Hilo Hattie

So disappointed that Hilo Hattie’s has closed in «Hilo». I wish they had chosen to downsize instead and carry a smaller amount of their more popular attire. Like in a small shop near the airport like in Kauai or even on the Kona (tourist) side of the Big Island.

How could they close Hilo Hattie’s? This is a prime example of a business that went under because they did not change with the trends. They should have started picking up more current fashions years ago.

Awwww man. How can there NOT be a Hilo Hattie in Hilo anymore? They get on other islands, but not in Hilo :-(Big bummer, especially for my mom who wanted to go shopping in store!

We came in on a hunch that they would ave the macadamia nut hershey’s kisses but were wrong. However they have some really awesome souvenirs at great prices.
They also have the volcano videos that they are showing on the TV.
Lots of parking available and you get a lei when you walk in the store!

One stop shop for all of your souvenir needs, or is it? Not if you make it to Target, K~mart or Walmart first, they’re much cheaper on most items, including post cards. One of the employees told me the pineapple purchase is «the same thing you can get on the mainland» minus the shipping. o₀ okey dokey, thanks for the heads up, I bet the Japanese manager/​owner? wouldn’t agree with his sale… uh, lack of sales tactics.
The juice was refreshing after walking around prior to arriving & the shell lai made for a nice ankle bracelet. They do have a huge shirt in the store, 200xl oh my, lol… Not into hawaiian wear so those items didn’t appeal to me, free samples of chocolate covered pineapple bites, coffee chips and some other treat & I was ready to blow the joint. Someone in the group did purchase coffee, tropical pancake mix, guava jelly and coco nut syrup from them so all wasn’t lost here.

Sorry Hilo Hattie, but your prices are getting too high. Also, you didn’t have the «free» gift?

Hilo Hattie is the brand name of a group of stores found in Hawaii on Maui, Hawaii, Kauai and Oahu that sells an assortment of Hawaiian island gifts of hawaiian souvenirs including home décor, beauty products, island snacks, t-​shirts, aloha shirts and island jewelry.
This is always a fun store for my visiting family and friends to visit from the experience of receiving a shell lei greeting welcome at their front door to their samples of fresh Kona Coffee and local fruit juice. Their prices aren’t the cheapest in comparison to Walmart or Target, but they have a much larger inventory of hawaiian souvenirs to meander through.
Don’t forget to show your Hawaii driver’s license for Kama’aina discounts or peruse through a freebie This Week or Island magazine before heading here because I’ve always seen coupons for a free mug or souvenir. Definitely worth your time if heading out to this store.

The aloha spirit is alive and well on the big island,@ Hilo hatties they treated us with
Smiles and greetings, and gave us a small gift. They won my approval for #1 on class
With island spirit. Very good selection of gifts to buy here.
ALoHA TO HAWAII

Being that this is my first time in Hawaii, I had no idea what to expect. I came to Hilo Hattie yesterday with a group of friends, including one who had been to the Honolulu. We were immediately greeted with shell necklaces and pineapple juice, making me feel incredibly welcome. We were not pressured to buy anything and the staff was incredibly helpful.
I would be remiss if I did not give a shout-​out to Jonathan, the staff member who took the time to illuminate the history of Hawaii’s statehood. We also talked about colonization, the hula and other things the history books seem to skim over. I appreciated that what started off with a simple question about Hawaiian flags turned into an enlightening conversation, rather than a sales pitch. It also helped that he was witty and charming – after a few hours in the car, our group definitely welcomed the laughs!

Before checkout here, find and use coupons! (They are all over the free circulars.) My sister scored a FREE lava lava and pound of Kau Coffee.
HH has mostly touristy stuff, but we did find some good deals for presents.
They greeted us very nicely, offered refreshments and gave us shell leis upon arrival. They had clean bathrooms, and the jewelry girls let us try on a bunch of chocolate pearls.

What a bunch of elitist reviews this store has received. Everyone dumping on the place should be glad that it’s here. Were it not, you’d feel a lot less special rubbing elbows with them in whatever locally grown clothier you frequent.
I got a couple of Aloha shirts here. They were made in Indonesia. They offset nicely the couple of shirts I got at Sig Zane’s and the five or six I got at Wal Mart in Kona, all made in Hawaii.
Whatever.
This place is apparently not for self-​important hipsters and those who like to laugh at the tourons. Just remember while you’re busy celebrating your great consciousness for local this and native that, it’s the money that the tourists leave behind that paid your bills, directly or indirectly. Just sayin.

Attention tourists!
If your are looking for a place to buy all of your souvenirs. Here is an ENTIRE store dedicated to nothing else! all local all the time, and all kitchi stuff you don’t need but feel you have to bring back to prove you were here! Pricey but all under one roof! Personally I suggest hitting up Target/​Walmart and the ABC store, however if your short on time but big on expectation, its all here! hula lamps to grass skirts. And Yes they accept American Dollars (ROFL)

