Volcano House - Pāhoa, Hawaii

Ann B.

We stayed three nights at the Volcano House. If you are going to stay overnight in the HVNP area, try to stay here, and get a room with a crater view. The location is unparalleled -- right on the rim of the crater which keeps erupting (we, of course, timed our visit in between eruptions!!). The drinks are great. The dinner is good to great, depending on the night, which is not something that can be said about every National Park Inn. The breakfasts are great. The vibe is awesome! Everyone is so excited to be there and hoping for an eruption. The service is great. ||The rooms are not luxurious but the beds are very comfortable. Again, the view is amazing, especially at 4am when you can see the "glow" from the crater, which you cannot see once the sun rises.||The only small negative -- which is somewhat outside of the control of the Volcano House -- is the parking. The visitor center is across the street from the Volcano House and offers a lot of parking, but it is currently under construction and many of the parking spots there have been temporarily eliminated. This is more of a problem around lunchtime when people come in to the park and want to eat lunch at the Rim Room. It would be nice if the Volcano House reserved some parking for guests who are staying overnight. So, for example, I might recommend doing Chain of Craters Road after you check out from the Inn so that you do not have to find parking once you return. Also, the Crater Trail runs along the rim of the crater and to all of the major hiking/viewing areas, including the Volcano House, so rather than drive to a different part of the park you can just walk and hold your parking space.

Linda H.

Volcano House restaurant is located on the rim of the crater with a wonderful view. We tried to get reservations for breakfast lunch or dinner and could not get in. Parking was also a challenge in the evening. The good news is we stop by there anyways and they have a fabulous lookout area between the restaurant and Crater. Spent time at the two different gift shops in the building and still enjoyed watching the lava moving. Eventually we will get a reservation there but not this week.

Margaret C.

We stayed at the Volcano House for a family vacation in March 2025. The hotel is an older property and needs renovation. However, the location is outstanding, walk out to fully view the volcano and walking trail right outside the back of the hotel. The rooms were very clean and comfortable. The staff all very friendly, Jeffrey at the Coffee.Bar, so nice and helped us with our “to go” meal - thank you Jeffrey! The meals at the Uncle’s Lounge were outstanding, along with the view. It’s first come first served basis, you need to put in your name on a list to be seated. Does not matter if you are a hotel guest or not. There is another restaurant and you must make reservations in advance for dinner. The.breakfast buffet at the restaurant was basic, the omelet bar chef was very friendly and shared information of the volcano, weather and answered questions. We will go back again, we had a very nice time!

Judith B.

We were there just to see the crater and have lunch. Friendly, fast, helpful staff. Food excellent and good portion size. You can't beat the view either! Unfortunately no spouting lava while we were there.

Note it is in the national park so you will need to pay to enter the park in order to get to the hotel, unless you have a park pass.

This is the hotel to pick if you want to experience the volcano park and the paths. If you're lucky, you'll see nene, the endangered state bird, walking around.

Robert

We love the restaurants at Volcano House. We live nearby and spend lots of time at the park and we always enjoy stopping by Volcano House for a cocktail and a bite to eat. Uncle George's Lounge is our favorite spot. I don't know anywhere else on earth where you can get a window seat overlooking an active volcano and get an excellent meal and drinks all with superb service. We like to sit at the bar, the bartenders are always fun, engaging and attentive. Plus the drinks they make are always spot on and they'll happily accommodate any special requests you have if they can. The Rim restaurant has an awesome breakfast and an excellent fine dining program for lunch and dinner which we also enjoy. Do yourself a favor and check it out!

LihueGirl

Great Location Inside the National Park||My daughter and I stayed at Volcano House on Hawaii Island, and the biggest advantage is the location—it’s inside Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, making it very convenient for exploring. There are hiking trails right outside the hotel, and it’s directly across from the visitor center. One unique perk was being able to see the glow from the lava from our room, which was a memorable sight.||The hotel itself is small, historic, and quiet. The large picture windows with rocking chairs in the common area provide a great place to sit and enjoy the views. Upon arrival, guests are greeted with mimosas (or juice) and fresh cookies, which was a nice touch.||There are a few things to consider before booking. There is no elevator, so if stairs are an issue, requesting a first-floor room would be best. The beds were not very comfortable, and we only received one small bath towel for the room.||We had dinner at The Rim and weren’t impressed—the menu is limited, and the ribeye we ordered wasn’t very good. Service was also lacking. However, breakfast the next morning was a much better experience—the food was good, and service was attentive.||Overall, Volcano House is a good option if you want to stay inside the park, with easy access to trails and great views, but there are a few areas where the experience could be improved.||⭐ 3.5/5 Stars

Katie W.

Family of 4. Stayed in the cabins for 2 nights. It was such an amazing camping experience! Having the amenities of the main hotel a 6 minute drive away was fantastic. We’re were on a time change so we were up very early and went to the hotel to watch the glow of the volcano and have complimentary coffee and hot chocolate in the mornings before the sun came up. The beds in the cabins were comfy. For a camping cabin the cabin was really clean. The blankets were clean and warm. The Cain is a great set up for a family with 2 kids.|Tips- it got cold at night, there was no heater in the cabinso dress accordingly. It is in a rain forest and would randomly rain with really pretty sun showers so be prepared. To get firewood go into Volcano to Tru value and get proper wood, the wood around the cabins and from the wood guy is wet and hard to burn. The hotel will give you bags of ice to put in your cooler. One of the benefits of staying here is beating the rush to the most popular hikes!|We are so happy we stayed here, a fun adventure for us all.

Jill B.

We had a crater-view room, and it really did look right out over the crater. Unfortunately, we just missed an eruption; I imagine that would have been amazing to watch from the room. |We had the breakfast buffet in the restaurant, and it was much more affordable than I'd been expecting. There were plenty of buffet options, and the omelet chef did a great job on my eggs. The fresh fruit was delicious. The restaurant also has a really nice view over the crater.