The retreat is a wonderful place to relax or base out of to tour the eastern side of Big Island. Pahoa is a cool town, number of great options for food, Pele's Kitchen, Kaleo's, Tin Shack Bakery to name a few!
You are close to Volcanoes National Park, Hilo, if you want to explore. We were able to easily get to Volcanoes before sunrise to view the current Kilauea Eruption, if you happen to be here when there is an active eruption, make sure you do your research on best viewing locations and busy times!
If you are just looking to relax, the retreat has you covered too. The hot tubs and plunge pool are great and the grounds are beautiful and peaceful. The cottages have everything you need. Cell service is iffy in general in some areas of the island. I recommend to download the offline map in Google Maps, it helps a ton.
We loved our stay at the retreat, and you will too!