At the Beach With Friends, Hilo

Spectacular location. We walked from our room to the beach in 5 minutes. Once at the beach...the snorkeling is amazing. Endless tropical fish everywhere you look. Room was large and clean and the service was great. Claudia is very helpful and cooks wonderful breakfasts. Can't wait to return in a few years.

It truly is a tropical paradise. The location is ideal: you can easily walk to Richardson's beach which is great for swimming and snorkely as well as meeting the wonderful people who live in the area. Claudia was great about meeting my special dietary needs with absolutely no warning! As a single woman travelling alone, I felt very safe there. Mahalo!

LIKED GREAT HOSTS. ACROSS FROM OCEAN. NEAR ANCHIALINE PONDS, QUIET SECLUDED BACK NENE STREET. VIEWS OF DOLPHINS, AWAY FROM BUT EASY 5 MI DRIVE TO HILO DOWNTOWN. WHALES DEC-EARLY APRIL.LOTS OF ALOHA

This B&B has questionable business practices. I don't ever plan to stay here. I canceled my reservation and followed the B&B's cancellation policy in their contract. According to the contract I had a year to use my B&B credit because I had cancelled at the last minute. When I tried to use the credit the B&B wouldn't return my phone calls and claimed they don't understand voice messages left on their answering machine. I have phone records of the phone calls I made to them. They said they can't understand phone messages left on their answering machine - Claudia, from the B&B said "Even if you called me on my home phone...I cannot always understand the messages... if they speak too fast. I always try to call back the numbers on my caller ID anyway. If there was a mistake made there is nothing I can do about that now." Funny thing -- Claudia didn't have a problem understanding the voice message I initially left to book a reservation. She only had a problem understanding the phone message asking to honor my credit. After not hearing from the B&B for 6 weeks I contacted my credit card company, explained the situation and they credited me back for the amount that this B&B wouldn't honor. Claudia tried to 'make up' only after my credit card company refunded me. Then Claudia began sending me email after email (6-8 emails) even after I told her the situation is closed and I won't be staying at her B&B. She wouldn't stop badgering me, she replied by email saying "It is up to the credit card company and not you. C." Well, in the end I got my money back and this situation is closed. phew. There are a LOT of B&Bs and hotels in Hilo that are honorable and do not play games with your money, the phone or answering machine. Based on my experience, I do not recommend this B&B.

It’s a little like staying “with friends at the beach” as in the name. But while on vacation, I’d rather stay with a host. Friends may or may not make your bed, change towels or do a load of laundry they promised. If they do any of these, it’s at their convenience, not yours and not on a schedule. But friends don’t have so many rules. There was alarm in her voice when I spoke to her on the phone the first time because we were going to be late (seven, not six PM) Don’t be late, but don’t be fifteen minutes early, either, I saw a couple asked to sit outside while she got their room ready… that room having had no guests for days and it was mid afternoon. It’s only good manners to remove shoes at the door, but don’t take them back to your room. Don’t knock on the breakfast room door to ask about coffee, knock on the one ten feet away leading to the same area. Don’t bring the coffee and muffin back to your room to enjoy while reading the paper in your robe. Get dressed and go sit in the dining room by yourself. Don’t rehang the towels. Toss them onto the floor, so she’ll know to replace them. (But if you return late in the afternoon, ready for a shower, you might have that same moist lump for towels) Be ready for a really long explanation of any rule if you question or inadvertently break it or if something promised is not done. Don’t let any of this change your mind about the length of your stay. Even with four days’ notice, there’ll be no refund, just a credit for the next time you “pop over to the islands” and are dieing to return to this B&B. But, if you make an observation that upsets her, be prepared to be told to leave without notice, without reservations anywhere else and without a refund for all the missed days. It was a fiasco. It is an amazingly beautiful place that is, in the end, not very friendly.

My husband and I loved the setting, food, other guests and our hostess. We felt totally at ease and cared for in this B&B. It is a great space for business and fun.

This B&B is my favorite in Hawaii. Why? Beautiful setting, charming decorations, cozy and comfortable rooms, comfortable beds, great custom-made breakfasts, close to beaches and recreation, and solid construction makes Claudia's B&B a first class treat. Not to mention high-speed internet access, and even a computer with printer to use if you did not bring a laptop. I am a regular, and this place never fails to please. Highly recommended.