Hilo Hattie: It sounds like the name of an older obese woman in a pink and yellow sundress (read: Mu-​mu), a big straw hat and sun-​burned, meaty arms. You can picture her, can’t you? You can also probably picture her husband: a shrimpy, balding man with a high income and low self esteem. He accompanies her regretfully into the store, wincing because he realizes that the pink Hawaiian shirt his wife is dragging around will soon clothe him in a most emasculating fashion, hammering down the final nail in the coffin that entombs his dignity.
If you think those folks sound like a good time, check out Hilo Hattie! You’ll get a chance to throw your money into the coffers of a corporation. Screw the locals, right?! You can fight with the aforementioned woman over that «Hawaiian» shirt just to find out it was probably made somewhere decidedly un-​Hawaiian. You can pick up magnets, macadamia nuts, and post cards for all of the people hoping to live vicariously through your travels to the islands. They’ll be so excited to get their completely bland and generic gift, they won’t even remember you got it for them in about 2 days!
If you’re a tourist, do yourself a favor and go to the Hilo Farmers Market instead, especially if you’re prepared to drop your money in Hilo Hattie’s. It takes place on Wednesdays and Saturdays. You’re going to find much better things to take back with you and you won’t have to nurse battle wounds after fighting with middle aged women over chintzy crap. Plus, you’ll also be supporting locals, doing what they love.

Wow, what store… Make no mistake, it’s an overpriced tourist trap but you gota love the salesmanship.
As soon as we walked in we were treated to complementary punch and a shell neckless. The greeter pointed out where we could find the restrooms and unique items in the store. just past the entrance there were turnstiles making you walk through the entire store in-​order to get out. The store is set-​up like a maze and as you pass different stations you get sucked in buy different sales people. Example: while walking by the jewelry counter we were asked to pull a key out of a bag of identical keys. The key that opened a small treasure chest would win a free prize. the stunt gave the sales woman just enough time to talk about some of the items that she was selling. Toward the register there was a guy pushing coffee and food samples. He reminded us at least three time that the coffee would make a great gift.
Well done. Everyone was very helpful and friendly.

You know you’re in trouble when you get off your cruise ship and there’s nothing in walking distance of historical importance, not enough money to take a taxi cab to downtown (I wanted to hit up the produce market!!!) and the only free shuttles take you to…
A) Wal-​Mart
B) Hilo Hattie
Yes…everyone below me is right, it’s a tourist trap full of overpriced souvenirs. Granted the signature Hilo Hattie Hawaiian shirts are nice but I don’t have half a C-​Note to drop on a shirt (unfortunately). In the hour or so I was in this store, I bought one thing (Duke Kahanamoku playing cards I picked up for a friend) that ran about five bucks.
Oh, and the whole pick an oyster, shuck it and get some pearls gimmick is a WASTE OF MONEY! I know my wife might see this and think otherwise but I’m sorry, 9 bucks for two loose pearls is LAME! Sure you might get them set someday but to spend 9 bucks shucking oysters, only to have them (Hilo Hattie) turn around and try to sell you some white gold earnings for FIVE HUNDRED BUCKS is INSANE!
The only thing I enjoyed about my visit to Hilo Hattie was the conversation I had with a former resident of Southern California who now lives over on the Big Island and works there. She was sweet and I forgive her for doing her job in trying to sell tourists everything under the sun.
And for the record, you can find a million stores that will sell souvenirs and gifts for much cheaper prices. You are paying for the name here.

Free pooka shell necklace for walking in the door! Woot.
Otherwise, OMG. First, any tourist crap you want to get in HI that you can get here you can also get at Walmart for a third of the price. Except maybe the Obama dashboard bobble dolls and to that I say… WTF?
Also, I clearly stated I was just looking and was practically attacked by sales people. «I see you like that style of dress that you’re wearing, you know we have that style of dress over here…» «No thanks.» «Here I got it for you you can try it on…» «No thanks.» «It will look really nice on you with your complexion…» «I said no.»
Hilo Hatties — No thanks. Oh, except for the necklace. Thanks for that. I gave it to a friend.
PS
No car? No problem! They have a shuttle that will PICK YOU UP so you can shop for shiz in their store and then take you home. That, my friends, is the hard sell.

I love how on their commercials, their motto is: «where the locals go» because that is such bull. That store is a tourist trap, with outrageous prices, and tacky merchandise. It’s also a dead give-​away that you are a tourist when you are walking around with loud, ugly, matching-​to-​your-​spouse aloha print clothing, and that tacky shell lei, made in the phillipines. They even treat you diffrent when you are a local, as another reviewer wrote. Even though the locals think the shell lei stinks, you really shouldnt discriminate, especially against the people who’s culture they are profiting off of.

Used to get shirts here but I’m tired of how touristy it is and they have very few cotton shirts — mostly silk and other slinky expensive to launder shirts. Moved onto Sig Zane and Hawaiian Force.

Hawaii FEVER! ;p
Walking into HIlo Hattie was an amazing experience. The lady greeted us with smiles and hugs. I even got a free necklace!!! WOO-​HOO! lol
Their selection are great for those who are visiting hawaii, beautiful jewerly and fabrics. They had a blow out sale on theri pearls too! I purchased a few items only, got my little neice a cute hawaii dress and myself some playing cards.
There werent much for me to buy because I already bought my family some stuff but I just love the welcoming service and how helpful the employee are to theri customers. Def a place to visit or shop!

I had to stop here because I’d heard a lot about it.
The store has a variety of items, from clothing to food.
They have some interesting things, and the clothes seem to be decent quality.
Although, everything is higher priced than if you went elsewhere for it.
For example, Long’s has the same food products for a fraction of the cost.
Most of the clothes you can find cheaper at an outdoor market.
I tried a few things on, but didn’t buy anything because it’s just not my style.
If you have a little spare time, it’s nice to look around though.