connecticut_lady

Actually this is a trip report with a little bit about what we did and a heck of a lot about what we ate.

First a few details – the trip had two distinct halves, for the first two weeks I was on my own, and then my husband joined me for the second two weeks. I’m going to write a bit about topics other than food … but if you want to skip the next part & just read the food reviews that follow I won’t be the least bit insulted.

The flights were all long but otherwise fine; United Airlines using miles to upgrade to first class. White Plains to Chicago, followed by Chicago to Honolulu on flight 1 with an unscheduled stop in Portland to refuel due to some strong headwinds, then Aloha to Kona the next day and for the return trip United’s flight 3 non-stop from Kona to Chicago followed by the short hop back to White Plains. My husband’s flights were slightly different, he opted for flight 3 on the outbound route as well and flew Chicago to Maui non-stop and then on to Kona on the next leg of the flight. We rented an intermediate sized car from Avis, got a great price by monitoring online for weeks on end. For hotels – one night at Hilton Hawaiian Village, 14 at Hilton Waikoloa Village (HWV) and 15 at Vista Waikoloa (VW).

This was my first time at the Hilton in Waikiki and I have to say that I didn’t really like it but it was much cheaper than my first preference (Hyatt) and I had always wanted to check it out. The room was fine, and the Friday night fireworks, all three minutes of them, were wonderful. I didn’t like the “lobby” or the overall layout though and I think the Hyatt is a better hotel. Maybe it’s just that I am more familiar with Hyatt. In any event it was just one night and now I know what the hotel offers.

I’ve stayed a number of times at HWV and I chose it specifically for the size of the property. I spend my entire work year driving over 100 miles a day to get back and forth from work. For my Hawaiian vacation I want to get a lot of exercise and I don’t want to do very much driving at all. HWV gives me a great place for a long morning walk and my choice of lagoon or several pools for swimming. I requested a room in the Ocean Tower, the one furthest from the lobby, so I would be forced to walk further and get even more exercise. The 14 days I stayed here were virtually the same each day: get up and walk for 30-90 minutes depending on my mood and the amount of time I stopped to admire the ocean, then breakfast followed by reading by the Kohala pool (there’s a particular spot I like near the waterfall, very peaceful), then swimming, lunch, another walk around the property around sunset, then dinner. Rough life, huh? And just in case you think I did the exact same thing daily – heck no – a few times I had lunch *before* swimming.

After a joyous and totally restful two weeks I moved to the VW condo, enjoyed an afternoon of doing laundry, then set out to Waikoloa Village to buy some food to have in the condo. My husband likes the banana bread they sell in the market there so I stocked up on that along with a few breakfast items & soda. The next two weeks flew by with more walks in the morning, sightseeing during some of the days, reading out on the lanai, then dinner. I’d planned to swim at VW, they have a large pool, but somewhere along the line I developed a rash so I stayed away from the chlorine. I think that the rash may have been caused by the condo detergent, but I didn’t figure that out for a while.

In terms of sightseeing --- we should have done more but the time just raced away. We went up to Hawi & the Pololu lookout one day; drove the Hamakua Coast another, made several trips to Waimea, but never made it to Volcano although we intended to and have done it before, drove down to Kona a few times. Will have to get back to VNP again next year. I enjoy the ocean and the BI vistas wherever I am….there’s just something about Hawaii and its affect on me that I can’t explain.

(note....will reply to my own post to continue....)

connecticut_lady

(...continuing....with breakfasts....)

So can I talk about food now? I think so…..but if anyone has specific questions about hotel, car, condo I’ll be happy to answer and go into greater detail…but now, without any further distractions let’s review the fine cuisine we enjoyed on the Big Island.

