For most groups, a vacation rental is the better call on the Big Island. At the same nightly price as a hotel room, $100 to $300 for two, you get far more space plus a kitchen and laundry. Hotels and resorts make sense when you want someone else handling everything and you are pointed at the Kohala Coast, where rates run highest. B&Bs are a smaller, more personal middle ground.
You will spend close to half your trip at whatever you book. The kitchen is the biggest reason: a few cooked-in breakfasts and dinners can cover the price gap between a rental and a hotel on their own. Start by deciding which coast you want to sleep on, because that moves the price more than the property type does.
Table of contents
- Accommodations summary
- Hotels vs. Vacation Rentals: which one is better?
- Extra luxury: resorts
- A little bit of everything: B&B’s
- Accommodations FAQ
Accommodation summary:
Hotels and vacation rentals are the two most common ways to spend the night on the Big Island. Bed and breakfasts are the middle option, less common here and usually pricier per night, and resorts sit at the top end for travelers who want everything handled.
Where you stay matters almost as much as what you stay in. See our overview article to learn where the best place to stay on the Big Island is for you. If you are looking for accommodation options in a specific area of the Big Island, you can jump through to the following pages:
Editor note: on the Big Island, apartments, condominiums and homes are eligible to be operated as vacation rentals if they are in areas zoned for such use or they have obtained the required authorization(s) from the State & County of Hawaii. We recommend that you confirm with the owner or manager that the property is operating in compliance with all applicable laws before booking.
Comparison between hotels and vacation rentals in Hawaiʻi
For most trips the decision comes down to hotels versus vacation rentals. The table sums up how the two stack up on the five things that usually settle it.
Details below last verified June 2026.
| Name | Hotel | Vacation rental |
|---|---|---|
| 1Cost (Details ↓) | $100 to $300 a night for two, plus parking, internet, and destination fees | $100 to $300 a night for two, more space per dollar, one-time $75 to $150 cleaning fee |
| 2Size (Details ↓) | One room, with an on-site pool, bar, and shops | Several times larger, with a kitchen, laundry, and often a garden or hot tub |
| 3Privacy (Details ↓) | Shared walls and common areas | Private space, often a garden or outdoor area of your own |
| 4Dining (Details ↓) | Breakfast buffet and an on-site restaurant | Full kitchen to cook in, or order takeout |
| 5Cleaning (Details ↓) | Daily housekeeping included | No daily service, plus a $75 to $150 cleaning fee |
Cost: which one is better value?
Renting a vacation rental or a hotel room for two people costs anywhere between $100 and $300 per night. For the same price, vacation rentals offer much more space and practical comforts such as a kitchen, laundry facilities, private lounging areas, etc. The larger your group, the further your money goes in a vacation rental.
Most vacation rentals are fully self-catered, potentially saving you hundreds of dollars in food costs during your stay, and another perk of choosing a short-term rental is the lack of hidden costs you will find at a resort. Parking fees, resort fees, and so on.
The chart below tracks both options month by month, from Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority rate reporting for the Big Island. Its caption carries the current averages and updates itself when new data is published, so the numbers below are the latest available.
Size: where do you get more space?
Vacation rentals are several times larger than hotel rooms, offering much more self-sufficiency and privacy. However, most hotels feature on-site entertainment, a pool, bar, gift shops and several other areas to socialize. Then again, many vacation rentals will also include a full kitchen, entertainment areas, a garden or other outdoor space, and sometimes even a private hot-tub. The choice comes down to how much space you need or want and how you plan to use it.
Privacy: which one is more private?
Naturally, vacation rentals offer far more privacy. You won’t have to listen to your neighbors through the thin walls of your room and, especially in the more rural areas, it’s common for vacation rentals to feature a private garden or outdoor dining space for you to enjoy exclusively.
Dining: what are your dinner options?
Hotels often offer the convenience of a buffet for breakfast and a restaurant for dinner, whereas vacation rentals are equipped with their own facilities to store and prepare your food. You also have the luxury of ordering take-out to have a romantic dinner in the garden, the choice of enjoying breakfast in your bathrobe, or plundering your fridge for a midnight snack.
Cleaning: who cleans your place and what does it cost?
In a hotel you can leave your room in a state of utter chaos, and return to a freshly cleaned room every day of your stay. Most vacation rentals, on the other hand, do not offer the luxury of a daily in-house cleaning service. Hotels also don’t charge a cleaning fee to prepare your room for the next occupant after your stay, though these costs are certainly worked in as other items on your final bill.
In contrast, vacation rentals often do charge a cleaning fee to clean and prepare the house for each stay, and this fee runs between $75 and $150, depending on the size of the rental and (sometimes) the number in your party. In most vacation rentals on the island, this fee includes the cost of fresh linens and towels, paper products, simple toiletries and sometimes complimentary items such as coffee, tea, or fresh fruit.
Nightly rates by region
Averages hide a lot on an island this size. A Kohala Coast resort and a cottage in Volcano sit two hours apart and their nightly rates differ by hundreds of dollars. The two charts below split vacation rental and hotel rates by region; the captions name the current cheapest and priciest areas and refresh as new data lands.
Resorts in Hawaiʻi
Resorts are the most hands-off way to stay on the Big Island, and the most expensive. Most cluster on the Kohala Coast, where hotel rates run highest on the island, around $601 a night in 2025. Book one if you want the pool and on-site dining, with the chores of planning your vacation taken off your hands, and you are fine paying the premium for it.
Find out more about resorts on the Kona coast.
Bed and Breakfasts on Big Island
Bed and breakfasts are the most personal way to stay on the Big Island. You get a smaller, more local setting with breakfast included, plus some of the atmosphere of a vacation rental, though without the full space or privacy of one.
If a more tailored, romantic experience is what you are after, a B&B fits. See the following sections of our website for B&Bs on the Big Island:
Frequently Asked Questions about Accommodations:
This FAQ answers some of the most often asked questions about finding accommodation on the Big Island:
Q: How much does a hotel room cost on the Big Island?
The ADR (average daily rate) for hotel rooms on the Big Island was $444 in 2025 (source). Note that this figure is strongly influenced by the hotel rooms available on the Kohala Coast, which cost an average of $601/night and make up 44% of all hotel rooms available on the island.
For the other Hawaiian islands the ADR was $537 (Maui), $284 (Oʻahu), and $417 (Kauaʻi). The cost of accommodations varies mostly based on the type of property, hostels being the cheapest and luxury resorts the most expensive. Vacation rentals (our favorite option) are available over the whole price range.