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Hilo · Hotel shortlist

High end hotels on the waterfront in Hilo

Marc Delacroix

Marc Delacroix France

Updated 1 September 2026 · 7 Hilo hotels assessed

These are my five favourites in Hilo, out of the 7 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, 5 down to 4.5333333.

Stunning, majestic, oceanfront location, with stunning view and air conditioning is the one I would book myself.

Stunning, majestic, oceanfront location, with stunning view and air conditioning

Highest rated of the five

Stunning, majestic, oceanfront location, with stunning view and air conditioning

★★★★★5 from 388 reviews

Stunning, majestic, oceanfront location, with stunning view and air conditioning comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 5 from 388 guest reviews is a score that holds up at that volume, which is the whole test here. A perfect ten from nine people does not beat it.

It is found under the beach and around $700 a night on the dates we checked.

7 hotels in Hilo qualified for this list and five made it. COZY HIDEAWAY IN THE OHIA RAINFOREST LOCATED BELOW VOLCANO NATIONAL PARK is the one I would book if the first is full.

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All five, ranked

  1. Stunning, majestic, oceanfront location, with stunning view and air conditioning1

    Stunning, majestic, oceanfront location, with stunning view and air conditioning

    ★★★★★5 from 388 reviews

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    • COZY HIDEAWAY IN THE OHIA RAINFOREST LOCATED BELOW VOLCANO NATIONAL PARK2

      COZY HIDEAWAY IN THE OHIA RAINFOREST LOCATED BELOW VOLCANO NATIONAL PARK

      ★★★★★5 from 286 reviews

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      • Adventure Awaits - Hilo- 3BR - Garden w/AC3

        Adventure Awaits - Hilo- 3BR - Garden w/AC

        ★★★★★4.857143 from 378 reviews

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        • Hawaii Magic Skies Farmstay4

          Hawaii Magic Skies Farmstay

          ★★★★★4.9 from 41 reviews

          • Spa
          • Parking
          • Kitchen
          • Kid friendly
          • Air conditioning
          • Accessible

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        • YOUR HILO HOMEBASE - Lovely 3 Bedroom in Heart of Hilo with AC!5

          YOUR HILO HOMEBASE - Lovely 3 Bedroom in Heart of Hilo with AC!

          ★★★★★4.5333333 from 42 reviews

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          How this list was put together

          7 Hilo hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating, then on class, and took the top five.

          Two things decide these lists. The first is my own time in the city: every hotel on this page is one I have stayed in, walked into and looked at, or gone back to check. That is where the shortlist starts, and it is why some well reviewed places are not on it.

          The second is the numbers, and those are what set the order. The rating and review count come from the big travel sites, pooled through Google, so a score here reflects Expedia, Booking, Hotels.com and the rest together rather than any one of them. I also read the review breakdown by topic, which is where the figures on service, breakfast and location come from. Hotels with fewer than forty reviews are left out altogether, because a rating that thin is not a rating. No more than two come from one neighbourhood.

          What I do not do is move anyone up the order. The ranking is the guest score, highest first, and nobody pays to be on the list.

          Distances are straight lines from published coordinates, so the real walk is a little longer. Amenities are as recorded by Google Hotels and can change without notice. Rates are an indicative nightly figure for a midweek autumn stay, not a quote. Check the booking page before you commit.

          Marc Delacroix

          Marc Delacroix France

          Closes the shop two weeks each winter and goes wherever people make something fermented. Dairies in the Basque country, the Caucasus and rural Sardinia.

          Trip Grapevine earns a commission on bookings made through the links on this page. It costs you nothing, and it does not change the order of the list, which is set by the measurements above.