First – a comparison of BI breakfast buffets. For the mornings we didn’t eat in the condo (or have cereal/milk at the HWV) we tried the following breakfasts, presented worst to best:

Sheraton Keahou:
Well they did an excellent job remodeling the old Kona Surf, put in a great pool, and hired a friendly staff, but the best thing I can say about the food is that they didn’t charge too much ($17.95). Guess they knew it wasn’t worth anything. They had some fruit (not ripe enough) and I think it was just melon and pineapple (no papaya or berries), juice (OJ was from concentrate), dry cereals, powdered eggs, breakfast meats, eggs benedict with turkey (awful), inferior pastries, miso soup without bean curd (a glaring omission) and probably a few other things I’ve successfully purged from my memory. This buffet is not worth it. Mediocre food. Feh. Ptui.

Mauna Kea Beach:
The best thing here is the view, it’s extraordinary. We had a lovely table outside overlooking their crescent shaped beach. Actually this one is worth it just for the setting. The food is ok, but there isn’t anything exceptional, it’s just “good”. There was an enormous line that I thought was getting held up by the omelet station but it turned out to be a bottleneck at the toaster where everything came to a halt. Butter…needed not only for toast but also for waffles and pancakes….was only available near the toaster where people clustered around waiting for their pieces of bread & English muffins to make the painfully slow trip under the heating coils. Kids seemed to be glued to the spot guarding their bread for dear life while adults were trying to get in and out without buttering any children in the process. All they have to do is move the toaster and put butter out in more than one place to fix this problem – and lest you think I’m a complainer (ok, I am), I wasn’t the only one who noticed this. Returning to the food….decent banana bread, very good bread pudding, good waffles, omelets made to order, miso soup with DRIED tofu (a sin against nature), average potatoes, average pancakes, juice was ok, coffee was good. Would I go back? Absolutely….for the view.

Hilton Waikoloa Village:
No view whatsoever, but the koi pond & swans (under some reconstruction the second half of the vacation) are nice. This is a very popular and busy buffet, slightly cheaper at $24 than the other big hotels ($26-$27). They serve hot miso soup with a dish of bean curd near-by as it should be, very good orange juice, a nice selection of fresh and dried fruits, some specialty Italian meats with huge black olives, a variety of cheeses, bread pudding, blintzes with strawberry sauce, very decent hash browns, scrambled eggs, omelets to order with a somewhat limited number of fillings, muffins & pastries and my very favorite breakfast specialty dish: eggs Florentine. For those who are interested, the specialty egg dish changes daily and rotates between corned beef hash, eggs Benedict and the eggs Florentine. Whenever I considered the Hilton buffet I checked it first during my morning walk to see if it was a Florentine day. No sense wasting a breakfast buffet if they didn’t have what I wanted. The Hilton serves a very good zucchini bread along with the banana bread that most hotels have – well not the Sheraton of course, but the rest of them did – and they also have excellent tiny blueberry muffins that frequently disappear early in the morning and are not always replaced. Their coffee is very good, one of the best. This is a popular, busy, bustling breakfast, not as relaxing as the next two on my list, but very good nonetheless.

Mauna Lani Bay:
If you get an outdoor table there’s an expanse of lawn in front of you and then the ocean. It’s very relaxing, not nearly as busy as Hilton, and we’ve always enjoyed breakfasts here. They have the very best fresh orange juice of any of the buffets, it’s excellent. Good pineapple and melon plus some strange fruit (really….can’t even give names to some of the things they offered, one looked like a small reddish porcupine), dried fruit, eggs Benedict (no specials, ever), good miso soup & bean curd, decent scrambled eggs, potatoes that are usually mediocre but were great on one of the three visits this year, omelets made to order with a decent number of fillings and a friendly chef I’ve had conversations with over the years, average pastries and muffins although if you can snag a sticky bun they’re good but they disappear early along with the small bran muffins, salad (lettuce & tomato with a decent dressing), very good waffles, average French toast and excellent pancakes. A few other observations…when I came here by myself this year and also last year the hostess tried to seat me at a small table crammed in between two others, hard to describe, but obviously not a great place to sit. But each time there weren’t a large number of people at the breakfast and no one waiting in line since we go off season but she relegated me to a lousy spot anyway. When I show up with my husband the very same hostess has no problem leading us to a choice location. I always speak up and get moved to where I want to be, but Hilton and Four Seasons give me a good table right away when I’m by myself. Also…we have a running joke that the coffee is always cold here… and up until this year it was, but this year they’ve fixed that problem. In spite of a few complaints this is a lovely buffet and one of our favorites.

