Hawaii Island Resort

I don't know quite what I was expecting here. We knew it wouldn't be a 'resort' in the normal sense of the word and it isn't, but I loved it. Very laid back. The lady who runs it is charming and the two dogs were great. I particularly like Airedales anyway, so I admit to some bias. They were well behaved and friendly and a firm 'no'(not shouted) when they came inquiring about food was enough so they didn't bother us any further as we sat outside with our noodles, providing us with entertainment as they played together. Sitting outside with a glass of wine looking up at all the stars was a great way to spend our last night on the big island, definitely a recommended thing to do. Feeding yourself is a bit of an issue. Past guests have abused the kitchen facilities in the house so you are now restricted to the kettle, coffee machine, microwave etc. up on the veranda and the local diner shut at five on the night we stayed (I think its open a bit later on some other nights so we couldn't eat out, but there is a couple of quite well stocked local stores to get yourself sorted for a night or two. If you are camping here with all your own kit, obviously this won't be any problem. I rather wish we had stayed here for an extra night and one less in noisy Hilo for visiting the volcanoes etc.

Hawaii Island Resort and the owner Kelly Rene are not to be trusted. She took $ 896.52 from me and did not honor her commitment. I was supposed to stay at Hawaii Island Resort 12/28/23-1/1/24 but due to illness I couldn't make it. I called her before the cancellation period was coming up so I could cancel and get a refund. She said she would call me back but did not. When I called her again, she said it is too late and she will not refund me and that in exchange, when I decide to travel there in the future, I should call her and she would provide me with the accommodations if she had availability. I made plans to go 3/7/24- 3/11/24 and called as she has instructed. At first, she said I never paid for the rental in December and that she has to check her records. I emailed her the confirmation of the credit card transaction in the amount of $ 896.52 and called her 4 times. She would not return my calls. I took a picture of her website on 3/7/2024 which showed she had room available and had even lowered her price ( lower than what I had paid for), but still would not respond to me. Unfortunately, Hawaii Island Resort and Kelly Rene are not to be trusted. In order to make future travelers aware, I also filed a complaint against this business with BBB.