Name: Hilo Bay Hostel
Address: 101 Waianuenue Ave, Hilo, Hilo, Hilo, HI 96720, United States of America
Rating: 8

Smoke-free property

Newspapers

Washing machine

Terrace

Dryer

All Spaces Non-Smoking (public and private)

Outdoor furniture

General

Non-smoking rooms

Room service

Hairdryer

Locker

Linens

Rooms

Laundry

Iron

Services and amenities

Common kitchen

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Internet

Library

Recreation

Parking

Free parking nearby

Free Parking on Premises

Next to the beach

Pool and beach

Snorkelling

Sports

Beauty services

Beauty and wellness

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Location

At the hostel

S. Hata Building

Wailoa River State Recreation Area

Hilo International Airport

Hilo Bay Hostel

Hilo

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

11-beds

12-beds

13-beds

14-beds

15-beds

16-beds

17-beds

18-beds

19-beds

2-beds

20-beds

21-beds

22-beds

23-beds

24-beds

25-beds

26-beds

27-beds

28-beds

29-beds

3-beds

30-beds

31-beds

32-beds

33-beds

34-beds

35-beds

36-beds

37-beds

38-beds

39-beds

4-beds

40-beds

5-beds

6-beds

7-beds

8-beds

9-beds

king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

2-bedrooms

3-bedrooms

4-bedrooms

5-bedrooms

6-bedrooms

not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

Made an impromptu last minute trip to Big Island to enjoy the presumed last days of inter-island/corona-free Hawaii.....  first time on Big Isl. from Maui and did zero research/planning....  expected to car camp the whole trip... but wound up cruising into Hilo hungry just in time to make last kitchen call at the only place open in Hilo (Cronie's) Decided to look into hotel options to discover the Hilo Bay Hostel...... 

Not only was the hostel perfectly located a block away from our restaurant, and right in town, but the manager, Stanley, was awesome and he agreed to wait up past the hostel's usual hours of business to ensure that we could still have a place to stay.  

The hostel itself was super clean and welcoming, and we felt right at home with the staff and guests... We opted for the room with it's own bathroom, and it was perfect for our needs. Loved the high raised ceilings, which made for a nice, cool night's sleep on the hottest day of the year...... also just want to say that the shower was the best shower i have ever had. The combined insane water pressure and soft reducing showerhead made for the softest/strongest shower I've ever enjoyed.....

While the place was awesome, I can't say enough good things about Stanley, the owner/manager of the Hostel. He was incredibly helpful with tips on where to go and suggestions for the island, and I also really enjoyed getting to know him and hearing his story. 

My only regret is not having spent more time at the hostel or in Hilo, as we were racing around the island and only stayed one night. 

The hostel also had a great kitchen/common area and would be an ideal homebase for anyone looking to spend more time in the area. 

I would highly recommend Hilo Bay Hostel to anyone passing through Hilo, and will definitely be back when I return to Big Island next.

MAJOR MAHALOS STANLEY!!! THANK YOU FOR YOUR HOSPITALITY...

~Brian and Sam......... THE ORDER OF THE TRAVELING FLAMINGOS!!!

STANLEY ROCKS!!!

I am so happy I found this place. It is clean and safe with a wonderful, friendly staff. I like how the women’s and men’s showers and bathrooms are completely separated. And the hostel, which was a hotel at one time, is quite charming with lots of beautiful woodwork. I would definitely suggest staying there. Oh, and while you are there, make sure to walk down the street to the Pineapple Island Fresh Cuisine Restaurant.
Awesome menu, live music, pleasant staff and an open air environment.

Fantastic place to stay in Hilo!

Amazing. Hilo Bay Hostels has been one of the highlight of our trip. The new owner, Stanley, gave us the most heartwarming welcome when we first arrived. The hostel has a lot of space, cosy, clean, kitchen is big and fun to cook in, free coffee and the location is the best in town. Nearby coffee shops, the grocery store, nice restaurants and the ocean is less than a minute walk away. We could even watch the sunrise from our window every morning.
Price is fair and even cheap for Hawaii. We were suppose to stay 2 nights and ended up staying for a little over a week. People were very friendly and the layout of the hostel makes it very easy to meet new people. Hostel is calm and it's a good vibes only zone. Free wifi too.
Loved our experience. Couldn't recommend enough staying at this place. Stanley is putting his heart and soul in this place, and it shows. Cheers to a great place, even better memories made there and to our friendly hosts !

Home, in Hawaii

I stayed for a couple of nights before flying out, I love the historic building, tons of history which being from the u.k is awesome. Very friendly staff and clean. The bunk beds were large the sheets clean and great location to Potter about in. Thanks!

Great hostel, lovely people.

This is a great place if you are travelling through Hilo for a day or two or just looking to get out of the jungle and see the "big city" of Hilo. The rates are fair and the staff was friendly. You walk up a set of stairs from the street into an open lobby area and the front desk and kitchen are to your right.

Good hostel near a ton of restaurants.

It is well located in Hilo Downtown and it offers many service such a shared kitchen and nice leaving room to sit-down and meet other traverses. It was super clean and well cared. Also if you like to walk in less than 30 minutes you can reach Rainbow Falls which is one of the main attractions of Hilo. Staff is really nice too and ready to help. They offer storage if your plane leaves in the afternoon. Note that you can do laundry there but is not included on the price you pay, you have to pay a bit more to use the laundry.