Four Seasons:
WHAT A VIEW!!!!! So close to the ocean you’re practically in it. Soothing breezes. So lovely. So enjoyable. So peaceful. Hawaiian music in the background with selections so in tune with my taste that you’d think I picked them myself. Attentive service. Sticky buns kept warm under a heat lamp. Lovely presentation. I could go on and on, and in fact I will. Waffles, white rice, veggie fried rice, miso soup with the requisite tofu, a huge omelet station with more selections than any of the other hotels, chocolate croissants along with a selection of pastries, excellent fresh fruit, a cheese selection, breakfast meats, scrambled eggs, good potatoes (but better in previous years) and really good coffee. There’s also a special of the day, the times we’ve gone it’s either been French toast or eggs Benedict. The orange juice is disappointing and I’ve stopped getting the OJ, settling instead for their daily offering of a mixture that tastes somewhat like a tropical punch. Good, but not good enough for this setting. But did I mention the sticky buns that are kept at a perfect consistency? Excellent attention to detail here and if I could only go to one breakfast buffet on the Big Island it would be this one.

We did not go to the Fairmont buffet this year and in fact it’s been quite a few years since we’ve been there. Last time we went someone was burning one omelet after the next and the smell of burnt eggs turned me off completely. I think that maybe next year I’ll put them back into the breakfast rotation and give them another chance. Regarding the Hapuna Prince, we went last year and thought it was ok but nothing special. Not nearly as bad as the Sheraton….decent….but not outstanding and not worth a return trip when there are so many better choices available. We’ve never tried the Marriott buffet, so that might be an addition next year as well. If anyone has any info on the Marriott breakfast I’d love to hear it.

connecticut_lady

(....time for lunch.....)

You’d think that with all that breakfast food we wouldn’t have much room for lunch and on some days that’s exactly what happened. But we did manage a few lunches out and here are the reviews, again presented from worst to best:

Hilton Lagoon Grill:
I hate saying anything bad about the Hilton because I’m so happy staying there, but their poolside restaurants leave a great deal to be desired. Their Orchid Café next to the Kona pool is bad and after a few attempts we’ve stopped going there. That leaves the Lagoon Grill adjacent to the lagoon. The location is perfect, mid-resort with a view of whatever is going on in the dolphin pool. Unfortunately they did not have the foresight to put a roof or overhead protective covering over the area and the tables are terribly hot. The food is just ok, not worth sitting in the sun for anything we’ve tried with the exception of the curly fries and smoothies (more about smoothies later).

Bamboo/Tropical Dreams Ice Cream
We ate in Hawi once this trip, with lunch at the Bamboo restaurant followed by a trip to the Pololu lookout and then a return for dessert across the street at Tropical Dreams. This was our first visit to Bamboo and it was interesting. The hostess led us to a table in the back near a number of big parties and promptly forgot about us. After 20 minutes or so my husband sought a waitress for our table and we were finally given our menus. Once our order was taken it didn’t take too long for lunch to appear and it was good. Burger for hubby, chicken teriyaki for me. Decent food, interesting location with a souvenir shop in the front of the restaurant. Tropical Dreams, recommended by others on Fodor’s, has delicious ice cream. Their vanilla is particularly good, and the coffee chip was fine but I would have preferred it without the chocolate chips (see Merriman’s review below).

Hilton Boat Landing
Located near the Ocean tower. Good for a pleasant lunch (or dinner). The turkey sandwich is good as is the Greek salad. Nothing special but relatively inexpensive compared to other resort selections and a good alternative for a light lunch.

