When I asked my husband if he would like to sleep in a treehouse near Volcanoes National Park, he said, “Seriously, you found a treehouse we can stay in?” I said, “Yes, indeed.” He said, “Absolutely!” When I asked my kids, my daughter immediately said, “YES!” My son was a little more skeptical and said, “Define treehouse.” I said, “It has three levels, three beds, a kitchen, a bathroom and it is 20 feet off the ground in a tree in the middle of a rain forest.” He clarified further, “You’ve seen pictures of the actual treehouse that we will stay in?” (This conversation stemmed from the last cabin I had booked for our last vacation. It was the most hysterical disaster of a cabin and we left after being in it for less than 5 minutes. I had not, in fact, seen a picture of the ‘rustic’ cabin on the website. If I had, I would not have booked it….but we would also have missed out on a family story that brings us to tears with laughter every time we reminisce.) After I assured him I had seen pictures and it was definitely not ‘rustic’ he joined us in agreeing that it would be a fun adventure.
And an adventure it was…..starting with our drive to the treehouse. I had talked with the owner and was given directions to the treehouse. He had warned me that the road would turn into a dirt road and we would feel like we were lost and in the middle of nowhere. Well, that almost perfectly described what happened. The treehouse is less than 10 minutes from the entrance to Volcanoes National Park. We followed the directions, which led us into a subdivision and then turned onto a road which turned into a single lane dirt road. So far, so good. As we continued to drive, the grass on the sides of the car grew higher and higher until we could no longer see anything but grass towering above the car. The center of the ‘road’ also had grass growing up between the two dirt ruts where our tires were supposed to be. (I really wish I would have thought to take pictures of this ‘road’.) When we got to the place where the grass was taller than the car, my son warily said, “Are you sure we are going the right way, Mom?” (I notoriously go left when we should go right. I am almost 100% correct in choosing the wrong direction at all times.) I said, “Yes,” way more confidently than I felt. When the car was mowing down the center strip of grass that was now 3 feet tall, my husband said, “This can’t be right!” I said, “We are supposed to feel like we are in the middle of nowhere. That was one of the reasons why we choose the treehouse! Keep driving!” My self assurance was faltering by this time, but there was nowhere to turn around anyway, so onward we went. After 10 minutes (we had to drive really slow) on our bumpy, not quite a road, drive we saw the sign and driveway. Big sigh of relief!
Our host was waiting for us in the driveway. He warned us that the steps were a bit steep, so we elected to leave our luggage in the car for now, as it had started to rain. We followed him through the rain forest to the steps leading up to the treehouse.
Stairs to the Treehouse
The stairs were very steep! One of the minuses of the treehouse. It was quite difficult to lug our luggage up and down those stairs. The stairs inside the treehouse were also steep. We kept our hands on the handrails every time we used them. Eventually, we started going down them backwards, like climbing down a ladder, which was easier. We got over it, we were going to sleep in a treehouse after all! Our host gave us a tour, explained that there is a limited amount of water (all filtered rain water, there is no connection to an outside water source) so be mindful in the shower, how to use the fireplace and appliances and left us to enjoy our stay. I was worried about the water situation, but it was not a problem at all, even with all four of us taking a shower.
Living Room of the Treehouse
This is a view of the living room from the second floor. It was a little bit of a squeeze with all of our luggage, but was still very comfortable. The futon also served as one of the beds. There were puzzles, board games, and books left for our use during our stay.
Dining Area in the Treehouse
The best thing about the treehouse was all of the windows. The view was amazing. The picture above was the dining area, which was adjacent to the kitchen.
View from the Main Bedroom
The above photo was the view from the bed in the main bedroom. It also had skylights so you felt as if you were truly sleeping underneath the stars. This was also the most comfortable bed that we slept in during our entire trip.
Bed on the Third Floor
The third floor was a very small room with a bed and a lovely view of its own.
Walkway and Patio in the Canopy
Finally, there was a walkway to various sitting areas in the tree canopy. This was one of my favorite parts, but unfortunately it was raining almost every time we were in the treehouse, so we utilized this area a lot less than we would have liked.
A View of the Treehouse
This is a view of the treehouse from the sitting area on the walkway. The two windows you see to the left are the bathroom/shower, which leads to my only complaint about the treehouse…the bathroom. First, there were no blinds in the bathroom. Granted we were in the middle of a rainforest with no one else around, but I was uncomfortable with no blinds. The window in the shower came up to my shoulders, so it was kind of neat to look out into the forest in there, but still a bit beyond my comfort level. No one else in my family cared about it at all. We did mention it to our host and he said that he would install blinds….don’t know if he ever did. Second, the shower was very small. Possibly too much information, but it was very difficult to shave my legs and we were in Hawaii, so not shaving was not an option. The treehouse was built and owned by a bachelor, so he didn’t take that into consideration when building it.
Overall, the positives outweighed the negatives. In fact, it was my husband and kids favorite place that we have ever stayed in. If you are looking to try something different, I would definitely recommend staying in a treehouse. I am not sure if this particular treehouse is still available. When I revisited Skye’s website, it looked like a different treehouse is now being offered. At the time of our stay, he was building another treehouse. There are pictures of the new one on his website and it looks a little roomier. I would definitely be interested in trying out the new treehouse. He currently has a minimum 2 night stay and rates are $350/night plus a $75 cleaning fee. You can also find some great pictures on TripAdvisor’s website.
After unloading the car and relaxing in the treehouse for a bit, we headed back to Volcanoes National Park to check out the Sulphur Banks and steam vents. As always, wishing you happy travels and fantastic adventures in this thing called life.
(All pictures are available as Fine Art Prints and Digital Downloads for purchase at full resolution through Alamy. If you see something you like, click on the link. If you are unable to find it, use the Contact Me page and I will make sure the image is available.)
More Hawaiian Accomodations
Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort
Pin for later!
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.