Convenient

I get a Drill sergents vibe aroound here. Some nice staff for the most part but been screamed at over nothing and heard other people reemed out too. 
I think people here are mostly depressed and misrable.

Polite and welcoming signs such as if u dont like our rules theres the door... haha like really great way to run a business guys.. because the owner seems like not a chill person, theres strict rules. 

 No kitchen use (or available water except bathroom) after 925pm &lightsout so get ready to tip toe on the old squeeky floors. Which is good for people who sleep early but personally i eat after 9pm and sleep after midnight so a bit of a challenge if u want to be here after 9 alive and awake.
 
They only have one toilet for woman which has no ceiling/privacy so i hope you enjoy your business around others. 

Otherwise theres nothing cheaper in the hilo area, i would recommend staying in kona hostel. 

Or a private room here as dorms seem to have black mold on most beds. 

:)

Welcome to training

The Hilo Bay Hostel is a great example of Hilo itself - Caribbean vibes, a bit quirky, and a little run down.

The location is great: near the rainbow falls, a few restaurants and shops, and relatively close to the beach.

We stayed in a room with 2 double beds and it was reasonably clean and spacious, but a bit hot and humid without air con (handy hint: it rains a bit everyday in Hilo, so you can't escape the humidity).

The other reviews about this place are true, there seems to be quite a few permanent elderly residents. They are each responsible for an area of the hostel (kitchen, bathroom etc.) and can be very particular about certain things... 

The kitchen times are unnecessarily strict, and we weren't even able to grab our food from the fridge before 7am. We also had to wait 30 minutes for a staff member to wake up before we could check out (after 7am, when the desk is supposed to be manned). Little things, but customer care can go a long way.

The poor security has also been mentioned in other reviews, with the main door unlocking by a code that is not changed. Our private room had a lock, so this didn't affect us, but I can see it being an issue for the dorms.

Overall, there's no reason not to stay here, but there was definitely some American Horror Story-esque vibes at times.

Not bad, not great.

The Hilo Bay Hostel is located in an old hotel, with original wooden flooring etc. The dorms are comfortable (though no lockers) and the facilities are OK (showers are semi-communal and run-down). The staff and atmosphere is friendly.

However, on my final night there, I was disturbed three times by an intruder in my dorm room. On the first two occasions he tried to speak to another guest. On the third occasion, at 3am, I woke to find him taking a photo of me. Seriously.

After he left the room, I closed the door to deter him from coming in again. From the hallway, he began a loud and intimidating rant about having the door slammed shut. Thankfully, he continued this rant in the street and did not disturb me again.

In the morning, I deduced that this man was a guest several nights ago who had let himself back in during the night. I complained to the manager, who knew immediately who I was talking about.

The manager said I should've called the security number (how I was supposed to know this from my bed at 3am, I don't know) and that they would change the door code.

Apparently there was a member of staff present on site at night, but they were not aroused by this loud and frightening disturbance, so they must've been either asleep or incompetent.

I am grateful that this intruder was merely drunk/high and that he had walked into a male dorm room. I dread to think what could've happened if he was violent. 

Despite the good price and otherwise pleasant experience, I cannot recommend this hostel until they resolve these security concerns:
1) Secure the main gate with key card locks instead of a 4-digit code that is told to all guests
2) Secure guest rooms and dorms with a key card accessible to the appropriate guests.
3) Have a conscious, visible, competent night porter

Low price but serious safety concerns

I state that I have traveled far and wide around the world and I have never found myself as bad as in this place.
Let's start from the beginning, as usual I book through booking.com and I receive instant confirmation of the reservation after paying for the first night of the 4 booked (the other three I would have paid upon my arrival as written on booking).
5 days before my arrival I received an email from the hotel saying that they would have canceled my reservation if I had not immediately paid the full amount and that they have never received the deposit for the first night, so I immediately call the structure and even reluctantly I go to meet him by paying everything to avoid problems even if once you have the confirmation from the booking you are not required to do anything more !!!!
In the next email they confirm my reservation and say that the door of the hostel is open from 9am to 9pm.
On the day of my arrival my flight is delayed by 2 hours and I arrive at 9:30 pm at the hostel certainly not my fault. The doors are closed and nobody opens me, I call 10/15 times and NO ONE ANSWERS ME.
In short, if anything happens they don't give a damn about you and LEAVE YOU OUT. They have absolutely no respect for the customer. The next day I explain what happened and I am told that it is my fault and that after 9 they no longer care about you. (Of course since I had already paid)
The guy from the reception (the only really nice person) tells me that he will ask the manager at least for the refund of the first night but the manager obviously refuses categorically.
Not to mention the rooms with ALL THE WINDOWS BROKEN AND THAT DO NOT CLOSE with the ensuing noises and everything that can enter, the shower and everything else dilapidated abd dirty.
TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE ABSOLUTELY AVOID COMING HERE.

Hilo Bay Hostel

Main amenities of the hostel

Location

Available rooms

Location

Description of the hostel

What other amenities are there?

General

Rooms

Services and amenities

Meals

Internet

Recreation

Parking

Pool and beach

Sports

Beauty and wellness

Pets

Policies

Check-in terms and conditions

Additional information

Payment