Hana Palms Retreat - paraíso botánico en Heavenly Hana

The property was nice and we enjoyed walking the trails and looking for fruits and vegetables. The house looks like it has been neglected for quite some time and is in need of repair and a good cleaning. We couldn’t run the ceiling fan in the kitchen because it was so caked with dust that we were afraid the dust would fly off the blades into our food. The dog next door was a problem because he barked all night every night keeping people from sleeping. He also wanted to hang out with us when we were walking the property and would get frisky at times and we were afraid that he would knock one of us down.

Stayed here with my wife and 4 year old daughter. It is very unique and there is a charm to staying in this type of property. It is quite rustic. All basic amenities provided - working kitchen, bathroom, and beds while providing reliable shelter. Being that the forest is so dense, the house doesn't get much airflow even with all the windows open and fans on. This is why the house is likely a bit dank and musty. I have a mold allergy and was not affected by it though which was nice. The house is about 15 minutes from the town of Hana, but right near Hana Farms stand which was my favorite for produce, banana bread, cookies and lunch.

The hot water had to be shut off at the main valve as the bathtub in the upper unit was dripping and could not be completely turned off. This meant we just needed to go out to a small shed connected to the house and turn the valve when we wanted to shower. If you are afraid of spiders or other insects this place is going to give some anxiety. Although I didn't see any living bugs in the house, I saw some beautiful orb-weavers outside (just watch out for their webs on paths and what not or you'll get a face full). At night I saw some larger huntsmen on the windows which are harmless but quite big and can give a startle, luckily they were on the outside of the window! In the morning there were cicadas. Also there was what appeared to be a massive centipede carcass near the fridge but like I said no living bugs inside ;) ...

The surrounding property was awesome, we took a walk through the jungle and picked some fresh tangerines which were delicious, also saw all sorts of cool flora, again just watch out for spider webs across paths.

Although I would not likely stay at this property again if staying in Hana, I give it 3 solid stars for the actual cleanliness (it's just dated so there's only so much that cleaning can do), and uniqueness.

The location of this house was perfect for us as we were more interested in some of the less popular tourist destinations on Hana Highway and by staying here it gave us a jump start on getting to the sights past Hana. The location did make it inconvenient for the other activities we wanted to do on the island such as the Haleakala sunrise and a whale watching/snorkel tour. If I could do it again, we would probably have just stayed 2 nights so we had a full day in and beyond Hana and spent the rest of the time in the central isthmus closer to everything else. I would also caution anyone who has not driven the road to Hana before not to plan on arriving on the island late and driving out to the property in the dark as we did.

Regarding the property itself, the reviews which comment on the abundant wildlife are quite accurate. There were many geckos in the house as well as ants and some other bugs. We did have one large spider inside but they otherwise remained outside (or out of sight). I had tried to warn my group, but many of them had a very negative reaction initially despite the warnings. I did not find the geckos or bugs that disturbing but it clearly is not for everyone. If you are looking for a luxury resort type vacation, don’t stay here. That said, by the end of our stay, everyone had decided it was totally worth it as many of our group had their favorite experience of the vacation exploring the sights beyond Hana.

Mahalo!

My biggest issue with this stay is that the listing misrepresents some information. It says this is good for families. It is not. As of January 2020, the bathroom and kitchen upstairs are infested with ants. I couldn’t even take my kids into the bathroom since it was crawling with hundreds of ants. I expected some bugs. It is a rainforest, but I didn’t expect an infestation. We also had spiders the size of my face in some of the bedrooms. We woke up each morning with several new bug bites, and not just mosquitoes. We were being eaten alive during the night, and we had to leave early and find somewhere else to stay, for the safety of our kids. Our son got some spider bites on his foot in the night and it swelled up bad. That being said, the owner has been good to work with us since we had some issues and the caretaker was very kind and responsive, like when he fixed the water heater that broke. I would recommend not staying here. Pay a lot more to stay somewhere nicer in Hana, or go somewhere else on the island.