Hale Kai Hawaii Bed & Breakfast

Spent 3 nights at Ric and Maria’s Hale Kai Hawaii B&B last week to explore the Hilo side before heading over to the west side — we loved it and thought it was a perfect find for what we were looking for. Privacy, ocean views, lovely grounds and pool, fabulous island breakfasts overlooking the morning surfers, sunrise right outside our door, friendly hosts with excellent recommendations for our day-​trips in the area. Thanks Maria and Ric!

I chose to stay here based on the reviews from other users. The couple that owns this place is extremely polite and friendly. They were as helpful as you could ask for.
I was just not that big of a fan. The view was amazing that I will definitely say. But to me this place was way over priced for what you got. Everything just felt really old. The Marriott in Waikiki was the same price and at least had air conditioning if you needed it. One of the nights we stayed here it felt like I was sleeping in the jungles of Vietnam.
They advertise free breakfast but it was just not good at all. The second morning we chose to go pay for breakfast because of how bad it was.

We stayed here for our Honeymoon in December and were completely blown away by this place.
We stayed in the Bamboo Room, which I definitely recommend. It’s on the end of the lower lanai so it’s the most private, but the other rooms are pretty private too. I’ve stayed in B&Bs that make you feel kind of exposed and this one is not like that, you can have as much or as little interaction with the other guests as you want. The room was spotless, bright and had an amazing view. There’s an entire wall of window overlooking the ocean. There’s also a waterfall shower in the PRIVATE bathroom. I loved it.
The sounds at night are amazing between the ocean and the cocqui frogs… The frogs seem loud at first but, trust me, you’ll miss them when they’re gone. I had to download a track to fall asleep to when I got back home.
Okay, and breakfast. THE BREAKFAST. The fresh fruit alone, oh my god. Lilikoi (grown on the property), strawberry papayas, pineapple, apple bananas. mmm, I still think about it almost every morning. I loved the macadamia nut pancakes with homemade lilikoi and coconut syrup. There was also a wonderful frittata that I remember fondly. Every day we had a new breakfast and it was all really fantastic. This is coming from someone who has eaten in many superb restaurants. It also helps that you’re eating an a beautiful spacious lanai overlooking the even more beautiful pacific ocean and breathing in fragrant sea and jungle air.
Also, everyone was crazy nice, I have not experienced such friendliness ever. Maria herself, the guests, the caretakers. This won’t apply to everyone but it’s worth mentioning: We were greeted with leis when we arrived per Maria’s request. I’m not sure if this is standard for honeymooners, I should mention that Maria is an old high school friend of my mom’s. However, Maria wasn’t there for the first few nights of our stay, so her friend Marilyn and Marilyn’s husband were taking care of the place. When Marilyn found out we were getting married the next day, she made us more leis woven with beautiful white flowers to wear at our wedding! We were sort of eloping (in a non-​secret way) and we weren’t going to have any flowers and this was just the nicest gesture. I almost cried.
It was absolutely amazing staying here and getting to know these folks. They made our Wedding/​Honeymoon really special and memorable.

What a fantastic place! This was the 1^st b&b I’ve ever stayed at and to be honest, I was a bit concerned. I travel about 100 nights a year, mostly Marriott properties so this was way out of my comfort zone. To my surprise, this place blew me way. The hosts were great! The food was awesome and the views unbelievable. I’d recommend to anyone lucky enough to be in Hilo… At least for one night.

This is a fantastic bed & breakfast! I was traveling and found myself unable to find a hotel. I stumbled upon this B & B and feel so lucky I did. The hosts Maria & Ricardo are very nice people and they have a lovely property. I would recommend staying here to anyone traveling on the East side of the Big Island.

Hale Kai is a GREAT little b&b in beautiful Hilo.
Try to reserve the Bamboo room; it’s the most private and nothing short of absolutely charming.
Service is personalized (by name) since the max. capacity is only a few accomodations at a time.
This intimate number of guests, in turn, yields more respect for the property (i.e. you’re probably not going to be blasting music at 3 am or leaving trash around the pool because everyone already knows who you are and which room you are staying in – insert evil eyes – )
This is definitely a win-​win for the guests and b&b owners alike: p
Sunrise and bay views can only be captured in photos not words.
Breakfast is entertaining because you’re seated at a communal table and encouraged to share stories with those of different backgrounds.
Also, spray a little repellant (only if you’re concerned, because I left Hale Kai bite-​free) and leave a couple windows open.
The sounds at night are so amazing when you’re getting into bed at the end of an exhausting, adventurous day… frogs croaking, crickets chirpring, waves splish splashing, pretty much a spa soundtrack. ahhh…
I wished we could have stayed longer.
P. s.- If you’re new to east-​side Big Island, take the tips that Rick & Maria have printed on a suggested itinerary for you. We followed it almost to a T and had amazing day-​trips because of it.
Hiking Waipio Valley is a must!