Brown’s Deli
During our 2004 trip Brown’s Deli was a pleasant surprise. The deli is located at the Fairmont and opened sometime in 2004. In 2004 trip they were offering things you don’t find at your average deli….several flavored mayonnaise varieties, an assortment of cheeses, and a dozen toppings. They would “panini” anything to order and they offered a special sandwich called the Tuscan…turkey, gouda cheese, roasted red peppers, zucchini, onions and cherry/caper aioli on focaccia bread. Delicious. Fast forward to 2005 and my first visit to the deli for this trip. I step up to order, ready for a gourmet sandwich, start to order the Tuscan but at the same time I’m looking at the signage and their specials. No Tuscan. No flavored mayo. No olive tapenade. No cherry/caper aioli. No roast beef (astonishing for a deli!). You want cheese? As long as it’s cheddar, Swiss, American or provolone – the designer cheeses were but a fond memory. In other words, now it’s an average deli, perfectly adequate as it is, but the aspects of the menu we enjoyed most are gone and we were disappointed. They still have very decent looking muffins and appear to offer a good choice for a quick breakfast. They also have deli salads that are sold by the pound and some desserts that look delicious.

Waikoloa Beach Grille
Located adjacent to the Vista Waikoloa and under new management. I had their pastrami sandwich for a take-out lunch, very good. On another visit my husband experimented and ordered a Japanese dish, Tonkatsu Donburi – a pork dish that looked very strange to me but he said it was great – while I had an unimpressive salad and an appetizer that was delicious, a grilled cheese sandwich with fontina cheese, grilled onions and olives. The grilled cheese was from the appetizer menu and was therefore small, but it was drenched in olive oil and a small portion was enough. The restaurant is much nicer than it was under previous management and we will go back (…also went there for dinner, see below…..).

Four Seasons Beach Tree
I ate here once by myself, enjoyed a terrific chicken teriyaki sandwich with grilled pineapple on the side. Yummy. Had salad instead of French fries, also very good. We came back two weeks later and my husband had a tuna wrap while I had a huge burger with fried onions and another salad. This is a lovely restaurant, located a little set back from the ocean. The food is very good and the service is attentive.

Merriman’s (in Kamuela, not the Market Café at the King’s shops).
For some reason we’d never tried Merriman’s before (did try the café in 2004) – we were always passing through on the way to Hilo and didn’t want to have a long lunch. This year we made it a point to try them once and wound up going back for a second lunch a few days later. Excellent food, pleasant atmosphere, nice breeze near the window, very good service. We can recommend the specials of the day – one was a turkey sandwich my husband had and on our second trip we both had the Ruben sandwich specials. I had a tomato mozzarella sandwich on my first visit. For dessert….Tropical Dreams ice cream, and this time I had coffee, rather than coffee chip….extremely good ice cream.

Browns Beach House
We’ve gone to Brown’s for lunch a dozen times over the years and it is one of our favorite restaurants. In 2004 they were offering a chicken with ginger and lime sauce with a tomato cucumber salsa – outstanding. I was looking forward to it again (hey, this sounds like the Tuscan story doesn’t it), and was disappointed to find that it was off the menu for 2005. But, unlike their deli, they didn’t eliminate the fancy chicken and substitute something pedestrian….this year they introduced a char siu chicken. As nearly as I can tell this is a chicken marinated in a delicate oriental sauce, very red in color, a little surprising in its look actually. Moist and tender, extremely tasty, served over a salad with sesame plum dressing. I loved it, had it several times while my husband had the turkey wrap. The setting here contributes to the enjoyment of the meal, ocean front, usually with a decent breeze, has a lovely atmosphere and as a bonus after lunch you can check for turtles resting on the beach near-by.

connecticut_lady

(....last installment....dinners!)

Dinners – yes, we ate all I’ve described above and on a few nights still had room for dinner. If we hadn’t been taking long walks the extra poundage would have been staggering.

