Volcano Forest Inn
19-4034 Old Volcano Road, Volcano, Island of Hawaii, HI 96785
Agoda.com
Vio.com
Etrip
View all 8 deals
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
Full view
View all photos (105)105
Room & Suite (19)
Dining (14)
About
#16 of 32 B&Bs / Inns in Volcano
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Value
Come experience the restorative nature of The Big Island of Hawaii’s rain forest and volcanic activity and beauty. Tucked back amidst five tranquil acres, Volcano Forest Inn offers four spacious rooms with rain forest views. Refresh and revive after a hike in Hawaii’s Volcanoes National Park in your spacious room and shower with clean, soft rainwater. Awake to honeycreeper birds singing in the morning.
Read more
Suggest edits to improve what we show.Improve this listing
Property amenities
Free parking
Free High Speed Internet (WiFi)
Wifi
Free breakfast
Hiking
Baggage storage
Non-smoking hotel
Laundry service
Shared kitchen
Show more
Room features
Housekeeping
Private balcony
Clothes rack
Private bathrooms
Coffee / tea maker
Microwave
Oven
Flatscreen TV
Refrigerator
Stovetop
Electric kettle
Kitchenware
Show more
Room types
Non-smoking rooms
Smoking rooms available
Good to know
HOTEL CLASS
HOTEL STYLE
Charming
Languages Spoken
English
Location
40Car recommended
Grade: 40 out of 100
18Restaurantswithin 10 km
29Attractionswithin 10 km
Contact
19-4034 Old Volcano Road, Volcano, Island of Hawaii, HI 96785
Getting there
Car HireSee all Volcano car hire
225Reviews3Q+A41Room tips
Reviews
Traveller rating
- 138
- 43
- 16
- 18
- 10
Time of year
Traveller type
Language
More
Selected filters
- Filter
- English
Popular mentions
Sort by:
Most Recent
John, either the caretaker, part owner or full owner (never quite sure) was very friendly and helpful. We arrived very late and John provided the code to the front door and left our keys in the door to our room. Upon entering the common area/kitchen, the strong odor of mildew prevailed. Entering the room, we found the same strong mildew odor; a problem for my breathing. The weather at 4,000 feet above sea level is cooler than Hawaii beaches, and we entered a room that was unheated and at between 58-60 degrees. The room had a barely adequate space heater that very slowly increased the temperature, taking almost a full day to get the room to about 68F. The mildew odor was unaffected by the heat. (John needs to acquire a decent sized ozone generator to kill off the mildew smell) While this is an affordable facility, these were two significant issues. We were required to provide a $60. cleaning fee upon arrival. In the room, cleaning below head level was good. Above that, not so. This included the ceiling fan blades and the bathroom light fixture, where only one of four light bulbs functioned. Two were missing entirely. As a B&B we were unsure what to expect in the morning. What we enjoyed was a loaf of whole wheat bread on the kitchen counter, strawberry jam, and a small selection of fresh fruit. A toaster was available. A drip coffee maker was present with ground coffee. It was make your own. The kitchen was available to use with your own food. There are not a lot of food options in this area, so if you plan to stay here, pick up your additional grocery items before you leave a larger city. At least the bed was comfortable...…
Read more
Date of stay: March 2023Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Value
Location
Service
Room Tip: Bring your own portable heater. If strong mildew odor affects you, don't consider this lodging.
See more room tips
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Helpful
We were going to visit Volcano National Park, and we had not made hotel reservations prior to getting to Hawai’i. Our bad. Hotels were full when we got there, but we found the Volcano Forest Inn had an opening. It’s a nice little place. Just follow the sign for the inn on Old Volcano Road down the thickly-wooded driveway and you’ll see the hotel after the turn in the road. There are maybe a half dozen rooms around a large central kitchen and community area. Our room was quite nice. The mattress was a little tired, but comfortable enough after a day of hiking many miles in the park. There was a bit of a heavy smell of cleaning solution, but the area is incredibly humid, so clean is better than moldy. The breakfast that the inn provides is less than desirable. I recommend bringing your own teak fast snacks, or go out for breakfast if you can find an open place. If you want a luxurious place to stay, this is not the place for you. It’s a very basic and reasonably-priced place to crash. Note 1: When you book your room they give you a code to get into the front door, and the staff leaves you a key to your room. There is no receptionist on site to welcome you or tend to your needs. You let yourself in, grab your room, and you’re good to go. If you have questions you can text one of their reps. I contacted John via text with a couple of questions, and he was quick to respond, polite and helpful. Thanks John! Note 2: Contrary to info that we found on the web, the Eagles Lighthouse Café is closed on Sunday and Monday.…
Read more
Date of stay: March 2023Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Helpful
We enjoyed two nights in Volcano Forest Inn. We met John when we arrived and he was very welcoming and friendly. The descriptions we had in prior to visit were accurate. We had lot of breakfast/snack opportunities from 5 different kinds of fresh fruit to selection of buns, toast and jam and oatmeal. There was a small grocery store for additional milk and OJ but we did not long for them. Overall we would recommend the stay. There was an additional cleaning fee for booking through Expedia but honestly it was the cheapest ones among our six other places to stay during the trip to Hawaii.
