Big Island hotel questions
 

Hi,<BR>We're trying to figure out whether to splurge a little and try the Mauna Kea, Mauna Lani or Orchid, or be a little more budget conscious and try the Hapuna Prince or Outrigger. We figure if we save a little on the hotel, we can dine a little better and grab a massage or two... but would we be missing out on a better experience by giving up the luxury hotel? <BR>Any help appreciated.<BR>JP

I dont think the hapuna and outrigger are that much less expensive then the other 3 hotels, check around for deals (i found 295 a night at mauna lani with breakfast for 2 and 7th night free) this does expire in june but its a good deal. also check out pleasant hawaiian holidays and travel-hawaii.com for other package deals

If you're talking about the Outrigger Waikoloa, I would HIGHLY recommend it. We paid $175 a night for oceanview and we were upgraded to a club level room so we got free breakfast, snacks cookies and drinks in the club room. The beach there is just incredible for snorkeling. We also thought the pool was great. I haven't seen the other places, but I would definitely go back to the Outrigger.

I am not familiar w/ the Outrigger, however, I am familiar w/ the others. I have great things about the Mani Lani and have stayed at the Hapuna Prince and Mauna Kea. The last two have the best beaches on the entire island but not sure what else you're looking for.

We stayed at the Hapuna Prince, and at the time, the price was not much different from the Mauna Kea. I think availability will most likely be your deciding factor.<BR><BR>Our room was ocean front and very nice, though a bit of a walk to the restaurant, which by the way was excellent. <BR><BR>Enjoy!

I stayed at the Orchid last year. It was nice. I have heard though that there is now major construction going on and many of the people who have stayed there in the last few months are saying that they were inundated with dust, noise, and a very harried staff. You may want to think about staying elsewhere until the construction is finished.

Not sure if it's within your budget, but I just returned from staying at the<BR>fours seasons on the BI. I have never stayed at a better place in my life. The staff and property are incredible. My family enjoyed the resort so much that we never left. It truly was the best vacation that we have ever had.

The Mauna Lani is wonderful and has good deals. I have seen all the hotels you mentioned and would stay at the Mauna Lani again without any question. Second choice would be Hapuna. 4S is far more expensive and probably not worth it. Orchid is very formal and non-Hawaii looking. Mauna Lani has fishponds, hieroglyphs, nice beach, and extensive grounds, as well as great rooms, great food, excellent service, etc.

I beg to differ with xxx about the four seasons, it was worth every penny. I cannot express enough how beautiful the hotel/grounds/swimming polls are and the level of service by all hotel staff. In may not be in your budget, but i highly recommend checking it out. I was not disappointed at all. Further, the four seasons is not stuffy at all, i have 2 boys ages 7 & 9 and we were made to feel right at home.

Tom you'll notice that the only people who usually say things like "spending that much on a hotel isn't worth it" are people who have never actually stayed in the places they're referring to. Not that all high priced hotels justify their price tags (supposed luxury hotels in Europe in general come to mind).<BR>But I really get tired of people saying that the FS Maui or BI "aren't worth it" when they've never even stayed there. Also, if they can't truly afford places like that, then squeezing the budget just to stay there often kills the pleasure anyway.<BR>But if a questioner can afford to stay there, it's ridiculous for someone without any experience to make a comment like "xxx's" (which is why they stayed anonymous).