Roy’s
Surprised to see Roy’s at the bottom of the list? Yeah, we were shocked as well. First off let me say that over the years we have enjoyed a number of dinners at Roy’s and up till this year considered it as one of the very best restaurants on the Big Island in terms of the food. The setting (we prefer ocean front in Hawaii since we can’t get that back home) isn’t as nice as some of the other places we visit on the BI and the noise level sometimes reaches rock concert decibels. This year the noise seemed worse than ever and there were times during the course of dinner that we couldn’t hear each other over the din. We have continued to go to Roy’s knowing that we will endure a higher noise level than we would prefer because the quality of the food is so good. This year we scheduled three trips to Roy’s – one on my own and then twice for the two of us. When I went by myself I ordered at the bar and the food – my usual Roy’s order of Hibachi salmon in ponzu sauce --was excellent, no complaints whatsoever.

One week later we went back – made reservations in advance and were promptly seated. Bread, a wonderful dipping sauce and water were set on the table as we were given our menus. So far so good, nothing to indicate any problems whatsoever, typical Roy’s service, waiters rushing back and forth. As we waited for our salads the noise got louder and louder. Every table inside was taken. Every outside table was full. Every seat at the bar was occupied. It got even louder, almost deafening. Our salads arrived and they were delicious. We both ordered the tomato onion salad with warm balsamic vinaigrette. Our “normal” Roy’s experience is that as the salad plate is being whisked away the main course is placed in front of you. Well not this year. We waited. And waited. Our waiter disappeared. By this time of the evening the noise was thunderous. After a full hour, 60 unhappy minutes, our main courses were delivered. My husband’s filet mignon, ordered medium rare, arrived well done and tough. My hibachi salmon, usually moist and delicate, was charcoal on the outside and completely raw on the inside. The ponzu marinade had burned to a crisp, but the fish wasn’t cooked at all. Yuck. I pushed it away. Our waiter took note – sudden prompt attention on his part -- and asked if everything was alright. When I expressed my disappointment he offered to have another prepared for me but by that point I was too aggravated – actually wasn’t hungry any more and certainly wasn’t in the mood to wait any longer.

Our waiter must have informed the manager because he appeared immediately, apologized and asked what he could do. He recognized me from the previous week – we’d chatted briefly then – made note that I was a “return” customer and also offered to have the cook prepare something else for me. I declined. He didn’t charge us for the salmon and also gave us our dessert for free (one chocolate soufflé with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce which we shared). So they dealt with the problem properly but the damage was done. They had more customers than they could handle and as far as we could see we were not the only people disappointed. I’m positive I saw another entrée sent back, and that was only in our reverberating corner of the restaurant. It wasn’t that we were the only table sitting without food…anyone waiting for a main course was just sitting for a long time.

We did not go back for the final meal we’d planned and as for next year….we’ll see. I’m hoping this was nothing more than an off night.

Hilton Boat Landing
Stopped here for dinner a few times when I was on my own. Enjoyed the Greek salad and also the grilled veggie sandwich on focaccia. There is live musical entertainment most nights, very pleasant, but on Monday nights they turned on football.

Donatelli’s Salads
Twice during my solo vacation I stopped at Donatelli’s for salads that they packaged for take-out at my request. Once I had the tomato mozzarella and once the duck on mixed greens with a pomegranate vinaigrette. The vinaigrette was very tasty and the duck was perfectly prepared, but the salad was expensive at $14 for a small portion. I used the salads for light dinners to compensate for overindulgence nearly everywhere else.

Waikola Beach Grille
Since the lunch here was good we went back to try dinner. Very attentive and friendly waitress. Bread served with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Hubby had the beef rib eye and I had the veal marsala with chive mashed potatoes. In this restaurant the vegetables served along the main dishes were actually quite good. All in all a good meal, a little costly, but new to us and convenient if staying anywhere in the Waikoloa resort area. They had a problem making the crème brulee my husband ordered – something about a blow torch malfunction – so he substituted strawberry shortcake that he said was just ok. I had the apple pie, good, but not great.

