We stayed in their "Pele's Plantation" unit. The location is good, being close to the Volcanoes National Park. It has a functioning kitchen and a hot tub. The positive points end there.

The coffee machine uses a special filter, and there is no grinder in the kitchen--we ended up buying packets of coffee from the Volcano Vacation Homes office, and it was pretty awful coffee ("no less than 10% Kona coffee" the packets bragged--meaning they were 90% crap). There was a huge rear-projection TV in the main room, dating from somewhere around 1995 (on the other hand, you hopefully don't come here to watch television). The beds were a bit hard, but bearable. There were no vent fans in the restrooms. The kitchen had only the basics--no blenders, no salt or pepper or other basics that one does not take on a trip. Plan to eat out in the limited number of restaurants nearby.

But worst of all, the place smells terribly of mold or mildew. I recognize that, being in a rain forest, there is a great deal of water about. Still, the water should stay outside the house, not inside the house. They should install a dehumidifier and go over the place thoroughly with some water and bleach.

My family recently enjoyed a stay at the Pele's Plantation house. It was really a wonderful place to stay. YOu will really receive the whole package when you stay here. There is a lovely hot tub in the yard. The rooms are quaint and cute. There is a nice gas fireplace in the living room. And then, of course, what a more lovely place to have this cottage than the Hawaiian volcanoe national park! It was truly a wonderful stay.
Hail Pele!

We stayed in Pele's Plantation in August 2007. It is one of the larger properties in the Chalet Kilauea collection. I chose this as many of the other places allow cats and other animals access free reign to wander all over the property, and Kilauea did not.

I am very surprised to see such lukewarm reviews here - I realise most of the reviewers did not stay at Pele's but can't imagine there is that much difference in quality between the different Vacation Homes.

Whilst we were looking for Pele’s when we first arrived, it was dark, and yet a neighbor stopped to offer help and guide us on our way – not at all what we are used to! When we collected our keys, we were given a Welcome drink.

We had three large bedrooms there which slept the family very comfortably. Pele’s is in the middle of the rainforest, and yet was not unduly damp. Although it rained every day whilst we were there, it was fortunately early in the morning before we were up. Given the lushness of the surrounding vegetation, there clearly has to be a fair amount of rain here. The house is VERY convenient for exploring the volcano, but probably best to stock up on provisions before you get to Volcano Village, as you can only really get absolute necessities in the store there! Stunning views of the lush rainforest surrounded the house, and there was a delightful deck where you could sit out. Bedrooms all very comfortable, 2 doubles of reasonable size, and a twin bedded room. Bathrooms clean and everything worked. Also a jacuzzi (outside), though we didn't have time to use that. We weren't disturbed, though trash was removed, and the house was cleaned whilst we were out during the day. We really felt spoiled with all the space - the children loved the 60in TV! Decor pleasant, overall a very relaxing few days - a great place from which to explore the volcano. House was no less clean, than any of the (5*) hotels we stayed in for the rest of our trip! It is not 5star luxury - but then you have to stay a LONG way from the volcano to get that - and compared with what we got elsewhere, felt the price to be very reasonable.

Will certainly return here when we return to Volcano.

Very quiet and peaceful setting. Very clean except for the dishes which we rewashed ourselves. Kitchen could have used a few more items (ie wine glasses). Overall we enjoyed our stay and would consider coming back for a second visit.