Lava Lodge at Hale Kilauea

A quiet, relaxing little cabin in the jungle, with complimentary muffins and fruit. It’s rustic and the bedding is dated, so don’t expect a five-star hotel, but it’s very handy for VNP, where we spent most of our time. There’s a cute Cafe within walking distance for coffee. Finding dinner nearby was a bit tough, but we came across Lava Rock Cafe and really enjoyed it. Great experience!

Our deluxe suite was more like a fully furnished apartment, and it made for an outstanding stay. We loved it and would stay with them again.

We booked the largest cabin in December 2020, just before the volcano erupted, when the rate seemed reasonable. By the time we arrived, we were given a much smaller, inferior cabin that had been listed for half the price. It wasn’t properly cleaned, and the sheets had yellow, dirty, smelly stains. We were told it was the only cabin available and that ours had been “accidentally” given to someone else. But when we checked online, our cabin was listed as available for the following day at a much higher rate. It looked like they had put it back on the market at a higher price after demand shot up because of the eruption. We spent the first night in the tiny, smelly cabin and woke up covered in bed bug bites. After a lot of complaining, they agreed to move us into the cabin on our reservation for the second night. I thought maybe it had been an honest mistake, but I was wrong. Instead of apologizing for selling the cabin twice, they tried to charge us another $145 for staying in the more expensive cabin, even though that was the one listed on our reservation. This was the worst hotel experience I’ve had, and I travel a lot.

It felt like staying inside a terrarium. Such a beautiful place!