Superior Room | Living area
Check availability

Reviews of Wild Ginger Hotel

2 out of 5
Wild Ginger Hotel
100 Pu'ueo Street Building A, Hilo, HI

Reviews

7.8

Good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 236 out of 493 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 113 out of 493 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 47 out of 493 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 31 out of 493 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 66 out of 493 reviews" "

7.8/10

Cleanliness

8.8/10

Staff & service

6.6/10

Amenities

6.8/10

Property conditions & facilities

8.0/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

8/10 Good

Dinh

Just okay
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2024

4/10 Poor

Nikhil

Travelled with partner
Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The rooms are not clean and are not as shown in the pictures. The carpet is too stained and the walls in the wardrobe are broken and the windows don't close completely. Overall it's an unpleasant surprise.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2024

2/10 Terrible

PHILIPPE

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Hard to believe that this hotel is still operating . Not sure that the health department is doing it's job .First impression is the parking with an old military vehicle sitting there for 100 years .Maintenance is not on part of the schedule for this hotel . The term "old colonial" as nicely mentionned means absolutely nothing , better say " old crabby colonial "hotel .Not recommended at all
Stayed 4 nights in Apr 2024

10/10 Excellent

Cory

👍
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2024

2/10 Terrible

Kenneth, Lake elsinore

Travelled with family
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
This property was so bad we made the decision to forgo our night. Stay give up the money we had paid and go rent somewhere else.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2024

2/10 Terrible

Holden

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities

10/10 Excellent

Sheri

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
This truly is a historic hotel. We felt we were going back in time. The hosts do all they can to make us feel at home. Close to shops and restaurants.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2024

10/10 Excellent

Leona

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
Wild Ginger brought back memories of when I was little. Old Hawaiian living. It's very old. Property owner is trying to up date but it's perfect for shower, bed, and breakfast. I would definitely stay again to watch it's growth.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2024

8/10 Good

Donna

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
The old Hawaii experience was great. I enjoyed hearing the birds chirping late afternoon and early morning … and even the coqui frogs chirping all night.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2024

10/10 Excellent

Jacob

Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024

10/10 Excellent

jrayanne

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 5 nights in Mar 2024

4/10 Poor

Frederic

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Kind of last minute and just for 1 night: place is not only old but also run down. Depressing.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024

2/10 Terrible

Patrick

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Room and mattress was infested with bugs/spiders/moths. Did not stay there, cancel the booking and refund please
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024
Response from Wild Ginger Ohana on 18 Mar 2024
Hello, we don’t understand what you’re talking about here. If there’s something that’s wrong with your bed, just let us know and we’ll fix it. I mean we’re an open air hotel so sure the Occasional little fly may sneak in but infested… I don’t think so. Your review is out of line . Our hotel policy is to do everything within our power for our guest . We’re sorry but this review is exaggerating and dishonest.

8/10 Good

Ian

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Thsi ace has character! Not a 5 star resort so don't expect that and you won't be disappointed. The staff were great, breakfast was excellant, the rooms were very clean. The only thing is you have to realize this is a 112 year ol builing so it won't be as fancy as new but the character includign the paintings, carvins and sculptures make up for it.. Great place if you aer stayign for a few nights.
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2024
Response from Ginger Ohana on 18 Mar 2024
Our sincere Mahalo for your review. We appreciate you!!! Thank you for being a good person and writing an honest review. We will definitely put you on a preferred guest list. Safe travels!

