Pakalana Inn

Love! We stayed in room #3. It was clean and spacious. Kitchenette and bathroom were great (water pressure in the shower could’ve been better, but was adequate).
There is no check in/​out, you use a key code to let yourself in. However, Neil (the manager) was around everyday to provide extra towels, etc. and also available via email.
The location is perfect, easy walk to the Farmer’s Market and restaurants and shops.
We will definitely stay here again next time we’re in Hilo.

Amazing place… Great service… Neil is a great guy. The overall service was above my expectations. Would definitely consider staying at the Pakalana Inn on my next trip to Hilo based on how easy and pleasant it was to work with Neil. Loved how close it was to a flee market that was opened on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Holy crap I love this place! They have everything! Beds! TVs! Extra heavy pint glasses! Exclamation point!
Neil is hands down the best hotel agent I’ve ever had the pleasure of dealing with!
Anyone who gives this hotel less than a five star review should be tied to an ironing board and brutally tickled for one hour

PROS
Great location.
Well maintained.
Wi-​Fi.
Reasonable pricing.
Conveniently located to quaint and friendly Hilo.
Efficient virtual check in and payment system.
Responsive staff.
TO NOTE
You can hear a little street noise (people and cars) at night; but it’s not a problem.
My room had a lovely tub/​shower. The shower splashed water all over the place.
TVs are a bit make shift.
Windows a little sticky, hard to maneuver

If your looking for a little place to call «home» for a few nights while in Hilo, The Pakalana Inn is it! It is so cute and comfortable and has the amenities you need for a few night stay. Neil the owner was very helpful in communicating the check in process well before we arrived, so it made it easy and seamless. Convienently located right next to the Hilo Farmers Market, you can grab a few local snacks for the room and also be walking distance to all Hilo Town has to offer. Not to mention the Inn sits right above Paul’s Place which serves up amazing breakfast/​lunch! When in Hilo, we’ll be back again.

This is more of a confirmation than an all together new review, since everything that’s been said about the Pakalana Inn before is true. Its is conveniently located and very much centralized. The ease of checking in utilizing your confirmation number is also nice, though ours didn’t work upon arrival and required a call to the Inn keeper via the cell phone number provided when you call the office after hours, which he was able to fix in minutes so it wasn’t a big problem. The Inn is quaint and was adequate for our needs the room we stayed in was Rm.2 the bed was comfortable the room was clean though as stated previously there is a shortage of hooks and a soap dish in the shower still. The bathroom area is very old world in style as it doesnt have a door that separates it from the living area but it does have a door separating the toilet from the shower area, even though that door does have a clear glass pane in the center of it, which required a little bit of communication between myself and my wife to ensure privacy again not a huge problem. The square footage could have been optimized a bit better and for the ladies, there’s no dresser at all but there is a closet equipped with hangars and a portable a/​c unit if needed as well. The noise level at night was minimal however during the morning as stated earlier you could hear the Café downstairs, the music, conversations, street noise etc. Also the lack of curtains on the north facing wall allows for a significant amount of light into the room, which is fine when up and about but not helpful when trying to rest from a day of hiking, especially when accompanied with the aforementioned outer room noise. The Pakalana Inn is an overall worthwhile experience, with the biggest positive being its location to shops, markets, grocery stores, gas stations, bars, museum etc. A

I highly recommend Pakalana Inn. The owner Paul is hilarious he likes to joke around also a very kind man. His food is delicilous. It’s a cute little place, it reminds me of Italy sitting in a cozy bistro.

He does not serve dinner.

Unilocal lead me to the Pakalana Inn, and, after a whirlwind journey around the islands, we returned for our last night in Hilo. The simplicity of the check-​in process exemplifies the concept behind the place. It’s no frills but you don’t feel like you’re missing anything. It’s within walking distance of several main attractions in Hilo (the waterfront, the farmer’s market, the Tsunami Museum, Two Ladies Kitchen, and so on). The only issue was confusion about where one parks when staying at the PI.
All in all, I couldn’t imagine staying anywhere else in Hilo. Hands down my favorite hotel in all of the island.

