Starting this month, visitors looking to stay at the Shipman House Bed & Breakfast Inn on Hawaii's Big Island are being asked to book stays of at least two nights. What prompted the change, one might ask, especially after more than 12 years of booking without minimums? It seems Barbara Andersen, who owns the historical Hilo home with her husband, Gary, just grew tired of hearing departing one-night guests lament about the brevity of their visit.
"It's so sad to have people come in who think there's nothing to do in Hilo," Andersen said. "Then they get up in the morning and they're heading off to the airport and they tell you, 'Next time we should stay longer. We just didn't know.'"
Andersen's great-grandfather, rancher William Shipman, purchased the home for his wife, Mary, in February 1901. Built two years earlier, the house boasted indoor plumbing and electricity, both reasonably rare at the time, along with a library, conservatory, billiard room and, of course, a ballroom.
The Shipmans entertained frequently, with guests including the Hawaiian Kingdom's last reigning monarch, Queen Liliuokalani.
"She would come up to see her friend 'Mele,' my great-grandmother," Andersen said. "And she loved to play the piano after their poi luncheons, visit with friends and smoke cigars."
Author Jack London and his wife spent five weeks at the Shipmans' home in the summer of 1907. Andersen said her grandmother, one of the Shipmans' 10 children, told a number of stories about the Londons, insisting the couple enjoyed life with an unusual zeal.
"They were just like our typical B&B guests today," Andersen said. "They were interested in seeing and doing everything they could and getting as much as possible out of the area."
A hop from Hilo
A short walk from Hilo's historical downtown, the house is also an excellent staging point for day trips to some of the Big Island's striking natural wonders.
"From our place, it's an easy drive to see the lava going into the ocean or to visit [Volcanoes] National Park, or to see the waterfalls along the Hamakua coast or the visitor center on Maunakea and the stargazing," Andersen said. "Those are all within 45 minutes with us as the hub. There's even great snorkeling 45 minutes from here."
Listed on both the state and national registers of historic places, the property itself also deserves some exploration time. Andersen and her husband purchased the place in 1993, after all of her grandmother's generation had died and talk of selling the house to someone outside the family had started.
"We camped and cleared jungle for two-and-a-half years before the official renovation began," Andersen said.
Today, the house is filled with antiques original to the home or the family, including the 1912 Steinway piano Queen Liliuokalani loved to play, period koa furniture, stained-glass windows, countless photos and paintings and even an imperial Chinese robe that arrived in the home from Beijing during the early 1920s.
Outside, guests will find a lush haven full of vibrant flowers, medicinal plants, palms, bamboo and more than 20 varieties of tropical fruit trees.
"Late September and October is the time when almost everything is ripe, and it's just absolutely amazing what comes out of the yard," Andersen said.
Rates run between $219 and $249 for the Shipman House's three available bedrooms and two guesthouse rooms next door. All of the rooms have private bathrooms and free, wireless Internet. Breakfast is served daily on the big house's sprawling lanai, featuring striking views of Hilo Bay. Bookings are 10% commissionable for agents.
Visit www.hilo-hawaii.com.