Kamuela Provision Co
We were seated at an outdoor table which is the only way to go at this restaurant. The oceanfront setting makes this a lovely spot for dinner especially at sunset. For our meal we skipped salads and went straight to the main course – salmon for me and lamb for my husband. Truly delicious. My husband had some sort of lime dessert that he liked. Word to the wise for iced tea drinkers…we wound up with bottled iced tea that rang in at $5 a bottle and wasn’t worth it. Otherwise the meal was perfect and we enjoyed the experience.

Merriman’s Market Café
Ordered one dinner to take back to the condo so we could share one meal between us. Tomato/mozzarella salad, grilled prime top sirloin steak with bleu cheese butter and pomme fritte aka French fries. Very good food, maybe next year we’ll eat in the restaurant rather than get take-out.

O’s Bistro
Formerly known as Oodles of Noodles and located in a Kona shopping center. We love their Mongolian Chow Funn Beef, it’s amazingly good. We’ve adapted the recipe and make something similar at home, but it’s always good to go for the original. I think we went three times total. They also make this with tofu rather than the beef and that too is delicious.

Brown’s Beach House
We go here every year for our last night so it is a bittersweet dinner. Lovely oceanfront setting with sea breezes and entertainment provided courtesy of two singers and a hula dancer. Perfect setting, excellent food. We both ordered the hanger steak and we shared a pineapple/sponge cake dessert.

Special Dinner Category: Thanksgiving buffet -- Fairmont Orchid Court. Enormous buffet, very well done. I can’t compare this to the other dinners since it was for Thanksgiving and the Orchid Court is closed for dinner most nights. This was our only buffet dinner and we enjoyed it. They had a huge selection of food and we sampled dozens of dishes. Of these the most notable were the crusted mahi mahi, the roasted turkey with giblet gravy and the duck with cherry chutney that was the best dish of the evening. The desserts didn’t quite measure up but we didn’t have room for them anyway so we just had a small taste of the ones that appealed to us. We had an outdoor table and the meal was perfect (or close to it since there wasn’t a breeze that night).

Also recommended for dinner but we didn’t go on this trip: Beach Tree, buffet or menu, both good. Has live entertainment. Canoe House, has a lovely setting. Pahu I’a -- very romantic – gorgeous setting, good food but the food is better at Brown’s and Brown’s wins our vote for best lunch and best dinner.

Smoothies. We are particularly fond of the smoothies they make in Hawaii. I assume that they make them elsewhere, but we’ve only purchased them on our Hawaii trips. We’ve tried about a dozen flavors and flavor combinations over the years. This year we only bought them at the Hilton Lagoon Grill and at the Fairmont, twice as dessert for lunches at Brown’s Beach House and several times from the bar near the pool. $8 at Hilton and $7 (I think) at the Fairmont. Sweet and refreshing, with our favorite flavor of coconut (with a double shot of the coconut syrup). Highly recommended.

Questions? Comments? Have at it…….

bluefan

CT lady,

Loved your reviews!!! And my opinions (at least on the few I've actually tried on your list) mirror yours.

I will now have to definitely try Brown's Beach House on a future visit.

I SSSSOOOO envy you!!! 4 weeks on the BI...with 2 being at the HWV. I loved that place (especially at the PL price I obtained). Were the Ocean Tower rooms already renovated when you were there? And how would you compare the OT rooms to the Lagoon Tower rooms, which would seem better if you have kids?

Your report brought back such fond memories, as well as those of a former co-worker I had who would stay at the HWV on the BI 2 to 3 times a year...year after year. I never understood why she would revisit the same place so frequently until I finally got the chance to visit in May 2005...and especially after reading your report, I totally get it now 8-)

connecticut_lady

Aloha Bluefan,
Thank you so much for commenting....I wasn't sure if anyone would want to read such a long report.

To answer your questions, my room at the Ocean tower had a new television and the dresser it had been sitting in the previous year was changed to something smaller. The mini-bar was moved between the sink and another dresser, very odd place to put it. I was in the same room two years in a row so I know exactly what had been there before. The upgrades were ongoing within the Ocean tower but from the looks of it during my morning walks they were way on the other side of the towers and were very slowly making their way from floor to floor. According to one of the people from housekeeping they are replacing all the furniture and by the time I go back next year the work in the Ocean tower should be completed.

