Accommodation in Hawai’i is not only about resorts and big and beautiful hotels. For the discerning Australian traveler there is a large range of boutique accommodation available in guesthouse and Bed&Breakfast style. The added bonus is that one gets to know the establishment’s hosts and have a first-hand Hawaiian experience. This month we will introduce one authentic guesthouse on each of the Islands that won’t break the bank!

Hawaii’s Hidden Hideaway – Oahu

Thirty minutes east of Honolulu International Airport in Kailua, a short walk from Kailua and Lanikai beaches, is a beautiful white 1930’s Hawaiian home, with thatched roof, that houses three guestrooms. One room comes with an ocean view and two with garden views but all three come with colour TV, DVD, CD and a wonderful selection of fresh breakfast provisions. Right behind the guesthouse, guests will find some of Oahu’s best hikes. Beach towels and chairs are provided. Rates from US$95 per room per night (minimum three nights stay).

* For more information on Hawaii’s Hidden Hideaway please visit www.ahawaiibnb.com

* For more information on B&Bs and guesthouses on Oahu

 

Bed & Breakfast Mountain View – The Big Island

Halfway between Hilo and the Volcanoes National Park, with views of Mauna Kea Mountain and set within gardens full of exotic and native flowers, Jane and Linus Chao will welcome you warmly at their Mountain View. Place of pride on the estate is the massive pond that brims with goldfish and is covered in lotus. As both hosts are talented painters with works in private collections in the USA and Asia, the house doubles as an art gallery where guests can take in Jane and Linus’s creations in oil, acrylic and watercolour. There is a new spa and most rooms have their own TV and video. The bed and breakfast’s four rooms start at US$55 per room per night.

* For more information on Mountain View Bed & Breakfast please visit www.bbmtview.com

* For more information: B&Bs and guesthouses on the Big Island

A’ahi Place – Molokai

On the Island of Molokai, just east of Kaunakakai, relax on the lanai of your own self-contained cedar bungalow in the midst of a delightful tropical garden! The one bedroom, twin bedded cottage is only five minutes to the shops and restaurants of Kaunakakai. At the same time the beautiful beaches on the western side, and the Kalaupapa look-out on Molokai’s north shore, are only a short drive away. For ultimate relaxation there are no phones or televisions at A’ahi Place… but the hosts do provide their guests with freshly baked bread and fruits from the garden! Rates start at US$75 per night for the cottage.

* For mor information on A’ahi Place please visit www.molokai.com/aahi

* For more information on the island of Molokai please visit www.hawaiitourism.com.au

Old Wailuku Inn - Maui

This inn has featured in Travel and Leisure’s top 10 of the US best bed & breakfasts and with good reason! The 1920’s mansion was originally built by a wealthy banker for his daughter in law. The current owners have lovingly restored the gracious house and themed it in honour of Don Blanding, Hawai’i’s leading poet of the 1920s and 1930s. Each of the ten suites of the guest house is decorated in the theme of one of the flowers in the luscious gardens surrounding the Old Wailuku Inn – rooms bear names like Lokelani Room, Mokihana Room, and Lehua Garden Room. Rooms start at US$120 per night per room (minimum two nights stay).

* For more information on the Old Wailuku Inn please visit www.oldwailukuinn.com

* For more information: B&Bs and guesthouses on Maui

 

Waimea Plantation Cottages – Kaua’i

This Kaua’i property is a bit larger than the other ones mentioned as it has 58 cottages. They are in the middle of an old coconut grove on Kaua’i’s west coast not far from Waimea Canyon and the Napali Coast. Surrounded by giant banyan trees and hammocks, and with its beachside pool and on-site day spa, Waimea Plantation makes for a very relaxing break. Each cottage comes with its own private lanai, kitchen, stereo, cable TV and complementary wireless internet access. The cottages are appointed with period furnishings of mahogany, rattan or wicker and have all been created or restored to retain a charming historical simplicity. One, two and three bedrooms from US$184 per cottage per night.

* For more information on Waimea Plantation Cottages please visit www.waimea-plantation.com

* For more information: B&Bs and guesthouses on Kaua’i