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Hilo · Hotel shortlist

The best hotels in the city centre, Hilo

Marc Delacroix

Marc Delacroix France

Updated 1 September 2026 · 34 Hilo hotels assessed

These are my five favourites in Hilo, out of the 34 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, all five scoring 4.9.

Mahana House Country Inn is the one I would book myself.

Mahana House Country Inn

Highest rated of the five

Mahana House Country Inn

★★★★★4.9 from 141 reviews

Mahana House Country Inn comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 4.9 from 141 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 a 4 star property and found under city centre.

34 hotels in Hilo qualified for this list and five made it. Cozy Tropical Retreat Guest House with AC is the one I would book if the first is full.

Why it works for this trip

  • Parkinga real consideration if you are driving in

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All five, ranked

  1. Mahana House Country Inn1

    Mahana House Country Inn

    ★★★★★4.9 from 141 reviews

    • Parking

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  2. Cozy Tropical Retreat Guest House with AC2

    Cozy Tropical Retreat Guest House with AC

    ★★★★★4.995333 from 225 reviews

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    • Air Conditioned Studio King Bed Free Laundry3

      Air Conditioned Studio King Bed Free Laundry

      ★★★★★4.9604836 from 248 reviews

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      • Beach Road Hale4

        Beach Road Hale

        ★★★★★4.947982 from 228 reviews

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        • Hamakua Hotel5

          Hamakua Hotel

          ★★★★★5 from 45 reviews

          • Pool
          • Spa
          • Gym
          • Parking
          • Air conditioning
          • Accessible

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        How this list was put together

        34 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.