Malia's Birdsong B& B

Seattle winter is grinding on, so I'm transporting myself back to Malia's Birdsong B&B, Christmas 2012. Lush, vivid, welcoming and wild, Malia's Birdsong is the perfect pocket-size home base from which to discover Hilo and surrounds. Two comfy, lovely rooms and a bath tucked into tamed jungle. And as if that's not enough. . . There's a menagerie here and, for those of us who live fur-covered lives at home, that's huge bonus points. Sweet dogs, cool kitties, llamas, goats -- yet no sign of an ark. Make sure Dave shows you his superb bowls. Seeing his mastery of wood was a high point of our stay. And a special shout-out, with love, for Nora. A great hostess and an even better woman.

I really enjoyed staying with the Waters, they are such wonderful and helpful hosts! And breakfast in the middle of all the beautiful plants is just gorgeous.

A little hard to find-use your GPS. Amazing surroundings. Warm, friendly hosts.

This place was perfect for us! The suite was spacious for the two of us & very comfortable. Nora & David were very friendly, accommodating & informative. Our itinerary around Hilo included Volcanoes National Park, Rainbow Falls, Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, Akaka Falls and Waipio Valley. The location of Malia’s Birdsong worked well for us. We had a choice of warm or cold breakfast but opted for cold due to our on-the-go schedule. The breakfast on the lanai was pleasantly relaxing & we even got a little company from one of the cats. Nora shared some of the bounty from the recent lychee harvest & rain water is provided for drinking. Delicious! We enjoyed our breakfast surrounded by a rain forest "garden". Cozy bed, warm shower, relaxing atmosphere, abundant food & good company available. Thanks Nora & David for adding to a wonderful & memorable vacation! On a more technical note, the rooms were neither musty nor moldy which was important as I have a nasty allergy to such things. I think the B&B is located at a slightly higher elevation than Hilo by the shore (guessing) so that probably helped…still a rain forest though! The nighttime serenade includes the distinctive call of a rainforest frog which some find relaxing (myself) while others may need to resist the urge to go frog hunting (my husband). A quick trip to the local Walmart for earplugs effectively remedied his situation. We would not hesitate to stay at Malia’s Birdsong if we find ourselves in Hilo again.