Read more
Date of stay: February 2023Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Helpful
I've read several bad reviews of VFI and I just don't get it. Yes, you pay a cleaning fee. So a hotel's higher price includes that. A hotel gives you a so-called coffeemaker with one packet of coffee. And a mini-fridge full of high-priced items. At VFI you get use of the kitchen! When we arrived we used an actual kettle to make tea. This morning I made a real pot of coffee! I could have made a second pot if I wanted one! We had oatmeal and apples for breakfast. Did we need a hotel's buffet with food other guests have pawed through? No thank you. Nothing wrong with oatmeal and apples. Yes, we had to wash our dishes. Just like we do at home. Yes, we took our shoes off, just like we do at home. Our room was lovely! A comfy bed, a table with two chairs, a tremendous closet, a hot shower with good water pressure. The setting, in the middle of the rainforest, was perfect. The location, 1.5 miles from Volcanoes National Park, was convenient. The driveway was rustic, but it certainly would not damage a vehicle, unless I suppose if you're in the habit of speeding. Checking in was easy, checking out was easy. If I'm lucky enough to visit Hawaii's volcanoes again, I would definitely stay here again.…
Read more
Date of stay: January 2023
Value
Rooms
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Helpful
The room was big and quiet which was unusual in our trip to Hawaii but that is the only positive to say about this place. The breakfast included was a joke. They added a "cleaning" fee which was an offensive - If you even used a dish you were to wash it yourself - what cleaning was I paying for. Isn't cleaning part of renting a hotel/B&B room?? The driveway to the hotel has not been maintained for many years. Luckily it was cool enough because there is no air conditioning. I would avoid this location unfortunately.
Read more
Date of stay: January 2023
Value
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
Pros: a beautiful location close to the Volcanoes National Park, seemingly cheap Cons: not actually cheap once hidden fees are tacked on by a rude and threatening property manager, breakfast is worse than you’d get on a plane We found this hotel on Google, where it was listed as a three-star hotel and had good reviews. We booked it through a third-party provider (Agoda) for a very reasonable rate of $120 a night. Trouble began when we arrived. After driving a few hundred yards down an unpaved and puddle-filled overgrown path into the rainforest (cool in our Jeep, but would bang up your regular rental and violate the contract), we got to the hotel. We were early for check-in but were hoping to drop off our luggage before heading into the national park. When I tried the door, it was locked. Hmm, strange. I looked through the window and saw someone tidying up. I knocked. A couple of minutes after first noticing me, the person opened the door and blurted “Can I help you?” In a way that made clear that’s the last thing he wanted to do. He upbraided us for arriving early — “didn’t you get the email!” — and refused to let us drop off our bags. I didn’t get any email, so he took my phone number and texted me a long message about hotel policies. After a brief set of check-in instructions (it’s self check-in with a door code), the rest of the message was a series of infractions and related fines. If you’re familiar with the “Master of the House” song from the Les Miserables musical, this will be familiar to you. Here are some highlights: - $50 for needing assistance after 9pm (even remotely e.g. to check-in) - $100 if you leave a patio door unlocked - $60 “cleaning fee” Yes, that’s right, there’s an extra $60 charge for staying in the hotel that was not part of the advertised rate nor any fine print (trust me, I re-read everything). The fee was to be paid by cash or Venmo directly to the gruff property manager. In fact, this was the only thing he said out loud after texting me the instructions. Frankly, I thought I was being scammed by a disgruntled employee, and figured I’d deal with it once we returned from the national park to actually check in. When we got back at twilight, the hotel was completely dark. Not a single light on anywhere. We took off our shoes outside (a requirement, fine not specified), got inside, found our room down a dark hallway. It was spacious and well-decorated, but reeked of chlorine. We opened the windows, but not the patio door — can’t risk that $100 fine. I got on the wifi and went to the hotel website to find some mention of the cleaning fee and instructions on how to pay it, still in disbelief that I need to send it to some guy’s personal Venmo account. Around 9pm, we got a loud bang on the door (which didn’t have a chain or any similar security lock, by the way). The guy was demanding I pay the cleaning fee immediately or else he will “report [me] to Expedia” — why Expedia, I have no idea since I didn’t book with them. As I was trying to get Venmo to work, telling him I’m trying my best, he dialed Expedia on speakerphone right outside the room door, clearly to intimidate us. Being isolated in a rainforest with an aggressive guy banging on our door demanding money, we did the safest thing and paid. There was a note in the room about the cleaning fee (all tables and nightstands were covered with notes about rules and fines), so maybe it is a hotel policy, but (1) it’s dishonest and fraudulent to advertise one rate and charge another, and (2) the way they go about collecting makes guests feel unsafe. At this point, it is almost an afterthought to mention the complete lack of toiletries except for diluted liquid soap, the breakfast consisting of two packets of dried oats and stale cinnamon rolls and the awful mattress where you feel every spring. These are normal bad hotel things, but at least they’re not threatening. I see plenty of old reviews for this hotel that are positive. Recently, however, there are a few like mine. Not sure what happened — maybe there was an ownership change. But clearly Jon (Yon), the guy currently running the hotel, should not be in the hospitality business. Or really any customer-facing business for that matter. As long as he’s there, stay away.…
Read more
Date of stay: January 2023
Value
Service
Room Tip: Rainforest room was spacious with a large patio.
