B&B Frequently Asked Questions

Why a Bed & Breakfast over a hotel?
A Bed and Breakfast is usually a residential property with 3-5 guest rooms, and the owner living on site.
It may also have nice cottages in addition to the main house. At most places, the owner welcomes you personally and prepares your morning breakfast and serve your needs in the most hospitable manner. A B&B is an experience in itself for comfort, personal association, and cultural variances.

Carefully prepared breakfast is included in the room price with unique local specialties that is not readily available in a hotel dining service.

Amenity services like concierge services, activity advises, local calls or use of internet are included many times for comparably smaller room charges.

What are the rooms like in our BnB?
Our cottages are very delightful. We have put lots of care into choosing the atmosphere, furniture and décor of the rooms. You will find them more comfortable and cozy than a hotel room, and equally if not more, private.

We have selected best quality beds and beddings one can only find at the top class hotels with tempurpedic foam mattress, down alternative beddings, hotel collection bath collections, fine linens as well as original and antique collection of art pieces, and each room has quiet smoke-free romantic fireplaces, kichenette with microwave oven, refrigerator, and personal coffee maker.

Will I have my own bathroom?
It is one of the most important question in selecting a BnB. At Lotus Garden Cottages, all rooms have private full bath, and clothing area. We provide spa collection personal bath and vanity items, top quality bath robes, and slippers.

Do you have TV's, Telephone and Internet access at a B&B ?
Most BnBs in the area do not provide you with your media needs, nor hi-tech communication needs.

At the Lotus Garden Cottages we have 20" LCD flat screen HDTV sets with VCR's/DVD's . A selection of movies is available for your children, and there is a general store in the village to rent DVD/VIDEO titles. High speed Internet access is available using our wireless router for your laptop.  If you need to send or receive a fax, or make a copy, we will be glad to give you assistance. Upon request, we will provide you with a cordless telephone set free for local calls, but you will need a calling card for long distance calls.

What type of food is served in a breakfast?

Most places provide continental breakfast due to legal restrictions. Only the BnBs with certified kitchen may serve hot meals in Hawaii .

At the Lotus Garden Cottages, our guests will be pampered to a Gourmet European Syle Continetal Breakfast of cold meats and cheeses, and drinkable yogurt. Enjoy a variety of freshly brewed coffee drinks and juices. You are encouraged to make arrangements with the host for any dietary restrictions you may have when making your reservation.

Will I get assistance about area attractions and activities?

Your host is able to book activities and provide advices for culture and nature hikes, tours of lava tubes, or make reservations for helicopter rides to see the active volcano and other Island adventures. In addition we can recommend places for a picnic, beaches, day hikes, art or theatre activities, fun country markets or antiquing. Please refer to our web site links for detail.

Tipping practice and guest comments at a B&B?
No tipping is expected, but like any other personal services providers, if you truly appreciated your experience, tips will be appreciated to get assurance of the quality provided, along with minutes of comments making for future guests.

Any Hawaiian customs I need to know before I get there?
A custom of Aloha and Mahalo, Hawaiian custom is to keep clean of the inside of rooms by taking off your shoes before entering.

Clean pairs of spa slippers will be provided. However you may bring your own pairs.

What about the rain?

Rain on the volcanic slopes of Mauna Loa .

It is true that the east side of the Big Island receives an annual rainfall of roughly 100 inches (depending on your location. Higher elevations receive more rainfall than lower elevations). But you must remember that the reason the Volcano Village is so beautiful with ancient rainforest is because it has frequent precipitation and sunshine taking turns.

So if you get caught in the rain will your trip be ruined? No, in fact, you will witness even more beautiful colors and greater flows in the rivers and over the waterfalls if it is raining. But chances are that, while you are out and about sightseeing, it will be sunny and warm. When we do have afternoon showers, they rarely last very long.

So relax about the rain, and enjoy the beauty of the oldest forest on the Hawaiian Island .