4/10 Poor

Jordan

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Not a very good place to stay. It’s some sort of old building renovated to be a “hotel”…The floor was painted plywood. The ceiling in the bathroom leaked from all the rain. However, the bed was comfortable and the location in Hilo was convenient.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024

2/10 Terrible

Sherrie

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023

10/10 Excellent

Anthony

Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024

10/10 Excellent

Maximillian, san diego

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 6 nights in Feb 2024

2/10 Terrible

Iouri, Staten Island

Travelled with partner
Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Very old hotel, build around 1950-th. Don’t remodeling, don’t repair. No windows (plexiglass). Very old mattress, Bath the same ages of my grand grand mother. Floor not horizontal, have angle and all furniture have spesial lockers from papers (opened, don’t properly closed, opened without lockers). Furniture very old (I think from garbich).
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2024
Response from Wild Ginger Ohana on 4 Mar 2024
All the furniture in the rooms are under a year old, including the mattresses. Not sure where are you getting your information from. But your entire review is inaccurate.

2/10 Terrible

Christopher

Business traveller
Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
This is the worst hotel I have ever rented through Expedia. Hotel rooms were literally falling apart. Rotten walls, mold in shower stalls, holes in floors. The hotel is in a noisy area and you cannot close the windows due to air flow. This is a less than 1 star hotel.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2024

2/10 Terrible

Jason

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
I love beach dive hotels, and have stayed in many This one is quirky and unique, but unfortunately the room was awful. I can deal with no tv, ac, dirty fridge What got me was mildest/moldy shower, stained pillow case on bed, filmy entry door with no deadbolt or secure locking mechanism Took one look, said no thanks Was told they “were not authorized “ to issue refund, even though had other vacant rooms Hard pass. Got a very nice room for similar price up road
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024
Response from The Wild Ginger Ohana on 22 Feb 2024
Sorry you booked a hotel incorrectly. Why do you need a deadbolt exactly? Just weird review. Hope you enjoy your travels though . Mahalo

2/10 Terrible

SEYOUNG

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Worst place to stay.
Response from Wild Ginger Ohana on 19 Feb 2024
Aloha, we don't understand your review as you stayed in a beautiful room and paid almost half the going rate for comparable hotels. If you are looking for 5 star accommodations we do have them on the island...you simply need to pay a lot more for them. In any case, we wish you happy travels and hope you find your joy during your vacation. Mahalo

4/10 Poor

Ikaika

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Very interesting stay. Staff are excellent place is a bit run down and unpleasant
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024

10/10 Excellent

Thomas

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
It’s a lovely old school hotel with lots of character. The free breakfast is great offering fresh fruit, bagels, coffee and juice. The staff are very nice and helpful, special thanks to Jason who told us all there is to do on the island and the best places to eat his recommendations were great. Overall very happy with our stay.
Stayed 4 nights in Feb 2024

4/10 Poor

Stephen, San Diego

Travelled with partner
Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
I liked the staff and the plants around the property. My husband had no hot water. There was a mold in the shower and a moldy shower curtain. The edges of the rugs in the room were curled, which caused me to trip in the middle of the night. They are a liability and should be removed.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024

2/10 Terrible

Bryan

Travelled with family
Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
This property was unmaintained, worn out, uncleaned, and unsanitized at all. There were dead bugs all over the room, no hot water, window frames were twisted, and plugged with plastic bags, and moldy bathroom. I do not recommend this property.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2024

2/10 Terrible

VICKY

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
I knew I was in trouble when I pulled up and saw a building that had seen better days. Old palm leaves hung from the roof, a non-working military vehicle was parked on the side of the parking lot, and the parking lot itself was covered with large potholes. When I checked in, I saw ear plugs and asked if it was because of road noise (it backs into Highway 19). The clerk said no, it's because birds are noisy in the morning and frogs at night. My room was on the end, backing into the highway. With no AC, you have to leave the windows open. There was no TV and no internet in the room. The hotel looked like it was built in the 1960s and had not seen any maintenance. In Hilo, the rain and humidity play havoc. You have to stay on top of things or they go downhill quickly. Pipes in the bathroom were full of rust, and the baseboards had noticeable termite damage. I've stayed in some dives, but this one is about the diviest. Just because you have a few carved tikis in the foyer doesn't make ti quaint. The bedding did look clean, I'll give them that. I left and drove back to Kona - I was not going to endure road noise all night long!

