Lava Pond Lodge

We stayed at Lava Pond Lodge for 4 nights while exploring the Eastern side of Hawai’i during our first trip to the Big Island. It was a very relaxing and quiet place for us to return to each evening after the hustle and bustle of tourism throughout the day. Sarah is an amazingly gracious host who always made sure that all of our many questions were answered. My youngest often has many questions about local fauna and flora, but Sarah was knowledgeable to answer all of my kiddo’s inquiries. One other couple was staying at this lovely BNB during our stay, but Sarah did a great job of making introductions so that we could be friendly and conversational with these otherwise total strangers during the stay. Sarah has explored this island paradise thoroughly and gave us some great recommendations for some amazing places we could tack onto our itinerary which matched our vibe and interests. Each morning we were treated by Sarah to a delicious breakfast with some very healthy options. Sarah also provided some more savory comfort food options like a griddled egg, cheese, and ham sandwich on an English Muffin. I have never had it made quite like that before, but it was a lot of fun to make and tasted great! The coffee was always plentiful in the mornings to energize us for the day ahead. The place was very clean, well kept, and the amenities were plentiful. There was a large common area where we were able to hangout as a family during the occasional rainstorms and made for some lasting memories as a family. This place is in the middle of a jungle-like rainforest with lots of interesting and beautiful plants to get some Instagram-able photos in. Sarah’s husband Leo was also aware that we were interested in visiting Volcanoes National Park and he let us know that Kīlauea was erupting around 5:30AM the first day so that we could make it over to the park in time for capturing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get photos with some fountaining lava flows. Thank you Leo for the insider info! Highly recommend a stay at this place, I would give it 10 stars if that were an option!

We stayed at the Lava Pond Lodge B&B for 2 nights in February and had 2 rooms. Everything about our experience was wonderful! Location: This is such a perfect place to stay if you want a great experience on the big island that is totally different from the Kona area. We loved the area and how the B&B is nestled in the rainforest and so close to Hawaii Volcanoes NP. And it’s not too far from Hilo or the black sand beaches either. We had two rooms. My husband and I shared the Kipuka, which has 2 twins and a lovely screened in lanai. Even though the room and bathroom are small it had everything we needed. We loved the heated mattress pad, which we turned on before bed, then off when we were warmed up. It’s so nice getting into a warm bed on a cool evening in February. Our son stayed in the Wild Ginger which was just across the hall. It was a more spacious queen bedded room with a larger bathroom. These 2 rooms share a refrigerator/freezer in the hall, which had complimentary water and Aloha juices, and on top there were snacks & cookies! All very much appreciated. We got a peek at the Royal Orchid room and it was especially spacious and beautiful. We used the hot tub one day, which was awesome! We also took advantage of the sizable living room to use our laptops, chat with other visitors and watch TV at night. It felt like a home away from home. And Sarah’s breakfast was delicious! Besides the fresh papaya with bananas and optional yogurt, there was always a prepared egg dish and a selection of pastries and toast with delicious spreads. The coffee was especially good and Sarah told us it was the med-dark roast from Ka’u coffee mills, which we later purchased to bring home. There was also bottled water to refill your bottle, or dispense hot water for tea or hot chocolate. While we were there we ate at Kilauea lodge and the Rim (at Volcano house), which are close by. We also stopped at the Kilauea general store for beer. Sarah provided a list of many other small eateries and stores in the immediate area. She has a lot of maps and can provide you with everything you need to know and what to do while you’re there. We can highly recommend Lava Pond Lodge!

Thoroughly enjoyed our 3 night stay. The room was exactly as described, the breakfasts were superb and the interactions with Sarah and other guests are why we prefer to stay in B&Bs. The close proximity to Volcanoes NP allowed us to spend more time in the park and beat the crowds.