Name: Hedonisia Hawaii Eco-Community
Address: 13-657 Hinalo St, Pāhoa, HI 96778, USA, Leilani Estates, Leilani Estates, Leilani Estates, HI 96778, United States of America
Rating: 9

Smoking areas

Garden

Adults Only

General

Laundry

Services and amenities

Common kitchen

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Internet

Airport transportation

Transfer

German

English

French

Japanese

Languages Spoken

Library

Recreation

Offsite parking reservations required

Parking

Snorkelling

Sports

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Location

At the hotel

Hilo International Airport

Hedonisia Hawaii Eco-Community

Leilani Estates

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

11-beds

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2-beds

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4-beds

40-beds

5-beds

6-beds

7-beds

8-beds

9-beds

king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

2-bedrooms

3-bedrooms

4-bedrooms

5-bedrooms

6-bedrooms

not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

We're recently back from 5 weeks on the Big Island, including 4 weeks at Hedonisia in the Jungle Cottage.  In the old days, we might have gone for Ocean View, like the friends we made from California, who stay there every year.  For us, having our own kitchen and bathroom was very convenient and the monthly rate was an unbeatable bargain.  Longer term guests work on the property, in our case for 3 hours per week.  That was fun and allowed some great interaction with the majority of guests and interns, who were mostly in their 20's.  Mojo, the owner has built the property up over the 14 or so years since he bought it and his unique vision has created a very special place.  Note that this is not for everyone.  If you are a resort type person, chances are you won't like it here.  If you are adventurous, open-minded and like meeting fellow travelers, this is a wonderful place.  There is much to do in the area, swimming, snorkeling, soaking in warm pools, hiking, etc.  Hilo and Volcanoes National Park are short drives away and Pahoa is a funky town that has all you need for restaurants and markets.  We were the oldest guests (in our 60's) and felt welcomed and very comfortable. The coqui's are loud at night, but just bring earplugs if you are a light sleeper.  This is essentially self-service, so you do your own laundry ($5 wash and dry) and take out your trash and recyclables.  It's all part of the great vibe here.  We look forward to our return visit!

The Good Life in the Rain Forest

I have stayed in all kinds of hostels and campgrounds and really enjoyed many aspects of the model of this community. We had the pleasure of meeting the founder, talking in depth about the internship programmes which teach leadership and female empowerment to help with projects in different parts of the world. The signs posted around the property are educational without sounding precious or preachy, and you learn a lot!  The accommodation itself suited our needs well and protected us against bugs while allowing us to see the sunrise, hear the rain and enjoy an ocean view on our little porch. It was peaceful and quiet. The outdoor toilet and shower were a great experience and the beautiful murals painted on everything make them very inviting! 

The only drawback, and something to keep in mind when staying, is that there seems to be no division between paying guests and the interns/volunteers, which I wasn't prepared for. They are mainly young US mainlanders in their early 20s and though they were on hand to help, they are not experienced in hospitality and treat the property like home (meaning they are around all the time in the kitchen and other common areas and sometimes underfoot). Our room wasn't ready when we arrived because the intern had forgotten to check the reservation, and we had to park at the gate at one point and it would make sense IMO to have a designated paying guest parking space or two closer to the cabins as a courtesy. At one point an intern was very rude to my partner and she had a terrible attitude the rest of our stay (telling him he had to wash his dishes immediately - there are not enough dishes for everyone to keep them from piling up - when he did nothing to provoke this.) Being mature travelers we took it all in stride, but being respectful to paid guests doesn't seem too much to ask for. 

If you can roll with the quirkiness and randomness that you might encounter and enjoy camping (eg close proximity to the elements) and communal life then you will have a good experience here (we would stay again!)

An interesting place to stay and memorable experience!

Not for everyone but if you like meeting people who like to travel and generally question the status quo this is the place to visit.  We had a small jungle bungalow surrounded by croakies (the famous frogs) that overlooked the ocean (even if it was 4 miles away)... What a view.  Receive a small discount if you stay a week and help with a small project.  Loved the people who were there when we visited.

Paradise within Paradise

.....jungle experience of a special kind: a big thank you to my hedonisia-hosts: Roberto, Kesi, Lauren, Graig and Adam. Thank you guys for letting me be part of your and Mojos project in the fairy-tale-like place you are constantly creating their in the jungle. 
I did not feel like a guest but like one of you and i learned a lot about your way of living, and enjoyed our discussions about love, sense of life and chickens and our amazing lava-hike, black sand beach-day and the swim in the paradise-like natural lava swimming pool... nothing to regret about my stay at this unique place...except one thing: next time i'd better bring rain-clothes with me (i should not complain: Kesi did our lava hike not only wet but also barefoot, "chapeau"!) and a head light (Thanks Adam for borrowing yours to me).

jungle-experience

Absolutely one of the high points of our trip! My daughter and I stayed for 2 weeks here in the Jungle Cottage on the grounds of this sustainable community. The people were friendly, interesting, and open to all backgrounds and types. The accommodations are rustic and in a good way. However, if you're looking for hotel/motel type accommodations with maid service, this is not the place for you. 

If however, you are looking for a more adventurous and fun type of stay in your visit to this quieter and more funky part of the Big Island, this is the place for you. We felt safe and cared for at all times. I even left my door unlocked at night and, living in Houston for some time, I can't even imagine doing that EVER! 

The entire compound is on a prior landfill/junkyard and the owners and their onsite managers are constantly working to maintain the balance between functional space, overgrowth of the rain forest abundant beauty and the sustainable fruit farm. The communal areas are well organized with prior and current volunteers/guests sharing food, supplies, and clothing. 

The couple who own the land and the buildings are highly involved on a daily basis with the intern-managers who have varying amounts of time spent on the grounds - from a month to a couple of years. This is a great opportunity for young adults to learn how to run a co-op business in the travel industry and to learn about sustainable living practices. 

As a guest, you can either pay outright for the accommodations or you can volunteer your time in many ways for discounted rates. We chose and thoroughly enjoyed doing landscaping detail with machetes and weed wackers to make the surrounding rain forest livable yet beautiful. 

Interns Robert, Lauren, Taylor, and Katie were fantastic in their enthusiasm, knowledge, and overall positive attitude towards anything that came up and were supervised by the owners via telephone when they aren't physically on the property. They also attended to any needs that came up and if they didn't know the answer, they would find out. 

The Jungle Cottage, where we stayed, had regular facilities like an efficiency apartment with easily connectable WiFi. There is no cable but Roku with numerous channels are available. Coqui frogs are quite loud at night, so if you have to sleep in absolute quiet, you would want to bring ear plugs. But then those are the benefits of living in the rain forest with abundant beautiful nature right outside your front door. 

The small town of Pahoa is within a couple of miles and has a large assortment of great places to eat, shop, and simply people watch. Beaches of all types and not hugely populated are within about 4-5 miles. And I'm not exaggerating when I say that the warmth of the Hedonisia Community is only a small portion of the friendly nature of this area of the Big Island. 

We will be coming back as soon as possible!

Hedonisia Hawaii Eco-Community

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