soontohoneymoon

Hi, thanks so much to everyone for being so helpful on my last posts! I'm deciding between "partial ocean view" rooms in the Fairmont Orchid and the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel. The Orchid looks like a nicer hotel, but Hapuna is supposed to have the better beach... (and i am a beach person) How close is the Orchid to Hapuna Beach? And since this is for my honeymoon, which should I choose? Thanks!

fdecarlo

Either of those are great choices for a honeymoon (and the Mauna Kea Hotel an even better choice IMO). Hapuna is about a 10 minute drive from both the Orchid and Mauna Kea.

hart

Do yourself a big favor--avoid the Hapuna at all costs. Many of the rooms are not cleane and the hotel needs some updating. Beautiful views however.

travelinwifey

Have stayed at both and would choose the Orchid. There are covered canopies along the ocean, turtles, and an all around warmth to the Orchid. Orchid would be more romantic. The only thing better at the Hapuna is the beach. If I remember correctly the hotels are about 10-15 mins apart.

fdecarlo

hart: That's the first time I've ever heard anyone claim that "many" rooms at the Hapuna Beach Prince are not clean. Unless you're a regular guest there, how would you know?

I've stayed there several times since it opened (which wasn't that long ago, so I question your other claim as well), and I've never had a room that wasn't clean. The grounds were also immaculate as well.

That's not to say the HBP is the best choice for a honeymoon (Mauna Kea, Mauna Lani and Orchid are better for that purpose IMO), but you make it out to be some kind of dump, which it definitely isn't.

beachgirl86

Hi!
We are honeymooning in Hawaii in August, and chose the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel for the Big Island. We are on a budget, and I researched A LOT of hotels, and most of the reviews on this one were pretty favorable. We are beach people, too, and for the price we got ($199/night), this hotel seemed like the best bet. When are you going?

Pumpy

You can't go wrong either way. I agree w/ the poster above who questions the person who spoke very unfavorably of the Hapuna Prince. We loved the Hapuna Prince and enjoyed our stay (especially the beach) very very much. Enjoy!

Jenn

Stayed at the Orchid last July and found
it to be very romantic and comfortable.
We enjoyed the lovely pool and the small
bay cove beach. Brown's Beach House
rest. is the very best. What views !!
Also - good service at the beach and pool. WOnderful spots to enjoy all over
the hotel grounds. So very pretty.
Our room was nice and clean -but not
spectacular. Nice marble bathroom. We
went and checked out the Hapuna and liked the look - but were happy to return home to the Orchid.

october4

Message: My husband and I spent our honeymoon at the Fairmont Orchid on the Big Island in June. When we began planning our trip, I had a difficult time researching the Fairmont online and was really struggling between the Fairmont, the Mauna Lani, and the Four Seasons. In retrospect, we made a great decision. We LOVED the Fairmont!

HOTEL: First, the grounds of the hotel are spectacular. They're very well maintained and were the best grounds that we saw. We did visit the 4S and the Mauna Lani and we were so happy we chose the Fairmont. The hotel has a very luxurious feel and the grounds are so lush in comparison to other hotels that we visited. We had a standard room with breakfast included and the room was very large. We had a partial ocean view room - you could see the ocean from the lanai - but the best part was being situated above the spa / garden area where we could sleep to the sound of the waterfalls.

MEALS: The breakfast buffet at the hotel was great. It's normally $26 per person, so we were happy that we got it included in our package. There is a large selection of hot and cold foods, as well as breakfast and lunch items. The outside dining area is beautiful as well. The beach bar (and Brown's Beach House) is a great place to eat as well. It is expensive - we spent $80 our first night for a light meal - sandwich, fish, and drinks, but you have to expect that. The guava smoothies are great!
OTHER MEALS: We ate at the Beach Tree Bar and Grill at the 4S and had a great sunset meal. The Canoe House at the Mauna Lani was fantastic as well. Our favorite place was Merriman's Cafe at the King's Shops in Waikaloa - it's a casual Mediterranean cafe with great food at a reasonable price. We went 4 times! Try the mango sodas - they're great.

BEACH: This was the one area that concerned me about the Fairmont in reading past reviews. We ended up loving it. It's a small, enclosed lagoon, so it's very protected from the waves. We experienced great snorkeling in the mouth of the lagoon and just outside of it. We saw numerous sea turtles every day (along with some eels!) and really enjoyed the lagoon. We did visit other beaches in the area and enjoyed them as well. It was just nice to use the activity card and snorkel right at the hotel. The beach didn't get overly crowded.

OTHER BEACHES: A-Bay (just south of Waikaloa) was a great beach - there are plenty of water activities for everyone - it's very picturesque. Kiholo Bay was a long hike, but great for snorkeling. Hapuna was a nice beach, and so was Beach 69, but Beach 69 was kind of rough when we were there.

Feel free to ask any questions you might have!