Big Island Retreat

we love the Sunset and ocean view from the Aloha room we stayed in. often there was a nice breeze coming through the Hawaiian style room. The room has a kitchenette, and there is an outdoor kitchen with a barbecue that was great to use. Only a mile to a shopping center with restaurants and a grocery store But the best is It is a short walk to a great snorkeling beach park. Amazing fish and once we saw a turtle. Great value for the price.

We had a fantastic stay at Big Island Retreat! Our room was lovely and right across the road from an amazing snorkel beach. Big thank you to the staff at Big Island Retreat for keeping us so well informed and taken care of during a town-wide power outage! If you're looking for a spacious and convenient place to stay that is also homey and welcoming, this is it. We'll be back!

I enjoy the atmosphere of this place. Roaches are still a bit of a problem. I understand that it's almost impossible to eliminate them, especially here on the big island. I also see that this place has been cleaned very thoroughly and regularly. Still, about every few hours or so, I see a new one on the counter, making the kitchen space almost unusable, in my opinion. The mixture of small and medium sized ones makes me think there's an infestation somewhere that they haven't found yet. I think there're a few gaps at the bottom of doors which may be really large contributors to the problem.

We had a great stay here! Our room faced the ocean and had a beautiful view. This place is super close to the beach and snorkeling and they have gear you can borrow. There's no AC but with the windows/fans/ocean breeze, we were never too hot. You definitely hear the ocean, which I thought was really peaceful.

So...I know Mgmt...I am so late writing this review! You were awesome, as was your Husband and the Owner who I got to meet. Super easy to work with to make the last minute reservation for me, my wife, and my 2 girls and crazy responsive with anything needed!!! It was a one room, with kitchen and living area with a pullout mattress. We pulled the mattress (with pad!) off the pullout couch and put it right on the cool floor. All 4 of us were comfortable. We used the kitchen for breakfast. And walked down, at the end of our days, to swim/snorkel at Kahalu’u Beach Park (great showers after you get out and feel fresh for the walk home) with the sea turtles and watched the sun go down. Really that is what it's about!||BUT, you must be realistic in what you want and Big Island Retreat was what I wanted. Arriving at sunset, be prepared as the room will feel the warmest. This was a quote from Liz A (July 2023) "It took us a little bit to get used to the lack of air conditioning, but we grew to like it and didn't miss the AC at all. We'd leave the windows open all day with the fans on and it was perfect." She is spot on and just remember her words! It may be hot and sweaty from the travels and unpacking, but get it done and take a walk to the beach...or just take a shower to cool off. With the ceiling fans and room fan in our room, it cooled off quickly and we had to cover ourselves in the night as it gets cool. Lot's of open, screened windows to let fresh air in.||This is part of the Terms & Conditions emailed to me. Should be no surprise for anyone arriving if you remember them!!!:||TERMS AND CONDITIONS|A/C: The hotel is NOT air conditioned, but being a short distance from the ocean means that the consistent Kona tradewinds help keep us cool. Each room is equipped with a ceiling fan, floor fan, and lots of screened windows. Due to the open-air nature of our property, our cute, friendly (i.e. harmless) neighborhood geckos often visit our rooms :)|||This is the room we had and the dates:|Room: Maile Room|Check-in: Sun, Jul 16, 2023|Check-out: Thu, Jul 20, 2023||I add this because we arrived and were in the parking lot when Curious38377908095 (July 2023) arrived (and left) and heard the whole conversation in his Review "Stay Away from this place"! He clearly didn't do his research on the Property, read the Terms and Conditions, see the benefits gained at Big Island Retreat, nor did he embody the Aloha Spirit that Kona and the Big Island gives back.||Get away from the city and tourist areas, and sit amongst the Locals to best enjoy the Islands.||Best part of the stay was the last night; We had perfect weather during the week, but it rained the last afternoon into the night. My 2 girls (12& 14) got up in the middle of the night and sat on the porch, overlooking the Beach below, and listened to the night rain and animal sounds! ||Mahalo~

The room is very charming, it is a place to relax and highly recommended for single travelers. The room is clean and tastefully decorated. I didn't have any problems with my stay and I love how quiet and relaxing it was. I booked last minute because they changed my flights, it's very affordable and close to town. Parking is free.

