Thinking about a possible trip to the big island in March. Can anyone recommend a place to stay? We prefer small to medium sized intimate yet somewhat upscale places on the beach. Not all inclusive. Near good diving/snorkling yet somewhat convenient location to also tour the main attractions and/or hiking. Under $450/night. Thanks for any help.

Jarred,

What you are looking for is really tough to come by on the Big Island. Do you mean a sandy beach? The best snorkeling spots aren’t near the best beaches, for the most part.

Some that come to mind for your requests are:
Mauna Lani
Fairmont Orchid
Marriott Waikoloa
And at Hapuna Beach the Prince

OK snorkeling, all have some sort of beach either nearby or walking distance, all are nice, not necessarily intimate. I think all might be larger than what you are hoping for. If you must have a hotel/resort on the beach – i.e. walk out your lanai and onto the beach, there are none on the BI. Maui has several, as does Oahu.
The best snorkeling in all of Hawaii is on the BI, but is not near the beaches.
Due to the sheer size of the island, there is no one location that is convenient to the main attractions. The Volcano is down south, Hilo is on the East coast, Waipio is at the NE end, Pololu is North, Kohala is NW, and Kona is the West side. Of course South Point (Ka Lae) is very far south.

Good luck and happy travels!

It's the medium-sized intimate yet upscale part on the beach that is difficult. I think Hapuna has about 400 rooms. On Waikiki that is almost small.

Thanks for the responses. It doesn't need to be beach so much as ocean-front. The main problem I see is the size issue. Most of the nice hotels seem to be very large. My wife and I generally dislike the feel of large resorts. We always feel as though it's crowded, impersonal, and commercial. Things we seek to avoid for a tropical "get-away from it all vacation." I also feel as though I'm always missing the "action" at the resort because it's so vast. I'm never relaxed. I'll be on the beach and will need to see what's going on at the other end of the resort.

JarredK: Sounds like you'd like the Keauhou Beach Resort. It's right next door to the Kahalu'u Beach which has great snorkeling - some say one of the best on the island. We stayed there in May of this year & loved it!

The resort itself is located right on top of some tide pools that 'team' with turtles, eels & fish.

You did not mention condos, but I think you might like the place we have booked for the third time, for part of next March. It's called Kona Nalu. It is right on the water, on the ground floor, and we spend about 80% of our time when at the condo sitting on the huge, comfortable lanai. It's within 75 feet of the water. Sometimes we see a green turtle feeding in the tide pools in front, and sometimes the whales breach right offshore, or dolphins play in the water. It's quiet, comfortable. It's a mile to the great snorkeling beach at Keahou. Our son snorkeled off the beach in front of the unit, although it's better at Keauhou. Of course, there's no hotel services, but the privacy and comfort and size are great.

http://www.vrbo.com/36456

Charnee

Jarred, if you can do without a sandy beach, the entire coastline from Kailua-Kona to Keauhou is one long string of small condo complexes. None of these qualify as luxury properties, although some are better than others. But if you're talking about "under $450/night" I think you'll be disappointed with most or all of them.

For truly upscale, luxury resorts which have close proximity to the ocean, you'll need to go to Kohala. The list echolynch provided is a good start (I'd add Kolea and the Four Seasons Hualalai, and remove the Marriott, personally).

Also, the BI is so big, there's not any one place that is "somewhat" convenient to most (or even many) of the island's attractions. To see the sites requires a lot of driving, no matter where you stay.