Shipman House

Bed and Breakfast Inn


Hilo, Hawaii
131 Ka`iulani Street
Hilo, Hawaii 96720
Phone/fax (808) 934-8002
Reservations (800) 627-8447
innkeeper@hilo-hawaii.com
www.hilo-hawaii.com
http://www.hilo-hawaii.com

 


Shipman House is the perfect inn for guests who love the history, gardens and comfortable living of Old Hawaii. As Hilo's best accommodation, Shipman House offers the gracious, unpretentious hospitality of a fifth generation Island family in a home listed on the National Register of Historic Places. At Shipman House guests are invited to:
  • Sleep where Jack London slept
  • Bathe in oversized tubs
  • Play the same piano Hawaii's last queen Lili`uokalani, played
  • Walk on honey-colored, old growth fir floors beneath 12-foot ceilings
  • Read the travel books of a century ago
  • Gaze through curved windows of hand-rolled glass
  • Relax among furnishings of Hawaii's monarchy era
  • Taste tropical fruits, backyard-fresh
Five guest bedrooms are large, with 10 to 12 ft. ceilings, private baths, small refrigerators, cotton kimonos, heirloom furnishings, hand-woven lauhala mats, fans and fresh flowers. The main house offers three rooms.
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Guest Rooms


Flossie's

On the first floor, adjoining the library, with antique koa twin beds, ceiling fan, and private bath with shower/tub. It opens onto the wraparound veranda through an unusual window-door and tall shutters. Originally a billiard room, this is the room Charmian and Jack London stayed in.

Auntie Clara's Shell Room
Upstairs, with parts of her shell collection, koa furniture, and a queen-size bed. Spectacular view of Hilo Bay. Its large private bath, adjacent in the hall, with claw foot tub and separate shower, was the only bathroom in the original house. It is not shared with anyone. Hear Waikapu ("forbidden spring") Stream running through the gulch below.

Guest Rooms


Auntie Carrie's Room

Upstairs, one-third of the original ballroom, it overlooks the expansive side/backyard. It adjoins the upstairs porch, and has a private bath (shower/tub) en suite, small sitting area and antique koa queen-size bed.

Cottage Mauka and Cottage Makai
These are the two (separate) spacious bedrooms upstairs in the 1910 guesthouse, across the driveway. They have queen-size beds, window seats and private baths (shower/tubs). Private entrances and ceiling fans. No kitchens. The headboards in these rooms are from the bed Jack London slept on when he stayed for a month in 1907. A broad, shared, screened lanai and an interior door separate/connect the two bedrooms. Surrounded by trees, lawn, and birds.
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Amenities


Sumptuous Breakfasts

A glorious celebration of Island foods not usually available to visitors, is served outside on the lanai. A typical continental buffet may have macadamia nut granola, assorted local fruits in season (there are 20 varieties of fruit trees on the property), fruit juices, Kona coffee, special breads or muffins. When available, we may add baked bananas, hashed brown taro, or breadfruit.

Our Grounds
Explore the grounds, hear the waterfall. The 5.5-acre grounds are planted with a wide variety of palms, ferns, and other tropicals, including over 20 varieties of fruit trees, numerous varieties of bananas, pineapples, taro, and even a small coffee plantation. Fruits in season appear on the breakfast buffet, and exotic flowers from the garden grace the house and guest rooms.
 
Among the magazines in which
Shipman House has been featured:
  • Sunset Magazine ["Best Inns of the West", February, 2000]
  • Conde Nast Traveler [March 2003]
  • New York Times
  • Travel & Leisure [October 2002, December 2002]
  • Los Angeles Times
  • Islands Magazine
  • Seattle Times
  • "Winds" magazine [JAL]
  • American Way [American Airlines]
  • Hana Hou [Hawaiian Airlines]
Among the Guidebooks in which
Shipman House is featured:
  • Fodor's
  • Frommer's Hawaii From $60 A Day
  • Lonely Planet
  • Big Island Handbook [Moon Publications]
  • Official Guide to American Historic Inns
  • Complete Guide to Bed & Breakfasts Inns & Guesthouses [Pamela Lanier]
  • Hawai`i The Big Island [John Penisten]
Affiliations
  • Professional Association of Innkeepers International (PAII)
  • Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau
  • Hawaii Ecotourism Association
  • Hawaii Island Chamber of Commerce
  • Hawaii Island B&B Association (HIBBA)
  • Daughters of Hawaii
Television
  • Restore America, with Bob Villa
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