2/10 Terrible

VICKY

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
This backs into Highway 19. With no air conditioning, you're stuck keeping the windows open. They have free earplugs, which should have been a hint. The clerk said they were for the birds in the morning and frogs at night. No, they're for the road noise. The property is NOT maintained. There's lotgs of rust and visible termite damage as well as potholes and an overflowing dumpster in the parking lot. There are no TVs and no Internet in the rooms. I've stayed at some dives before, but this one takes the cake. Just because they put a few carved tikis in the so-called lobby does not make it quaint. I stayed all of 5 minutes before dropping my key by the desk and leaving. I ate the cost of the room for one night. It wasn't worth fighting to sleep with the noise. To top it off, they put me on the end unit, which was the closest to the highway.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

8/10 Good

Xuedong

Liked: Staff & service
You get what you paid for the price. The issue for us is no hot water.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023

10/10 Excellent

Franklin

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Stayed 4 nights in Jan 2024

8/10 Good

Margaret

Travelled with partner
Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
The property is self-described as "an old, Hawaiian-style Hotel". The problem with it is the cleanliness. Edges of floors, corners, baseboards all had many dead bugs and too much dirt. Outlets and switches have no covers. The screens and bent and leave gaps. With a little TLC and elbow grease, this hotel could be a charming place. Without higher standards of cleaning, I could not recommend it to anyone.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

2/10 Terrible

Robert

Travelled with partner
Disliked: Amenities
The friendly service provided by the sweet ladies at the front office belied the condition of this hotel. Water never really got hot and had little flow. Rooms and bath had nowhere to place our things. The loud coqui frogs will likely overrun this place soon and it will be even harder to get get to sleep. We paid for three nights, but left after the first night.
Stayed 3 nights in Jan 2024

2/10 Terrible

Brittany

Travelled with partner, Travelled with group
Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities
i understand this is a old property and i expected and was excited for the old character, but what we got was just terrible there was bed bugs like hundreds of them all through my bed there was blood stains and hair all over the sheets the area itself seems very unsafe and very dirty . the breakfast was a complete joke and day old food that should be refrigerated sitting out in the heat i would not advice anyone to stay here at all so your self a favor and avoid this place

2/10 Terrible

Shaun

Travelled with family
Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
WILD GINGER - HILO, HI *TERRIBLE*
Requested a refund due to not receiving my after-hours check-in, therefore unable to stay the night. Still waiting for a response from rhe owner and waiting for my refund. Get this, the staff says you (the guest) have to contact the owner to request a refund. Never received a call back in response to any of my phone calls. I didn't have any expectations as far as the facility is concerned, but I did expect to at least have been given the necessary info to access the room. I even spoke with the manager or receptionist to inform her that I would be arriving late. I'm sure others have had a decent experience, but I sure didn't. If the owner is reading this, respond to my numerous emails and give me my refund. Hotel.com should remove listings for establishments that are sub-par. I'm very frustrated with businesses that are not trustworthy and non-responsive.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

4/10 Poor

Bereket

Travelled with partner
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The room lacks basic items as a hotel and it is not clearly listed on the website. The place is more of a cabin stay not a hotel. It would have been nice if it was listed as a cabin and I knew ahead of time what I was paying for.
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2024
Response from Wild Ginger Ohana on 16 Jan 2024
Aloha, thank you for your review. We’re happy to provide any items to make your stay more comfortable. You simply need to ask. Please feel free to write us and let us know what recommendations in regards to items you would like in our rooms. Happy travels and we appreciate you.