It’s Achilles heel: the sink faucet was setup backwards in my room (right = hot, left = cold). The pain stops there. This place is great: you get an access code for the building and your room, because there are no workers standing around just to check you in (duh, you already did this when you paid for a room). That means you spend less time doing something mundane and idiotic and you can focus on the better things in life, like sleeping, taking a shower, listening the really loud frogs, getting all your luggage to your room before it starts raining (again) (apparently Hilo is something like the soggiest city in the US of A), going to the epic farmers market (it’s better than any farmers market in the LA area, and (!) old people don’t drive cars into the market stalls). Oh yeah, do yourself a favor and stop by Paul’s Place on your way out; that café has its act together.

I found this place by accident but it was the best decision ever to stay here.
Paul’s Place (a café) is downstairs and the rooms are upstairs which makes it feel like a bed and breakfast. It is within walking distance of everything (i.e. Farmers Market, restaurants, park, cafes, nicknack stores, supermarket, etc…)
The entrance, stairs, and décor are very simple and clean and is (as someone else had stated), Cozy. I honestly felt at home here. The rooms are beautiful and the wood work was carefully done with lots of love and passion into it. The owner Neil is a super nice guy. We ran into him at breakfast and figured out we originated from the same area in California (small world).
For my next visit to Hilo, I will be staying at the Pakalana Inn.

Found this place by frequenting «Paul’s Place», and checked out the website,

Some good adjectives to describe it are: Cozy, affordable, convenient. You’d never think the rooms were so nice by looking at the outside of the building, and the neighborhood in general. I’d definitely stay here again, and would recommend it to friends. The best part was the «no-​key» entry (you use a pin# to open your door), and the trusting nature of the manager, Neil, who didn’t secure any mode of payment from me prior to our stay. I’m looking forward to trying some of the other rooms.
We stayed in room #2 (6 rooms total). The coffee maker and microwave and fridge were convenient to have. A couple more packets of coffee and more sweeteners would have been even better. The tub/​shower was quaint, but needed to be just a few inches longer to keep water from splashing on the floor near the door. Not a big deal, but might save on future water damage. It was a little hot when we first arrived, but turning the fan on high, and opening the windows cooled it off quickly. Thank you, Neil, for such a unique, cozy, pleasant experience.

I’d say 3+. We were there for X-​mas, visiting family in Hilo. I forget how I found the place, but turns out my dad, who flew in from Honolulu, was told to stay there as well.
The location is pretty good, right in downtown Hilo. Just note that I think that visitors need to know downtown Hilo is… ummmm…eclectic. Sort of like a small Haight St in SF, Venice Beach in CA… Hippie/​homeless/​vegan/​farmers market eclectic. Lots of random, interesting shops and places to duck into.
Seems as they just redid the place. Everything was nice and new. But there were things missing due to the newness. No hooks in the bathroom, no soap dish in the shower, my dad’s room only had cheap stools or the bed to sit on, and we had an old velvet chair.
Parking can be a pain, and you can hear the noise from the other neighbors pretty clearly. Oh, and there is no «staff» on site… they gave my dad the wrong code to get in his room and it took him a while to figure it out.
But with that said, you can’t beat the price, the rooms are clean, and if you want to be in the mix in Hilo it is a great spot. My last time in Hilo was in one of the hotels on the hotel loop, and this place was MUCH better.
I’d go again, and I’d suggest it to the right people. What it misses in luxury it makes up in many other ways.

I found Pakalana Inn through tripadviser and it seemed like the best place (location and price) to stay at given that there aren’t any decent hotels in the area. I prefer not to stay in hotels that look like motels because I like staying in places that are somewhat cleaner. There are a total of six rooms in this building and each room has a bathroom. I don’t think there’s AC inside the room but there’s a fan on the ceiling of the room and we slept with the windows open. It was actually nice sleeping with the windows open because the air wasn’t too hot and it was not cold. I’d definitely recommend staying here if you’re visiting Hilo.

Found out about this through word of mouth and it was just what we needed. One block from the Farmer’s Market. Owner is an architect who has remodeled the second floor of this historical building.