Responsible, Sustainable, Eco Tourism Big Island

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

Article in the NY Times today about all of the above in the subject line:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/27/trave...ticleShare

Anyone heard of the Soul Community Planet Hotel in Hilo?  Fair Trade pricing, pay what you feel is appropriate on check out?

[Durian Fiend]

Article in the NY Times today about all of the above in the subject line:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/27/trave...ticleShare

Anyone heard of the Soul Community Planet Hotel in Hilo?  Fair Trade pricing, pay what you feel is appropriate on check out?

Haven't heard of it.  I did hear recently via FB that our island politicians, in all their wisdom  , want to outlaw this kind of activity.  A bill is supposedly in the works to do just that.

[terracore]

I couldn't read the paywall article but here's the hotel.

https://scphotel.com/hilo/

From the pics it's the Hilo Seaside Hotel.

"IT'S REALLY SIMPLE. HERE'S HOW IT WORKS:

Guests book a reservation at our "suggested rate" via scphotel.com. You will need to guarantee the reservation using a credit card.

After check-in enjoy your SCP Hotel experience. If the quality of your experience does not meet your expectations for any reason, we simply ask that you give us the opportunity to make it right during your stay. Just ask.

At checkout, if you are not satisfied with your stay for any reason, simply tell us what you feel would be an appropriate price and your bill will be adjusted accordingly. We just ask that you share any areas for improvement with us so that we may improve the SCP Hotel experience for future guests."

To me it sounds like a gimmick. If you stay at any chain hotel and ask a problem to be fixed, and they can't or won't do it, its generally considered that they give you some kind of concession. That didn't used to be the case, but with Yelp and Tripadvisor and everything else, they will typically bend over backwards to avoid a negative review. "Fair Trade Pricing" seems to simply promote that outcome to their advantage. I'm sure that if somebody abuses the system, they won't be allowed to book future stays.

[oink]

I stayed there for a month several years back. It's not worth the listed price unless they've done some serious renovations. I stayed in what they're now calling a premium king room. It had bad plumbing, which I won't elaborate on. It had really crap parking and not near enough of it.

At times I didn't feel real safe nearby off the hotel grounds. Sometimes I didn't feel real welcome across the street at the fresh water boil. Frequent open pot smoking right in front at the boil streetside. The cops obviously weren't a concern. I don't remember the name of the little bay with the spring boil off hand. Other than not feeling too welcome there at times it is a pretty cool place, the boil. Obviously a fairly popular swimming hole.

At the time the hotel seemed to be mostly a locals place but that part was OK and I never had any issues with the employees or guests. Well, there was a little tension with one desk clerk, her being a native local and me an old white guy but we always kept it lite and I enjoyed talking to her, but I could still feel resentment a bit.

Overall I did enjoy my stay there quite a bit and it was a good base for my adventures but there were those drawbacks. The parking is certainly an issue but I don't know of an easy way they could address that.

I like to walk a lot and it was a great base for that. I'd walk the whole Banyan Drive loop including Cocoanut Island early every morning, often in rain. Watching the sun slowly light up the mountain every morning was nice. There were always quite a few other walkers and joggers also out early to keep me company. The local fishermen along the bay were often initially a bit standoffish but generally warmed up after I chatted them up a bit. I don't mind talking to strangers. I actually enjoy it although you will run into a creepy one now and then.

Unfortunately I don't think I could afford another month long stay at their current rate structure.

[TomK]

The place has changed significantly in the last two or three years. I stayed there in August for 4 nights and had a great time. Parking is a bit of an issue but it's free and you can drive up to the reception area to offload or load your bags. The rates were similar to the Hilo Hawaiian and the rooms, if a little unusual, had been renovated and had a/c, free and reliable wifi, and a very comfortable bed. The staff was super nice. I would stay there again in a heartbeat.

PS. I should add that I stayed in the same place a few years ago, I think it was shortly after Iselle and suspect what I experienced was similar to Oink's. It's much better now.

[terracore]

We stayed there twice, 11 and 12 years ago. Also their sister property in Kona (they also have or had one on Maui).

The rooms were dated, but clean. Definitely in need of a restoration. Maybe that's happened. Part of the complex (near the pool) seemed to be mostly locals in long-term accommodations.

When we stayed they were probably the cheapest option in town and it came with a free breakfast.

Staff always treated us well in Hilo. Got some stink eye at the Kona property and they downgraded us out of the free breakfast package we booked online. I don't remember how/why but we never stayed there again.

[TomK]

Just to make sure we're talking about the same place, the SCP hotel is the one attached to the Coconut Grill opposite Ponds. Incidentally, the Coconut Grill is not part of the hotel, but is directly connected to it by a doorway. I can confirm it has undergone significant renovations and is a very pleasant place to stay now, at least in my opinion. When I stayed there in August the guests were nearly all out-of-state tourists. I stayed in a poolside room and it definitely wasn't locals in long-term accommodations. The only issue was that it was a little loud but that's what you get for a poolside room. There is a quiet zone in the hotel if you want more peaceful and quiet rooms.

[Obie]

The lack of parking for the hotel makes it hard for me to find parking at the Coconut Grill.

It does look much better.

[TomK]

Yes, agreed, but I think parking is really hard at weekends when everyone comes down for the day to spend time by the water plus the road works don't help. Incidentally, I remember the Coconut Grill from when I first visited Hawaii in 1991 (I forget what it was called back then). It used to have a bar that had wonderful pupus and sold the best mai tais on the island - at least that's what I was told. They were certainly strong - I was there with a friend and don't remember how I go back to the hotel. Unfortunately, that bar is no longer there.