The room was full of ants in the bath and on the bed. There are geckos also. The road to the building is complex and convenient, especially at night, as it is very dark outside. The room is open, and you cannot close the windows. The bathroom was slightly dirty and not in good condition. All of these affected our travel on the Big Island.

I can't say enough about this little gem of an inn! If the bustle of downtown Kailua is not for you and you would prefer a quiter, classy residence BIR is for you. The kitchenettes and the loaner beach wares (chairs, snorkels etc) make this a great homebase for a more independent travler. The staff we encountered were very nice and asked what we else we needed, which was absolutely nothing as it was perfect!

The Big Island Retreat is certainly a good affordable location and an alternative to the more expensive hotels in Kailua-Kona and across the Kohala Coast. Both of the houses that have your selected room are awesome, and the owners/hosts of the property are very clear and detailed with their instructions, which are e-mailed to you a few days prior to arrival. There is no air conditioning and no cable TV, though there is an oscillating fan and a ceiling fan in the rooms, plus by keeping the windows open it's really not bad at all. Also a TV with the ROKU app is available. In the Honu Room, there is a futon and a queen bed, a kitchenette, and private bathroom. Because sound travels well at the Big Island Retreat, the quiet hours at 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM, so no parties please! My standards are pretty low, but overall this is a great place to stay at! There are some fruit flies and other bugs that may come around, but that's to be expected in Hawaii.

Things change as one gets older... Late 30s Chun P Early 40s Chun P Income $50-100Kish $75-125Kish 2005 Scion XB 2018 Ford Mustang $5-6 Beers $10-15 Mai Tais No AC, no problem! Must have AC in hotel! .3 miles to beach, NP! .3 miles to beach, car please! No closed door? NP! Can't close the door? WTF? Big Island Retreat, I thought this was a great place 5 years ago. I was okay not being able to completely close all the windows, listening to all the outside noises of wildlife, ocean waves, and other annoying human guests. No air conditioning, but I could tolerate the Hawaii's warm humid weather. A .3 mile walk in flip flips to the incredible Kahaluu beach with chair, snorkeling gear, towel, and refreshments was no biggie. Now that I'm older...I need to close all the windows and doors to keep out the noises out...and I don't everyone else hearing my noises, especially the romantic kind. The Orchid Room's balcony only had a screen door, no real door for privacy, so weird! Even if I could close the door, it would get really hot and humid since there is no AC. Nearby Kahaluu beach is amazing and a short walk away...but in wet flip flops and carrying gear it seems so much longer in 40s than in my 30s. The 2 story Ocean View room I had back in 2016 was more tolerable and private...the Orchid Room not so much. At under $200/night its actually still one of the more affordable places to stay in Kona. The Orchid room had an ocean view balcony, coffee maker, toaster, fridge, beach gear, and a TV you can't use after 8pm because its too loud since I can't fully close my balcony door. I might stay here again if its the Ocean View room, otherwise I'm looking for a hotel with air conditioning and doors I can fully close...maybe I'm just getting older, whinier, and crankier.

This is a funky place. The driveway in makes you feel like you made a wrong turn, but the actual buildings are nice, well groomed, and well maintained. I stayed in the small building and the lower parking lot was super close. But I'm glad I didn't have a large rental car. As for not driving past the driveway, look for the tiny, tiny old church across the street. There's a little beach literally right there, with a small sand area, a very protected swim area for the kids, restrooms, foot shower, picnic tables, etc. Surfer somehow get through the rocks on one side and make it out to waves. My room had an oddly tall bed. Like three feet tall. If you're under five feet, ask about having a step stool in your room. I'm not kidding. This also limits certain romantic activities, but a step stool might help that as well. Owners/operators are extremely good and detailed with instructions. CVS and misc. restaurants are about a mile in one direction. Touristy stuff is about four miles in the other direction. This is a great sunset beach. Even if it's cloudy, the sun always seems to shine through right at sunset. The sunset is also good in Kona proper, but you have strangers on each elbow. Here you can sit in the sand, on the rocks, or even at a picnic table and enjoy the sunset.

