affordable Archives - Arnott's Lodging & Adventures

17Dec 2023 by Doug Arnott

Christmas 2023

affordable, Budget, Business, Camping, Hawaii, Hilo, Ocean, Outdoors, Travel, Traveling, Volcano

Here we are at Christmas time 2023. Today we had our staff Christmas party, which was marked by two things. Our fantastic staff and lodge friends: Mahana, Makana, Siobhan, Andras, Nanae, Lauren, Mike, Jenny, Donna, Mark, and Sarah One was the amazing cake and chocolate strawberries provided by Mauna Kea Guide Andras and his wife. The other was a very clever game facilitated by Lauren involving a tightly wound ball of Saran Wrap that was hundreds of layers deep and shed all kinds of goodies as it was unwound on the roll of a dice. As we approach the winter season for Mauna Kea we have yet to have a full sub-zero night, as the same conditions that have provided drought for much of the Island are keeping the Summit warm.…

21Nov 2023 by Doug Arnott

Happy Thanksgiving from Arnott’s Lodge

Adventure, affordable, Budget, Business, Camping, Hawaii, Hilo, Nature, Ocean, Travel, Traveling, Volcano, Wifi

Aloha to all prospective and past guests. As we approach Thanksgiving 2023 we are truly blessed to be here in Hilo Hawaii in such a beautiful area and having had enough recent rain to keep all the vegetation green while most of the State is experiencing drought. This past year has seen ongoing changes and evolution in furnishings in our open areas as well as major changes in Landscaping and beautification of neighboring areas under our care. New guests will experience the beauty of our area and proximity of nearby Beach Parks while our many repeat guests and Educational Groups will still experience the Home away from Home that brings them back year after year. The County has steadily improved the Hele On Bus system and we now have nearby reliable…

06Oct 2023 by Sarah Garcia

Throwback to ’95

Adventure, affordable, Camping, Conservation, Environment, Hawaii, Hilo, History, Nature, Travel, Traveling, Volcanology

This past week we were given a gift in the form of several photos of Arnott's Lodge and our Mauna Kea tour all the way back from 1995! We want to say a special thank you to Geerten Kalter of Delft, Holland, for sending us his pictures. We have been in operation since 1990 and are so grateful to all the people we've met along the way. Things sure have changed! One of our original tour vehicles. You have to love the old suburban. Traveling to the summit of Mauna Kea. A view of the shadow cast by Mauna Kea The front of Arnott's Lodge. A lot has changed!

03Feb 2023 by Doug Arnott

Blog on Late Check-ins

Adventure, affordable, Budget, Business, Camping, Hawaii, Hilo, safety, Travel, Traveling

You have probably found Arnott's as you are looking for a good price, and we are often the lowest of the well-rated Hotels in Hilo. There is a reason for this, as we are a small operation two miles from the nearest "Big Hotel" in an uncrowded coastal area and residential neighborhood, away from the center of town, and we do not charge "Resort Fees" nor do we charge for parking, so right there you are saving money. Another important saving that we pass on to you is that, like the rest of America, it is hard to find staff, especially for late hours. As security is more important after 9pm than check-ins, we focus on a Security Person rather than a Front Desk clerk with computer skills, so you can…

15Jan 2023 by Doug Arnott

2023 starts with a new Kilauea eruption

Adventure, affordable, Budget, Camping, Environment, Environmental, Geology, Hawaii, Hilo, Nature, Outdoors, safety, Travel, Traveling, Volcano, Volcanoes, Volcanology

Aloha to Arnott's Guests and future guests!This is an update to the current status of the Kilauea volcano and its eruption. As of January 10th, 2023, there is a spectacular lake of molten lava with one fountain that varies from a few to 30 feet or more in height (10m +.)The Hawaii Volcanoes National Park staff have have prepared great viewing areas that are very close to the crater and allow spectacular photography. Be aware, however, that the full show does not begin until the sun sets (currently around 6:00 p.m.) and that large crowds and long waits for parking can be expected until about 9:00 p.m. After 9:00 p.m. and until around 4:00 a.m. there are very few people in the park. It can be very cold at that…

05Dec 2022 by Doug Arnott

The New Eruption of Mauna Loa

Adventure, affordable, Budget, Conservation, Environment, Environmental, Geology, Hawaii, Hilo, History, Nature, Outdoors, safety, Travel, Traveling, Uncategorized, Volcano, Volcanoes, Volcanology

