Big Island Retreat

Guesthouse

This place is great! Gigi is the caretaker, manager and is a sweetheart. She loves to engage with her guests and is quite helpful if you need the local lay for good food or spots to see. They have everything you need. Beach chairs, snorkel gear, paddle boards, surf boards all at no charge. Rooms have a small refrigerator, toaster and microwave. There is ancovered outdoor kitchen with a everything else you need plus a full size BBQ grill. Rooms are comfortable and all have a private Lani. I would book again tomorrow.

Open air room, BUT very loud! Neighbors complain of our TV volume when we barely have it loud enough to hear sitting in front of it. Shabby grounds. Geckos infest the rooms. Sub par accomindations… overpriced, sub par, find a real resort.

Brilliant location and nice to stay somewhere smaller and cosy as opposed to a big hotel chain.

It all fits not too far away from the city, beach just down the street schnorchelzeugs has Gigi. If you want to know something just ask Gigi.

Located within walking distance of a public beach which has some of the best snorkeling that my wife and I have found on the island. The retreat has snorkeling gear, boogy boards, surf boards and beach equipment at your disposal. The owner, Gigi, is very accommodating to new island travelers. She has great recommendations and is here to make sure your stay is exceptional. My wife and I were happy with our stay.

We had a great stay here. Gigi was a wonderful host and went above and beyond to make our time enjoyable. Our Ocean view apartment was well appointed. The location was convenient as it was very close to the beach. It's a great snorkeling spot and we saw many turtles!

Wonderful guest house. Gigi was an exceptional host and very helpful. Excellent location, close to town and best of all walk to amazing snorkelling! By God's grace, on the last day we saw over 6 turtles in our last snorkel!

We are at home
Very personal warm welcome many services available for parking and Wi fi, fridge,
Microwave and spaces.

Great place. Clean rooms and friendly staff. Parking situation is a little weird but that's the only downside. Would highly recommend.

We recently spent seven nights at The Big Island Retreat (BIR) and loved it. It is where we will stay when we visit Kailua-Kona. You can look at the pictures on the website to get a feel for the rooms and the grounds — they represent it well. The place has a serenity that few places have. A relaxed pace — definitely on "Hawaii time". The heart and soul of BIR is Gigi — the manager — and her staff. They are unobtrusive but there when you need them. The rooms and the grounds are immaculate. While daily maid service is not offered the staff replaced linens and refreshed the room on request. BIR also provides all you will need for the beach — umbrella, chairs, rubber shoes for walking on the sometimes rocky beaches and other beach must-haves. There are a washer and dryer — $2.00 for one load — includes washing and drying — just put the money in the cup. The rooms do not have A/C but do have a ceiling fan and an oscillating fan — we did not miss the A/C. Our room was very comfortable and nicely decorated — loved the traditional Hawaiian quilt on the bed. We used the open-air kitchen a few times — breakfast and dinner. All the kitchen equipment and most condiments and spices are provided. Non-perishables left by guests are, when appropriate, left for other guests to enjoy — yes that includes beer. If you want to go out ask Gigi for local's favorites — you'll enjoy some good food at a very fair price.

It's a perfect place to relax. You have a outdoor kitchen to share with other guests and some small oven in your room. I loved to stay here and would visit any time again.

When we arrived, Gigi gave us a tour of the place and it exceeded our every expectation! She went over the amenities available with the rental and pointed out a few that we had not even thought of. The kids (18 yrs) were on edge waiting for high tide to take the long boards out. The snorkeling was the best. This find will definitely be at the top of our list the next time we return to Kailua-Kona. It will be hard to top this!

Great place for easy going people. You are a short walk (400 meters) from a great snorkeling place. At the retreat they will lend you everything you need. Beach chairs, towels, boards, snorkelling equipment, coolers etc, they even lend you sunscreen. Great place and Gigi which lives in the property is great and will give you tips. If I ever come back to Hawaii I will defenetely stay here.