What a charming little spot for two honeymooners! Definitely feels much more like an Airbnb than a hotel. We loved the view of the ocean, the open-air vibe, and the location -- very convenient to Kona while still feeling "away from it all." We were nervous about there not being any air conditioning, but with open windows and fans running, it really wasn't bad at all. And the little geckos who visited our unit from time to time were adorable! If you are a nervous driver or have a larger SUV, note that the road up to the retreat is very narrow, and that the parking lot/spaces offer almost no room for error. Also note that there is no daily maid service, but we stayed for a week and the owners checked in mid-week to see if we wanted new sheets or towels. Finally, sound travels well at the retreat, so if you're a light sleeper you might want to bring earbuds or use a white noise app. Overall, would definitely recommend -- we would strongly consider staying here again on future visits to the island.

This place was so hard to find. GPS. Hard map. Telephone. Or, maybe we were just jet lagged. Once we found it, we found what we were lookin for. I was on vacation with my 25 year old son, and I wanted a nice bedroom and he needed a bed. We both got what we wanted, and more. We loved the outdoor kitchen. The snorkels and fins. The refrigerator. Great place. Thanks!

This place is lovely, a hop skip and a jump to a hot spot for snorkeling. The hosts are awesome and it beats staying in the large chain places. You get that island hospitality and friendly feel. The room is charming and we had such a lovely stay. Definitely more of an air bnb feel!

Staff is absolutely amazing. Incredibly helpful and very nice. The rooms are clean and comfy. We had Kona coffee in the room and everything we needed for a great stay. I strongly recommend. Also the best snorkeling beach on the island is across the street!

BEWARE!!! If you book here do not expect to ever reach anyone regarding your reservation. I booked through Booking.com and immediately needed to cancel. I accidentally booked my stay in the wrong location. Well you can not cancel through anyone but Big Island Retreat. That's fine EXCEPT all their phone numbers (I Have found several, each travel website offers a different one) get dropped into a dummy voice mail box that no one ever responds to. If you email them, you will never get an answer. It looks like I am going to have to go through my credit card company to block the upcoming charges. Their facility's streets could me lined with gold and rain vodka and I still would NEVER have anything to do with them. TERRIBLE SERVICE!

Sat nam meditative vibe here. I would never leave the Big Island once here, but I had to go manage a retreat for owners with 30 acre commercial farm and coffee farm. I hope to return here as there is no energy like the healing open hearted warmth you will immediately feel here. I hope to utilize our licenses and training in workshops when returning but we love the peaceful nature filled loving vibes here and lots of privacy.

The hotel is functional. That is the best that I can say. The amenities are minuscule, the WiFi is shitte. The manager was terrible. I would not recommend this place to anyone

Very reasonably priced. The rooms are adorable and functional. The guests (when we stayed) were considerate and quiet. Gigi is an absolute GEM. She is an inexhaustible helping machine!! Any question you have, ask, and she'll answer. She is just great, and the main reason why there is 4 stars. The knockoff? NO AIRCONDITIONING. We visited to attend a wedding and spent basically no time in the room due to it being so uncomfortably warm. It was hotter than being outside-with fans going and every window open. And if you're snorkeling or doing things where appearance means nothing that's fine, but it is frustrating in the extreme trying to get ready for a wedding sweating off all your makeup (even with a setting spray), watching all your curls in your hair go flat from the humidity...having any kind of heat styling apparatus was laughably funny. I ended up giving up and looking like crap for my friend's wedding which was way less than ideal. You wouldn't think such a little thing would affect so much but it really does. We enjoyed (mostly) our time here but we will not be staying here again unless the accommodations were different.