Hawaiian Paniolo Lodge... Exceeded Our Expectations! Fun for the Kids & Family

I normally stay at Kilauea Military Camp (KMC) on the National Park when I visit the Big Island. Been there about ten times. Since the volcanic activities, I had to change my lodging. This is how I discovered the Kohala Lodge. This is the perfect vacation spot for the FAMILY. The description in VRBO is exact. Before I reserved the Kohala Lodge, I went through the reviews. ALL were 5 stars. Even one review with two negative remarks was still had 5 stars. The first negative comment was the phone reception was not great. I thought that was a plus personally because I made plans not to turn my phone on. However, that was fixed. WIFI has been added since that comment....so problem solved. The second negative comment was that there is no shopping near. That is not exactly true. If you want to buy tourist items made in China then you may need to drive an hour away to Kona, If you want local shopping, the market is a couple of miles down the road. Support the local economy in my opinion. If you are worried about the recent volcanic activity, this place is the safest spot on island. The lodge is on the northern part of the island while the volcanic action is in the southwest part of the island. To sum up my stay; PROS - Great view of Maui, perfect weather, very relaxing, Family oriented, horses and sheep, beautiful places to see near by, fireplace with the fire burning on the cool night, snorkel and beach items(cooler, towels, boogie boards) for use. Cons - My stay was only 6 days. I wished I could have stayed longer. I honestly can not think of any cons. Will I come again - YES!

We very much enjoyed the house and a chance to sample the many diverse pleasures of the Big Island. We particularly liked spending time on the porch and watching the sunsets, with the horses and goats playing in the fields just below us. The town of Hawi is a special place with numerous good restaurants and interesting shops. Not too far away were good beaches and places to swim. Also a unique drive was the trip over the Kohala Mountain Road, with the frequent rainbows that came with the brief showers. The hosts were very accommodating and responsive. We look forward to going back sometime soon.

I brought my son, daughter-in-law and toddler here for a respite from a very stressful period. This lodge was just what we needed. It was clean, comfortable and beautiful, in fact, the beauty of the house and its surroundings stands out as unique in the area. We enjoyed sitting on the porch and listening to the birds and watching cardinals and egrets flit about. The setting was perfect for relaxing. It's also an easy place to stay with small children since there's so much for them to do and see.

The kitchen has everything we needed for cooking meals and there were also face-masks and flippers for snorkeling.

Our second time there was just as amazing as our first.

We thoroughly enjoyed our 3 nights at Kohala Lodge. Our host, Chris, was great. The lodge is well equipped. We spent the first part of our Big Island Vacation at Waikoloa Beach, and it was very nice to get away from the tourist scene and spend some time in the laid-back Hawi area. Our 14 month-old grandson enjoyed meeting the sheep and horses. The views of the ocean and Maui were magnificent. We would highly recommend Kohala Lodge!