Big Island (honeymoon) advice?
 

Hi there...we are taking a 2 1/2 week honeymoon this coming August. Everything else is set besides our Big Island accomodations (5 nights). We are staying 4 nights in the Mokapu wing at the Rennaissance Wailea on the Entertainment rate (been to Maui before)and then staying at the Cliffs in Kauai for free (gift from parents).

So...we would like to do it up a bit on the Big Island, which doesn't seem difficult. Top contenders are the Four Seasons (although it's hard to close to $600 for the lowest room category), Fairmont Orchid (great deals through Costco) or the Kea Lani. We'd like to stay somewhere relaxing with a laid back feel. We also don't want to get caught with hidden costs (chair rentals, activities, etc.) so any input would be great.

The one thing we will definitely do on the Big Island is a trip to the volcano-should it be a day trip or should we stay over for a night? Otherwise we plan on relaxing since these are our last few days on our honeymoon.

Thanks!

All three of your choices for hotel are on the opposite side of the Big Island from Vocanoe National Park - quite a drive, especially if you are staying after dark to see the Lava. Definately plan to stay over at least one night. The Big Island is large enough to hold all of the other island put together. Keep distance in mind when planning your time.

Have you looked into the Mauna Kea Resort? We stayed there last October and loved it. It's right on a beautiful beach with some of the best snorkeling I've ever done right at the hotel (sea turtles, manta rays, tons of fish). The hotel has a "natural - Frank Lloyd Wright kind of feel", but is luxurious and the service was excellent. It's the sister hotel to the Prince so you can use both facilites. The atmosphere was very laid back and not crowded at all.

The Hapuna Prince (sister hotel to the Mauna Kea) is on one of the nicest beaches in Hawaii. The rooms are a good size and the staff is really nice. We also visited the Four Seasons, which was beautiful, but the beach doesn't compare to the Hapuna.

Good point re: staying over near VNP-any recommendations? How far is the drive from the Kona airport?

The honeyroom suite or the cottage at Kilauea Lodge are great choices for lodging in Volcano. Do a search and you'll find a few other recommendations. Volcano is a little over 30 minutes from the Hilo airport, but more like 3 hours from the Kona airport.

Ripsmom:

I haven't been yet (not until Sept- honeymoon) but I have don't a good 3 hours on accomodations near the Volcano. The Kilauea Lodge (http://www.kilauealodge.com/) was by far the #1 place with a great dinner place too and second was Volcano Rainforest Retreat - the Bamboo Cottage is new and very "honeymoonish". I would recommend it to you but it requires a 2 night minimum. If you want to stay 2 nights take a look. http://www.volcanoretreat.com/bhale.html

On the Kona side we are staying at Kona Village - just because in Sept. it is adults only and is so different from where we are staying on other islands. But I read a LOT of great things about 4S.

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding!! You'll have a great time.

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!