2/10 Terrible

Michael

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
This property is dilapidated and should be torn down. The floors are slanted, windows rotten, holes in walls, black mold all over. No face lift will help this property.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024
Response from Wild Ginger Ohana on 13 Jan 2024
Aloha Michael, building is historic and being preserved. Brand new foundation. Please write the hotel and where exactly you found mold because we’re not familiar with any . And if some, does exist we’d like to address immediately. Mahalo

10/10 Excellent

Debra

Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024
Response from Wild Ginger Ohana on 16 Jan 2024
Mahalo Deborah! We are thankful for you! Mahalo for visiting our hotel and island. We hope to see you again soon.

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Travelled with family
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Avoid this.. even if it is FREE
The property should be demolished, not in livable condition.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023
Response from Wild Ginger Ohana on 10 Jan 2024
Aloha, we’re sorry you feel this way but our property is historic and we love it the way it is. We’ll continue to be preserve it the way it is for all our awesome travelers. We honor our history on this island. Perhaps pay the higher hotel costs and stay at the Hilton next time. Mahalo for your review and happy travels.

6/10 Okay

Jennifer

Travelled with partner
Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
This property is as advertised. It is not a luxury hotel- it is old, noisy and does have character. The staff were good as was the location for exploring downtown. Do not bank on the breakfast- yesterday there was only fruit and today there was no coffee. As well, it didn’t bother us, but there are no tv’s in the rooms. Hot water takes a long time to make it to the room. There is a lot of potential for this place.
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2024

2/10 Terrible

Laura

Travelled with family
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
A portion of the property collapsed. Our room was right next to the collapsed portion. There was mold and bugs in the room. The outside Window trim is broken off. There is junk all around the property. There were broken steps that could have caused a slipping accident. The property is dangerous and should be assessed by building code regulators.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Cancelled my stay when I showed up for checkin
Showed up and they said they have no room. While I was at the desk they sent me an email through hotels.com saying they’d refund me plus send me $80 more to cover the only other available option nearby. It’s been 2 weeks, no refund, no payment, and they do not answer phones or emails.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023

4/10 Poor

Xiaotao

Travelled with family, Travelled with partner
Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Don't look at the pictures on Expedia, totally deceiving. Read more reviews on Google and Expedia. Inside the room, wall has some cracks, holes, and missing pieces. The restroom is small and the door won't shut. We are one of a handful of parties stayed at the place that night (only 3 other cars parked outside) and still waited for 10-15 minutes before there is showerable (not hot) water. Frogs were very noisy at night but luckily we brought earbuds so we were okay. Besides a like-new fridge (which is pretty amazing for an old and not well-maintained property like this), don't expect anything even moderately related to modern. If there's any sort of natural disaster, I wouldn't stay here at all for safety reasons. Also, don't book here if you are looking for comfortable vacation hotel (read other reviews for a message the hotel will send you a day before you check in and the interpretation. Pretty accurate). If you want to experience the REAL Hawaiian life, this may be for you and you may be even surprised by how nice the place is. Staff (one front desk lady) is really friendly and amazing though. Breakfast (fruits and bagel) was refreshing too. I wouldn't say we had a comfortable stay, but it is livable for a night. The front desk lady was definitely the best. Wouldn't stay here again.

10/10 Excellent

Jared

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Welcoming
I was shocked at this hidden location but by the end loved it. Little weird but staff is great and everyone welcoming
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2023

2/10 Terrible

Yunjia

Travelled with family
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The room had no hot water and was very noisy due to its proximity to a highway. The windows in the house could not be closed, and the facilities were outdated. There were multiple spider webs and signs of insects. The area surrounding the hotel was dirty, and the actual condition of the room was significantly different from the photos. The front desk lady mentioned that the hotel is a century old. She explained that the outdated facilities contribute to the long time required for hot water to come out. We tried various methods she suggested for 2 hours but failed to get hot water. When the front desk staff came to our room and tested the water, she informed us after a few minutes that she herself bathes in nearly cold water. She had no authority to process our refund request and refused to let us negotiate directly with her boss. Despite our insistence, she claimed she couldn't contact her boss again, although she had gotten through immediately on her first call. We left the hotel immediately and contacted our bank to handle the matter.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023

8/10 Good

Vijayaraghavan

Travelled with family, Travelled with group
Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The room itself was too small. The bathroom doors didn't lock properly. We were in room 17.

