My husband and I stayed at the Dolphin Bay Hotel in Hilo for two nites in May as part of our 8 day stay on the Big Island. "Big Island Revealed" gave this place a "real gem" rating -- that is why we picked this place.

FIRST IMPRESSION
At first, I was a little disappointed when we first drove up to the hotel. It looked kind of run down and old. I was a little worried that the rooms would be as well.....

CHECKING IN
Checking in was easy. We were given keys and shown to our room. The staff was friendly.

THE ROOM
We had a room on the top floor -- Superior Studio. Not too big but not too small, cathedral ceiling, lanai with a table and two chairs. The room comes with a small full kitchen (fridge, stove/oven, mircrowave, dining table, plates, cups, cooking supplies, etc.). There is no AC in the room but there is a ceiling fan above the bed and another fan on the wall. The lanai doors were kept open all day (the screen doors locked) and nite to keep the room cool. Thankfully, it wasn't too hot while we were there. We felt safe having the doors opened at nite and while we were gone since we didn't have any valuables in the room. I liked having the doors open -- it was nice to hear the rain fall at nite and the constant 'chirping' of the frogs or geckos outside. This may be problematic for some but we enjoyed this. The bathroom was pretty spacious. Comes with your basic soap, shampoos, towels and earplugs... No hairdryer. The shower was very roomy and had a great shower head (we were in room 16 -- not all the rooms had a nice one like ours). We really enjoyed the shower, especially after a long day of hiking and being in the humid weather. I think I showered twice a day -- I loved it so much. They had daily housekeeping service. The room and whole hotel felt more like an apartment instead of a hotel. It felt like we were arriving home each nite.

THE GROUNDS
There is a huge tropical, lush garden behind the hotel. Great for exploring. We saw some people going back there with flashlights at nite so there must've been something neat to see in there. The hotel serves coffee and muffins in the morning and always had bananas (grown in the back garden) and whole papayas for the taking. The papayas were ripe and sweet. That was a nice little bonus.

THE STAFF
The people at the front desk were always so helpful with local information. One gentleman there -- I think he's the owner/manager is very knowledgeable about the volcano so be sure to stop by and ask him for the latest info and directions on where to go.

OVERALL
This isn't a luxury hotel. It's a place for real people. It's clean and comfortable and had a very home-like atmosphere. There is no swimming pool and it's not close to the beach. It is close to downtown Hilo -- walking distance from restaurants and shops. I would stay here again.

Recommended: Yes