See more room tips
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
I should have read the thorough review from light122376 before booking into this place, since I'm in total agreement. The location of this very small hotel is excellent and the room is fine, if you don't mind a room with no chairs. But the messages we got ahead of time were hostile, full of warnings, and contained a tacked on fee -- $60 for housekeeping since we booked through Expedia. Ten lashings if you come early, off with your head if you stay late. In the bathroom, watered-down Dial liquid soap -- no shampoo or conditioner. More very-low quality liquid soap. We never saw anyone there, but didn't dare to do more than snatch a couple of bananas from the kitchen, based on the warnings -- not merely in the message but posted all over the place. And the "breakfast." Yes, "prepackaged snacks" that were gross, at least to us, e.g., prepackaged strawberry and cream "oatmeal." The sense I had was that whoever runs this place really doesn't like people there -- at all.…
Read more
Date of stay: January 2023
Location
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
Hospitality was incredible. Tabby was super nice and welcoming to us and made it feel super homely. Papaya was delish for breakie and the banana bread was too die for !! Would not recommend anywhere else if you’re in volcano village
Read more
Date of stay: November 2022
Value
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Helpful
We stayed here for 2 nights while visiting Volcanoes National Park. Maybe it used to be a B&B but it's not anymore, even though COVID is past. You have a basket in your room with 1 granola bar, 1 package of instant oatmeal, and a very small pastry per person, per night. They do not even have coffee made in the morning, you need to make your own and use their powdered creamer. The rooms are adequate with very small TVs, but no shampoo, no tissues, and no cups to take medicine. They could definitely use refreshing. Next time I would skip staying in Volcano Village all together (there's nothing there) and visit the National Park from Hilo.
Read more
Date of stay: September 2022Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
2 Helpful votes
Helpful
The first thing that happens after you book your non-refundable room is that you get a message describing the breakfast. Pre-packaged snacks, plus bananas, will be left in your room based on the number of people and nights. The selection is somewhat worse than a meal on an airplane, and comparable to breakfast from a hospital vending machine. There is coffee, but no milk/cream etc. If you are hoping for actual breakfast, go elsewhere. The check-in process was easy, but the message with instructions also contains a long list of rules…and the associated fines for breaking them. The rules are mostly reasonable(ie don’t leave dishes in the sink of the communal kitchen, lock your door), but the threats are not. The threats are reinforced with a promise that there are security cameras around, and you will be caught. One of the rules is don’t ask for help after 9PM as this will incur a fine. The building itself is decent. The location is great and very close to the entrance of the National Park. The property is in thick forest down a long driveway. Our room was big and clean. It smelled very musty but we eventually got used to it. The mattress seemed to be wrapped in plastic, but was only moderately uncomfortable and noisy. The room door was concerningly flimsy, and only locked with the doorknob. There was no deadbolt or other way to lock the door from the inside. This place did the job for a couple of nights, but we were excited to leave, won’t go back, and wouldn’t recommend it. …
Read more
Date of stay: August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
PRICE RANGE
US$120 - US$246 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
LOCATION
United StatesHawaiiIsland of HawaiiVolcano
NUMBER OF ROOMS
4
Is This Your Tripadvisor Listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim Your ListingVOLCANO FOREST INN - Updated 2023 Prices & B&B Reviews (HI)
Frequently Asked Questions about Volcano Forest Inn
Which popular attractions are close to Volcano Forest Inn?
Nearby attractions include Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (2.1 km), Kilauea Iki Trail (6.1 km), and Kilauea (5.4 km).
What are some of the property amenities at Volcano Forest Inn?
Some of the more popular amenities offered include free wifi, free breakfast, and free parking.
Which room amenities are available at Volcano Forest Inn?
Top room amenities include a flat screen TV, a refrigerator, and an oven.
What food & drink options are available at Volcano Forest Inn?
Guests can enjoy free breakfast during their stay.
What are some restaurants close to Volcano Forest Inn?
Conveniently located restaurants include Tuk Tuk Thai Food Truck, Cafe' Ono, and Kilauea Lodge Restaurant.