You asked for a comparison to the Lagoon tower but we have not had rooms in that tower. We did not like the Palace tower, if that helps. For children though, especially young ones or children who would be averse to walking long distances the Lagoon tower is definitely preferable. Much closer to the hotel lobby, much closer to the Kona pool that has a shallow end for toddlers. Teens though seemed to prefer the Kohala pool (closer to the Palace tower).

kairous1

Hi Connecticut Lady:
That's quite a post. Can I asked where on the Big Island did you and your husband stay?
I want to try some of the places you mentioned but we'll be in Kona so it would be great to get a bearing on all the places you recommended.

Also, how long did you monitor the car rental website for a deal?

kureiff

Great report! I enjoyed reading about the food. We ate a lot of Tropical Dreams ice cream when we were on the BI -- so good.

fdecarlo

Regarding service problems at restaurants and elsewhere in Hawaii, we've noticed that too. During our last trip to the BI we had an interesting conversation with a manager at one of the premier resorts. He told us there _is_ no "off season" on the islands any more. Major resorts are booked, restaurants crowded etc nearly year-round.

We've been so disappointed with service levels on our last few trips we're considering other vacation destinations for the first time in 20 years. What was once an exotic, secluded place is now a freaking zoo most of the time.

connecticut_lady

In response to the post by karious1 --
we stayed in Waikoloa, at Hilton and then at Vista Waikoloa, so we were close to Hilton, Beach Grille, Mauna Lani Bay, Fairmont and the King's shops. Mauna Kea Beach wasn't too far away either and the Four Seasons -- Pahu I'a and the Beach Tree was only about 10 miles.

If you are staying in Kona athe closest places to you that we liked were O's Bistro and Four Seasons. The only places on my list really far from you would be Bamboo in Hawi and Merriman's up in Kamuela (Waimea). That'd be a long drive unless you are already up in that area.

In terms of monitoring car rentals....I picked Avis first because it was lower than Hertz and Budget/Dollar/Enterprise wouldn't rent to me for more than 28 days. I made the reservation and it was for more than $900, almost $1000 if I remember correctly but at least I had a car for the dates of my trip. Then I checked the Avis website once every week or two, plugged in my dates and watched the price. I did this for a number of months and finally I found a price nearly $300 less than I'd already booked. So I called them up, gave them my reservation number and the code they were using online for the special offer and they reduced the rate.

lllaros

What a wonderful report! I read it all even though we are going to Maui. Don't suppose you have any dining recommendations there...

connecticut_lady

Maui? Sure, but I have to tell you that it's been a long time since I was there, so things could have changed.

Favorite breakfast -- the Swan Court at the Hyatt. Lovely setting, get a table close to the pond. Food was very good at the time and they had some things that other buffets didn't offer.

We also enjoyed the breakfast buffet at the Grand Wailea. The pastries there were excellent. As I recall, they didn't offer as many selections as the Hyatt.

There are Roy's restaurants on Maui, and even though we had one unpleasant experience at the Roy's on the Big Island I wouldn't hesitate to suggest at least one dinner at Roy's.

If I were going to Maui now I would check out the Four Seasons for breakfast, just to see how it compared to the one on the Big Island.

Hope this helped a little.....

sunstarvedseattle

Dear connecticut lady - my husband and daughter (3yrs) are thinking of staying at VW in May 2006. How did you like it? I've read reviews that condos A&B are noisy and E&F are more quiet. Where did you stay? What floor were you on? How clean was your condo? Can you walk to A-Bay from the condos? What agency did you use to book your VW condo? Any info you can provide would be great. You never know what you will get with privately-owned condos. We do not need an upscale place (3yr olds do not appreciate the cost and amenities!) but cleanliness is important to us. Thank you!