Melissa5

My husband and I are celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary on the Big Island of Hawaii in January / February 2012. I have booked 5 nights in Hilo, and we want 4 nights on the sunny Kohala coast.

Which hotel is best for an anniversary trip:
--Mauna Lani Bay hotel & bungalows
--Mauna Kea hotel
--Waikoloa Marriott

We'd like a romantic room with ocean view...hearing the ocean from our room would be nice if possible. We'd enjoy snorkeling or swimming on the beach right from our hotel. We will have a car and will be exploring the island, so we don't actually spend too much time at our hotel. We'd like a hotel with a "Hawaiian" atmosphere...relaxing and low-key.

Thanks for your thoughts!

Melissa5

I forgot to mention that the Waikoloa Marriott is a much better price than the other two hotels...but it seems to be my least favorite choice.

Placename

Mauna Kea is on, by far, the best beach. Very quiet and tranquil. Low-key hotel. More oriental than strictly Hawaiian in decor. Very good restaurants.

DebitNM

Mauna Kea is on the best beach on island. It is beautiful, serene. And you can go over to Hapuna Beach Prince next door [same owners]. We stayed at Hapuna Beach Prince and it was wonderful. More Hawaiian in feel than Mauna Kea, but still has wonderful Asian influences.

wbpiii

Since Kona Village closed, I needed a new resort. I went to the Mauna Lani this May. I really enjoyed the property. The aina is beautiful. The snorkeling at the Club Beach is superior to any resort on the Kohala Coast. It had a wonderful Hawaiian feel to it. I think the property is far superior to the MK but if you only like beaches, MK is the one.

Samsaf

Have you looked at the Fairmont? We stayed there for 5 nights for our 25th anniversary ( after staying on other parts of the island the first 5 days of our trip). We snorkeled right off their beach, and there were many sea turtles snorkeling with us! I think most of the rooms are ocean view, though, instead of ocean front. We loved it there. We were able to get fifth night free from a special they were running.

hellokathy

I would highly recommend the Mauna Kea. My husband and I stayed there for our honeymoon this past May and our only regret was that we did not stay there longer. The hotel was large enough to have all the amenities we needed, but small enough to offer personal service. The beach is beautiful and I was able to do some swimming with no problem. There is also snorkeling and other water sport equipment available from the hotel right on the beach. Relaxing and low-key is the perfect description.

Leburta

The Mauna Kea was closed for a while to remodel after a major earthquake. The property and beach are both beautitful and updated. Hellokathy's depiction of it as "low-key" is perfect.

Melissa5

wbpiii: I think we would have loved the Kona Village! Hopefully they can re-open someday. The more I hear about the Mauna Lani, the more I feel drawn to it. It sounds good to my husband as well. Since you went in May I imagine the water conditions and weather were calmer than they will be during our trip in January/February.

THANKS EVERYBODY! Mauna Kea sounds so nice as well...great for an anniversary. I need to make the final decision...

We are getting excited reading about all the amazing things there are to see and do on the Big Island!

Samsaf: Thanks for your reply, I did look at the Fairmont...I looked at all the hotels on the Kohala coast. They all have their advantages. I'm glad you had a great 25th anniversary.

hellokathy: Mauna Kea sounds like a wonderful honeymoon destination and I'm glad you had a memorable stay.

It's not easy to research how the winter weather and surf conditions affect the beaches on the Kohala coast. Basically that can't be predicted... But I've read as much as I could find.

Mauna Lani seems slightly less isolated than the Mauna Kea. Although we want to stay at a romantic hotel with a beachfront location, we don't actually spend that much time at the hotel as we like to get out and see the island.