Hi everyone,
Planning my honeymoon for August in Hawaii, and hoping to spend a few days on the Big Island because it sounds so amazing and different from anywhere else on earth. I have a few questions about the island in general and the hotel we are thinking of staying at.
-- We are thinking of booking one of the Hot Deals on the website of the Hapuna Prince Beach Resort, has anyone done this? They seem to be great prices. How is the breakfast there? What are the rooms/bathrooms like? I know the beach there is supposed to be one of the best in the state -- are there beach chairs there for guests, and if so, do they charge you extra?? (That is what is killing me about the resorts in Maui, paying high rack rates, and then $25 for a beach chair!) Is there AC in the rooms at Hapuna Prince? Is the pool good-sized? Also, we are not the type to eat at the resort for all our meals. Are there good restaurants for breakfast, lunch, and dinner within a decent (15-45 min.) drive, both casual and cheap, and more elegant?
-- I know the BI is big, and the things we would be interested in seeing would be: Waipaio Valley, the Volcano Park, snorkeling at Kealakekua Bay, Akaka Falls. How far of a drive are each of these respectively from the resort? How long would you advise we spend on the island to see these things, and also have a bit of time to just relax on the beach?
Thanks as always for all your advice and opinions!

One more quick questions about the Hapuna Prince: do the rooms have a balcony/lanai? If they do, are they tiny, or are they big enough to be furnished with a small table and chairs?

Hapuna Prince is a wonderful resort hotel. We had booked the least expensive room, but when we arrived, they upgraded us to one where you could walk right out onto the lawn and then then beach. The rooms are quite large and very well-appointed. Ours also had a lanai. They do have air-conditioning which works well. The beach is wonderful and I don't think we had to pay for beach chairs or towels--I would remember if we had. The restaurant is very nice but expensive--I didn't eat breakfast though my husband and sons did and had no complaints. You can snorkel right from the beach there. Pool is nice, not too crowded as most people gravitate toward the beach since the beach is so great there.
We found several places closeby to eat that weren't too expensive--one was a Mexican place in a little industrial park just north of there that was great. But you will definitely need a rental car. I would recommend spending one or two nights at Volcano National Park. We stayed at Kiluaea Lodge and it is wonderful. Very nice rooms and marvelous meals and breakfasts. Driving to and from the Volcano in one day would be awfully tiring. We did this at the start of our trip for 3 nights then stayed a week at Hapuna Beach. All the other sites you mentioned can be easily done from Hapuna Beach--don't miss the tropical botanical garden just north of Hilo--amazing even if you don't like that sort of thing.
Our lanai had big table and chairs--more like a regular patio.
You will have a wonderful trip. What a great honeymoon.

I've been to all the major islands and I woulnd't spend more than 3 or maybe 4 days on the Big Island. Kauai (in my view) is much nicer, more things to do. Maui would be second. The most interesting thing about the B.I. is the Volcano. Could easily spend a whole day there. Hilo side has a lot of lush greens and the Kona side is fun, but not really as spectacular as Kauai and Maui. Just my two cents
Out

You may want to join the Hapuna's Prince Preferred club, which also sends discounted rates to it's members. Also, Hapina is a Priceline hotel, with winning bids around $140-150/nt, check out biddingfortravel.com. And then there is Pleasantholidays.com to check rates. Most deals cone when you stay 5 nts. or more.

Regarding the Hapuna, we stayed there 2 Christmas' ago. I wasn't particularly wowwed by the place, it had sort of a cold feel, not too welcoming. The beach is it's big selling point. We had an oceanfront room for the week. The breakfast buffet's food was partially covered, and whatever wasn't was filled with flies. None of the hotels on the BI charge for chairs. They are regular chairs, no covered canopies.

If you're still open to choices you may want to consider the Fairmint Orchid. I just loved that place with turtles along the shore, covered canopies, etc. Be sure to check www.luxurylink.com for Hawaii auctions, Fairmont was just up a few months ago, won a bid for the Hapuna also (but the Hapuna hasn't been up in over a year)

Must disagree respectfully with Sparky. The BI is my favorite island and I think it blows away both Maui and Kauai, although I love those islands too. Please read my trip report in this forum; there is a ton of information on things to do on the BI. We stayed there 6 days and could have happily (and busily) done 6 more. It is such a spectacular place...and oh! The Kohala resort area! It is better than any other in Hawaii! I am so jealous you are staying at the Hapuna! We stayed at the Mauna Lani and thought it surpassed any resort on Oahu, Maui, OR Kauai.

Just saw you actually DID go to my trip report! Doh! Have fun and congrats on your upcoming marriage!