Castle Hilo Hawaiian Hotel

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

2462 reviews

• 

  Good times

  The pillows need to be replaced they are worn out. The bed was very comfortable. There were several local kids at the pool. Other than that we really enjoyed our stay. Staff was very friendly. The view was incredible and location was great will be back.

  May 02, 2025
• 

  Mahalo Hilo Hawaiian

  The staff was friendly and efficient not only at the front desk but also at the restaurant. The room provided outstanding views of Hilo Bay. The size of the room was very spacious for two people. The service at WSW Steakhouse was outstanding and food delicious. I enjoyed the Hilo Coffee Mill coffee in the restaurant.

  Apr 14, 2025
• 

  Convenient location

  Great staff at older hotel with nice restaurant and sunset view from the bay. We were near the airport for a helicopter tour and a short drive to Pahoa for a fissure 8 tour. The drive to volcano national park was also easy. Hilo seemed to be a very small town.

  Apr 10, 2025
• 

  Pretty nice hotel

  Friendly staff, clean hotel and nice room. Only complaint is parking but parking is an issue at most places especially later in the evening when everyone is coming back and settling in for the night. We tried the lounge, food was decent. I got salad and my son got poke and fries. The poke was not up to local standard ( my son is a huge tamuras poke fan) but I thought it was good for portion and price point. It was enough to feed both of us. Pool was nice, appreciated the beach being right there. Small store in front was very helpful for small items like toothpaste and drinks. About less than 10 minutes from Walmart and target so great location. Got ubereats and they had no problem finding us and delivery was quick. Overall stay was good, we were there for sports and needed to extend but they were fully booked and we ended up switching hotels so plan accordingly as we noticed a lot of people coming in on Saturday. Hope this was helpful.

  Mar 30, 2025
• 

  Classic Hotel, Horrible Customer Service, Run Down Rooms and Minimal/Non-existent Maid Service

  As a Hawaii resident, I was enticed to book with the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel because the hotel waived Resort Fees for Kamaaina. After I booked the room and was charged for the first night, a few weeks later on the website, the rate became $25 less per day. To save $100.00 I cancelled and rebooked at the reduced rate. 3 days later no deposit refund so I called to inquire with Customer Service about the status. She was very rude and argued the cancellation date I provided was incorrect because the hotel processed my refund 2 days after I submitted the online cancellation. It took 9 days before I received my deposit refund. The day of check in, my husband and I arrived early and was pleased to find our room was ready and able to check in early. Due to the early check in, there were no issues with parking and it was plentiful. Services are very minimal with 2 at the front desk, no valet or bellman to assist with luggage. Access to the guest floors is available with a hotel entrance card/key, however, others including non-guests are able to "piggy back" on the elevator ride. The elevators are clean and fast! Banyan Harbor Room 517 was very run down. Not sure if other rooms were in the same condition, but under the following conditions, they should not have allowed a guest to check in to the room. The carpet was stained and did not appear to have been cleaned, empty package of chips from a prior guest found under the bed, wallpaper peeling from the walls, mold and mildew on the tub and shower, water spewing from the shower head causing a mess on the bathroom floor, unbalanced toilet seat swerving side to side, wobbling toilet paper roll holder ready to fall from the wall, inability to charge cell phones due to loose electrical wall sockets, melted hair dryer affixed to the wall and last but not least, a refrigerator that freezes your freshly caught $25/pound poke, nigiri sushi, bento, fruits and vegetables! Imagine getting completely soaked by rain in Hilo, returning to your hotel room to find your melted hair dryer affixed to the wall is unusable, and finding a second hair dryer which runs hot and unusable as well! Then, when bringing your wet clothes to dry at the Laundry Room in the basement, out of the 4 coin operated dryers, 2 are in use and the other 2 out of order???? Maid services were non-existent. The website https://www.castleresorts.com/big-island/hilo-hawaiian-hotel/quick-facts/ says, "Yes, we provide daily housekeeping services for your comfort". We were there for 3 days, and our room had not been cleaned for 2 days. Each day I asked a maid cleaning a room across the hall and a couple of rooms down for clean towels, trash bags and amenities. We emptied our trash cans because they were overflowing. Other guests were not getting maid service as well. The hallway was not only unsightly but it was also a health hazard as it became riddled with other guests' dirty towels and bags of trash. When maid service issues were addressed to housekeeping or the front desk, there was no accountability as housekeeping would tell me to talk to the front desk and the front desk did the same as well. The maid who provided me with the clean towels, trash bags and amenities said another maid should have cleaned my room and referred me to call the front desk. Later that afternoon, we stepped out for a few minutes and upon our return found a note slipped under the door apologizing, stating the cleaning was overshot and the room would be cleaned the next day. The next day, upon our return after 2 pm, the room still wasn't cleaned. When I called the front desk, she said they had up to 4 pm to clean the room. She also stated our room was scheduled for cleaning after 3 nights of stay. Okay, there were 2 hours left for maid service and we were checking out the next morning. Where was the follow up? We had reservations at the WSW Steakhouse but cancelled our reservation and decided to dine elsewhere. We no longer wanted to spend our hard earned money at a hotel which does not provide even a basic level of customer service to their guests. Now how would you like to stay at a run down hotel, bag your own trash, walk through a hallway filled with dirty towels and trash outside of guest rooms, request clean towels and other items daily and get the run around by hotel employees? While on the elevator and returning to the hotel room, there was a fellow with a disgusted look on his face carrying clean towels and amenities to his hotel room. Not every disappointed guest would submit a review on their hotel stay as I am currently submitting, they simply will not return. In addition, after the 3rd email received from the hotel requesting a response to their survey, a couple of days ago I sent them a response of dissatisfaction similar to this review. To date I have not received a reply.

  Mar 26, 2025