As most of you are well aware the Merrie Monarch festival is a four day event capable of filling every Hotel room in Hilo.

This leaves us 361 days where we are supported by our "Usual Guests", our backpackers and budget accommodation guests from all over the world who also do our expeditions, get to know us, and enjoy the ambiance of our Lodge. Many stay for weeks while exploring the beauty of our Island.

Merrie Monarch creates an annual problem when people book our hotel without understanding that it is NOT a conventional Hotel.

We do not have a 24 hour front desk, it closes at 8pm and reopens at 7:30am. We charge a late fee for checkins after 8pm and do not accept any checkin after 10pm. If you are attending the festival on your first night in Hilo you need to check in with us and then go to the event as we will not be here for checkin after 10pm.

Our accommodations are "No Frills", meaning we do not service your room during your stay. If you want fresh towels you may exchange them at the front desk.

As all of you who have obtained tickets for the festival are aware they do not entertain any reservation request before Jan 1st and your letter may not be postmarked before Dec 31st. This is because they cannot afford to run an office year round ...... we know how they feel and this year we are making a change.

Pre booking will require a three day minimum length of stay and all reservations will be charged in full when confirmed and will be NON REFUNDABLE. We will make every attempt to resell your space if you have an emergency or misfortune but if we cannot get a resale at short notice, the charge will stand.

This allows those of you attending the whole festival to get an assured reservation in advance. For those wanting a shorter stay we will open the remaining rooms for sale on March 1st, on a first come first served basis.

You will have been referred to this webpage by our reservation staff and before we will entertain a reservation you must begin your request with the statement " I have read and understand your Merrie Monarch and events policy statements."

Please now read our Events Policy which also contains pricing information.