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Fairmont Orchid Hawaii

Exterior

At a Glance

    Pros

  • oceanfront location
  • great restaurants
  • excellent pool
  • aloha hospitality

    Cons

  • top resort features come at a high price
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Fairmont Orchid Hawaii Review

You can't go wrong booking a stay at The Fairmont Orchid, a first-rate resort that overflows with tropical gardens, cascading waterfalls, beautiful wings with "open sesame" doors, a meandering pool, and newly renovated rooms with all the amenities. All guest rooms have private lanais, while a good percentage of rooms offer either partial or full ocean views. The on-site restaurants are also among the best on the island, highlighted by the flagship Brown's Beach House situated adjacent to the sandy beach. Casual fare can be found at the poolside Hale Kai, and for easy snacks, Brown's Deli offers breakfast and lunch items. The resort's premier tennis center features 10 lighted courts, a stadium court, and a pro shop, while the Spa Without Walls includes private massage hales set amid the waterfalls or on the oceanfront (The Fairmont is one of the few resorts on the Big Island that offers true beachfront massage). The thoughtful layout of the property affords guests the feeling of privacy, whether wandering the grounds, swimming in the pool (the largest and most impressive among the resorts), or taking a hot tub in the hidden whirlpool. A lavish luau feast, The Gathering of the Kings, unveils four buffet tables teeming with cuisine representing Tahiti, Samoa, New Zealand, and Hawaii, followed by a show that combines modern and Polynesian dance. There's lots of beach equipment to rent, plus rental bikes if you want to peddle to the nearby Shops at Mauna Lani. The beach features a protected cove ideal for swimming and wading, and the fitness center comes fully equipped.

    Hotel Details

  • 486 rooms, 54 suites.
  • Rate includes no meals.
  • Credit cards accepted.
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Fodorite Reviews

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    Fairmont Orchid Hawaii Review

    It's always easy to provide a bad review. A good review means that the glass is always more than half full. This resort has a great surrounding, terrific rooms and better than most restaurants. The service and staff are impeccable regardless of their roles. Everything was so great that we are doing it again a second year in a row. Thanks Orchid. Looking forward to enjoying another terrific stay at a world class resort!

    by ARIC, 5/1/11
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    Nice Grounds, Good Food, but Poor Service and Rooms

    I usually find Fodorites to be accurate and truthful, and despite their bad comments regarding this hotel, for some reason I chose to ignore them. What a mistake. The hotel grounds were beautiful, and the Brown's Restaurant was fantastic, but this did not make up for the incredibly poor service from the disgruntled staff and the decrepid shape of the rooms. (eg., Leaking toilet, clogged shower which overflowed into the bathroom when you tried to use it, peeling wallpaper, etc). You definitely do not get what you pay for at this hotel. The new owners seem interested in charging as much as possible to get as much money out of their customers before they go running off to the bank. You know its bad when you overhear several of the staff complaining about what an awful place it is to work. Stay away from here!

    by JoniC, 5/7/07
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    am I in tucson?

    If a 450 room hotel with ethan allen furniture is your thing, this is the place to go and spend $1200 a night -- the cost of a one bedroom suite. Breakfast was good, the staff was unfailingly nice but it's a huge impersonal hotel swarming with people. It's one of those places where the chairs by the pool or on their tiny "beach" are all taken by 8am. We could have been in Florida or the Caribbean or Arizona. The service in all of the restaurants was ridiculously slow and the food while edible was nothing special. This is the place for the McMansion people.

    by hullo, 1/25/07

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