4/10 Poor

Hugh

Business traveller
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Wildly Uncomfortable
I would not stay here again, and would tell others to stay away! The pictures on line are not a representation of this broken down motel. Bathrooms had tons of spiders on the walls, Koki frogs are extremely loud around the rooms. The bed was thin and hard, and there was no hot water! Do not stay here!
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023

2/10 Terrible

y

Travelled with family
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Very old and just not a hotel. More like below a motel
Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2023

2/10 Terrible

Tong, Houston

Travelled with family
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
DO NOT COME!!! This is a huge scam!! This is definitely not a hotel, this place is worse than a motel. There is no staff member to help after 6pm. When we got to this place, it's 8:30pm. The email clearly said, "If you need any help, please ring the bell". We rang, rang, rang, no one showed up. And we can hear the staff members were upstairs chatting. When my husband went up to talk to them, they got mad and said, "This is for employees only." Very rude and helpless! We booked 3 king rooms, but they gave us 1 king and 2 queens. The bathroom is very small and dirty, my bathroom door has 3 bloody fingerprints. The shower stall was raised up, different rooms had different heights. My mom's shower stall was raised 20" high, so she slipped when she stepped out, and hit her neck on the ceramic sink. The window on the hallway side is Jalousie Windows, my room had 2 panels missing, so wind bowled on me the whole night, and the noise from outside (people walking, talking, birds fighting, etc) made me awoke the whole night. Walls and door frames were broken, and looked like termites chewed. The bedding sheets seemed ok, but the mattress had a uterine smell.

10/10 Excellent

Chris

Business traveller, Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Should be renamed the Tiki Hotel
Old building but perfect for us. Quick walk to Hilo restaurants. Staff was young and friendly. Rooms are basic but very clean and comfortable. The hotel offered free breakfast which was surprising given what we paid for the room. Parking was also free and we didn't have to pay a resort fee. Carvings in the lobby were incredible and offered fun social medial pictures.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

2/10 Terrible

Nikolas

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Please help me send a message to ownership by choosing another hotel. After coming here, I investigated all the others in Hilo at this price range (and stayed at two) and this is by far the worst. I begged out of my six day stay and was told (after resistance) that they would. And comp my one night there. They held back $280. They told the Expedia services rep on my cel phone in front of me. They record and transcribe all calls. I even confirmed it with the manager. FYI - the rep could not get through to their listed number. Said that never happens. I had to leave because around a dozen of the amenities they list were not provided. Including AC. And no hot water (and pathetic pressure) or tv. The area isn't great. Planes cross right overhead. It is on the wrong side of Hwy 19 and the "better" the room's view the closer to the road noise you are. You hear every semi, car and motorbike all day and night. And no access to the water like the photos imply. Critters chirp all night. The jungle has swallowed this creaky, sagging structure. My room had a rusted sink and window apparatus. The window was frozen open. If anyone smoked, it came into my room. Lots of paint over paint. Paint on the comforter. Dent on the fridge. One window had a missing slat. Walls were paper thin. You could hear every neighbor. Their staff is just a bunch of teenage backpackers working for room and board. Their contractor, who was there pruning, told me that he keeps telling the owner about these issues..
Stayed 6 nights in Dec 2023
Response from Wild Ginger Ohana on 2 Jan 2024
Aloha, we’re sorry that you are unhappy with the hotel’s last minute cancellation policy . We are simple and humble hotel and do everything we can for our guests. However, we like many hotels, must maintain a last minute cancellation policy to avoid unfair loses. If you are looking for a mainland resort style accommodations may we recommend the Grand Naniloa by Hilton. They may be want you are looking for. Despite your exaggerated and false statements we still wish you Happy travels