Lovely bed and breakfast overlooking the bay. Ric and Maria were great hosts. B&B is close to everything in Hilo and very peaceful. We stayed in the bamboo room which was on the end of the house, which gave us more privacy than the other rooms since other guests did not have to walk by our room to get to theirs. Large room led to the common area with a fridge and coffee maker. Delicious breakfast which included a generous spread of fruit was served at 8am. Would definitely go back.

I had an amazing experience at this bed and breakfast. Rick and Maria are wonderful hosts with great knowledge of the island and knew all the cool places to send me. The rooms are very clean and the breakfast was very yummy too. I highly recommend this place.

Ric and Maria are awesome hosts! This place could not be more quaint. We got here at 10pm, and as we walked to our room from the outside, we heard this rhythmic whoosh-​whoosh sound. The next morning, we woke to the freaking ocean. What a great way to start a vacation.
The rooms are clean, well maintained. The food each morning was different, freshly cooked, and served on their upper deck, which gets you an even better view of the ocean. We stayed here 4 nights and had 4 different, amazing, warm breakfasts.
The best part was having Ric and Maria be our guides. The very first day they go out of their way to make sure you have a full, fun, and safe itinerary for the entire trip. We were honestly sad to leave!

Great place to stay in Hilo as the hosts are friendly and helpful. Rooms were very nice and views spectacular! Would definitely stay here again.

This place was great from start to finish. The rooms were clean, the beds were comfortable, the food was good and the hosts were very helpful and friendly but not underfoot. The views from the balcony outside our room and the breakfast area were very pretty, and we saw whales! It was quiet and relaxing. (Also, there is now shampoo and lotion in the bathrooms now, since that first review). They also gave us a great set of options for dinner places, which was great as we hadn’t been to Hilo before.

Loved this place! The views are amazing, hosts are friendly but not in your face, and the house has lots of beautiful details inside. Breakfast was abundant, with tons of fresh fruit and yummy macadamia pancakes. We stayed in the Bamboo Room, which is at the end of the house so your «private» patio is truly private (no one walking past it), and the view of the sunrise over the water– from the bed– is fantastic. The place was very clean, which is extremely important on that side of the island as bugs are everywhere (didn’t see any in the inn).
I would definitely stay here again and recommend it to anyone.

We had a great stay at Hale Kai Bed and Breakfast. Innkeepers Ric and Maria strike a great balance of being friendly, offering helpful suggestions for sightseeing, and letting us have our privacy. Breakfast on the lanai was not only delicious, but also a fun time to exchange vacation tips and stories with other guests. The rooms are large and clean with fantastic bed linens.
My only hesitation to offer a 5^th star is a problem we had with ventilation and climate control. Our bathroom was small and needed a better vent system — with such intense humidity our towels didn’t fully dry. Also, we needed to keep window vents closed in our room as people could see in through the windows from the stairway, so our room could get quite warm at night.
These concerns are only minor ones, though. I highly recommend that you look into Hale Kai when deciding where to stay on the east side of the Big Island.

What an amazing view! Maria and Rick are really great providing suggestions for various itineraries and dining spots. We didn’t have a guide book, but they let us borrow one of theirs which is rated the best in Hawaii and would have purchased as suggested by a friend, but just didn’t have time. (Hawaii Big Island Revealed) In addition, they provided big beach towels and lent us flashlights to see the lava flow. The breakfast was a bit limited and if you are a bit of a later riser as I am, not much food is left available. We stayed in the Heritage Room which was cozy and had a spacious bathroom. The drawbacks are no shampoo, conditioner, or lotion was provided and the bathroom is a bit on the old side. Also, there is no air conditioning, so it was pretty warm in the evening.

Lovely welcoming bed & breakfast. The view is amazing. The rooms (4) overlook Hilo Bay. The rooms are comfortable, clean and cute. The owners leave you on your own for the most part which is nice. Breakfasts are somewhat limited but are pretty tasty. The other guests were also unobtrusive but friendly.
The night we were there the full moon rose over the water and gave a true «only in Hawaii» moment.