The Palms Cliff House Inn was built in 2000
and stands as a new landmark
on the lush and vibrant east side of the
Big Island, Hawaii.

The Inn overlooks Pohakumanu Bay. In Hawaiian, pohaku literally means rocks and manu means bird. The Koa'e Kea bird (also known as the White-tailed Tropicbird) which is almost all white with long graceful white streaming tail feathers, is frequently seen over the bay soaring high, gliding in the trade winds looking for small fish to feed on. The Koa'e Kea nests in the crevices of the surrounding rocky cliffs. Therefore, the name of the bay, Pohaku (rock), Manu (bird) refers to the Koa'e Kea that nest in the rock cliffs. Our location is the first area north of Hilo that has cliffs sutible for the birds to nest.

When we found this home in 2000 we fell in love with it right away. Can you believe it had been on the market for almost 4 months with no interest? We felt that it would be a great location for us to realize our dream of opperating an Inn. We spent the first year getting permits and building the guest wing. We opened our doors August 11, 2001 with the full support of our community and local government. The economy was pretty rough in 2001 and we were heralded for "taking a chance" on East Hawaii.
That was three weeks before 9/11.

We woke that terrible morning with a phone call from our kids school principal telling us not to send the children to school, martial law had been declared in the state, all airports and harbors were closed and that the mainland was under a terrorist attact. We turned on the news just in time to see the towers fall. You see, with the time difference (six hours from the east coast) much of what happened that first day had already occurred. As Inn keepers we dreaded our first terrible duty of waking guests with the news.

Living in a state that literally gets everything by boat or plane became a challenge thoses next 9 months. That's how long it took for people in general to become comfortable with traveling again and to renew visits to our fair state. It was a rough time, but we made it. I believe that was when we realized that we were in this for the "long Haul" and that we were not just a fair weather business.

Needless to say, each day since has been a blessing. I still wake each morning and "pinch" myselt to see if I am dreaming. Don't get me wrong, it is a lot of work. When guests comment on how young John and I are to have "retired" to the life of innkeepers, I just smile, knowing that my days are the longest I have ever worked at a job (5:00 am to 10:00pm - Really) but I would not change a thing! It is a dream come true, and I'd love to share it with you. So, wont you come for a visit?