bit fearful in the water, so perhaps one of the tour companies can provide some assistance or flotation device....it truly is a spectacular other worldly experience

Since OP has discussed lodging pricing and "surprise fees"...thought this might be a good fit for thread.

Just came across this piece from Budget Travel about hidden hotel fees - probably worth a read - trends are changing in lodging but the smart traveler can still get good deals. Overall lodging prices have remained stable in spite of a "great recession" dampened pipeline of new hotel rooms (shrinking supply) in the face of ever higher numbers of traveling public...thanks to a surge in peer to peer renting, rentals from owner, homesharing and so forth.

https://www.budgettravel.com/article...den-hotel-fees

Thanks, helpful article, including the resortfee links. Such gouging going on!

Thanks for all the advice, i'm sure i'll be back with more questions

Topping. Thanks for all who contributed here. Lot's of good advice that will be very helpful.

Following for future travels. Quick question, where do you all book your vacation, flights? Costco?

Flights: if miles aren't an issue, do a google flight search/kayak and then go to the airline website to book (safer than 3rd party)
We like VRBO because we don't like hotels. If you prefer hotels, hotels.com and booking.com are pretty good.
Cars through Costco or discounthawaiirentalcar.
Costco also has good packages if you want to go that route.

Hawaii is an incredible place and the Big Island is especially unique...I bet you'll love it.

Advice to hike at Kalapana above - check first to see if there is ocean entry and decide if you want to commit the time to this event or not if it is not going into the ocean. You'd likely still see lava glowing in the fields at night...but it's really dramatic when it's hitting the sea and exploding in the fury of new earth being born. An awesome sight that actually deserves the word "awesome". You can check volcano status here:
https://www.nps.gov/havo/planyourvisit/lava2.htm

Also, as of yesterday, the lava lake in the caldera is very high - it goes up and down - but make time to see during the day and at night if it's very active - as it has been over the last year or so. Your trip sounds wonderful - have a great time.