On the evening of November 27th at 11:30 p.m., we were just getting ready to sleep when social media became alive with news of a lurid glow over Mauna Loa and that an eruption was in progress. This announcement followed months of increased activity after years of mild tremor recorded by sensitive instruments placed at strategic points on the mountain. Of course in a very short time the Internet was flooded with pictures from 360 degrees around the mountain of very strong glow. A quick visit to ever-patient HVO research Webcams on Mauna Loa's NW corner of the Caldera Rim showed the entire Caldera of Moku'aweoweo flooded with very hot fresh Lava, and for a while it seemed like it would spill out the Southwest corner toward a very steep…

08Jun 2021 by Doug Arnott

Doug Arnott Discusses our SUNSET and stargazing Mauna Kea tour

Adventure, affordable, Budget, COVID, Environment, Environmental, Hawaii, Hilo, Outdoors, Travel, Traveling

Aloha guests and future guests. My Blog today is about our Mauna Kea Summit tour and why some companies advertise the use of expensive telescopes while we use a Laser Pointer, and also why our emphasis is on SUNSET and not so much on stargazing. Most people who go up Mauna Kea, have never experienced anything like this amazing adventure, nor have they experienced the clarity of our atmosphere that has you gasping in wonder with your eyes; not even with binoculars.Many realize for the first time that we are part of a highly visible VAST galaxy that looks like a River of closely associated Stars in their Billions: this is what drove ancient Egyptians to build the Pyramids in perfect alignment with this River.If you want to look through a…

21Mar 2021 by Doug Arnott

Doug’s Blog on Visiting the Big Island during COVID

Adventure, affordable, Budget, Business, Camping, Conservation, COVID, distance work, Environment, Environmental, Geology, Hawaii, Hilo, History, Nature, Ocean, Outdoors, safety, Travel, Traveling, Volcano, Volcanoes, Volcanology, Wifi

Aloha All Visitors reading my Blog.The problem for any destination that has a Main Feature is how to draw visitors to come when that feature is not doing its thing.The burning question is whether the destination has other charms for Visitors besides its main feature.Paris without the Eiffel Tower is still amazing Paris, Japan without Mt Fuji is still rich in culture and scenery.Many have visited Italy many times without seeing Rome or the Volcanoes.And so it is with the Big Island, or as our Visitor Bureau likes to call it, "Island of Hawaii".For a start this is a BIG Island with three Huge Mountains: two over 13,000ft above sea level. One is Mauna Kea, which you can drive (4x4) or take a tourto the top, the other is Mauna Loa,…

24Jan 2021 by Doug Arnott

Mr. Arnott’s January Blog

Adventure, affordable, Budget, Business, Camping, COVID, distance work, Environment, Hawaii, Hilo, Nature, Ocean, Outdoors, safety, Travel, Traveling, Wifi

Aloha to those joining my blog..... There is a move afoot on Oahu to encourage mainlanders who want to (individually or with family) come to Hawaii for remote work, to fulfill their dream by offering good rates for longer stays into months for qualified applicants.We recently had an experience with 30 college-age students who would have gone on overseas trips but, because of Covid, had to stay in the US. This group stayed with us for 3 months, from Sept. through Nov. last year and taught us a great deal about longer-term stays, which we have never entertained before. One of the things we had to provide was really fast Internet for them, and after a new contract with Spectrum and about $4000 to a local Tech company, we had…

20Dec 2020 by Doug Arnott

A Blog by Doug Arnott, founder and owner of Arnotts

Adventure, affordable, Budget, Camping, COVID, distance work, Environmental, Hawaii, Hilo, Nature, Ocean, Outdoors, safety, Travel, Traveling, Wifi

Douglass Arnott standing in one of Arnotts guest areas. While 2020 with Covid raging around the world has presented its challenges, we find ourselves approaching Christmas with a deep appreciation for Hilo and the Big Island of Hawaii where we are based.Our small population...only 200,000 on a large island and our sense of Ohana (family) and of Kuleana (ones obligation to others) has seen us through; far better than many other places. Going into 2021 we will probably see hesitancy by our usual clients of Paddling, Hula, Soccer, Rugby, Biking, Adventure Hiking and of course our Au Pair camper groups to travel in numbers, and so we find ourselves pondering who might we reach out to who could utilize our unique Hotel and the vans and buses which used to serve…

Category: affordable