Hawaii hotels that "have it all"
 

My family will be visiting Hawaii in July. I am looking for suggestions on a hotel for each island, Kauai, Oahu, Maui and the Big Island that "have it all". Nice beach, snorkeling gear, bikes, kayak/canoe rental ON SITE. Tour/transportation arrangements ON SITE. Thanks for any help!

We loved the Mauna Lani on the Big Island. <BR>The rooms are large and the grounds are beautiful.<BR>The snorkeling right off the hotel is only so-so, but you can walk about five minutes to the Beach Club, which is affiliated with the hotel, and there is fabulous snorkeling.

Any ideas for Kauai places that &quot;have it all?&quot;

I agree, the Mauna Lani is a great hotel with excellent service. I highly recommend the all day bus tour which circled the Big Island with stops at highlights like Kona, the Kiluea Volcano, Hilo, etc. I forget the name of the tour company, but I am sure that the hotel concierge will know.

Just a note. You can usually rent stuff (Snorkel Bob comes to mind) much cheaper than what the hotel provides. We actually went to KMart on the big island and bought our snorkel stuff, less expensive than renting for 2 days. <BR><BR>Our hotel on Oahu would &quot;provide&quot; us with transportation and guaranteed entry to Pearl Harbor, for the low price of $25. We did research before we left, and found out that Pearl Harbor is free admission, and there is a van/taxi service that will pick you up at your hotel and drop you off at Pearl Harbor for $6 round trip.<BR><BR>By the way, if you are going to Pearl Harbor, DO NOT TAKE ANYTHING WITH YOU, other than a camera. They do not let anyone in with backpacks, purses, anything. They have no lockers to store things, and if you don't have somewhere to put your stuff, you can't go in.<BR><BR>

With regard to Kauai, you really only have 3 choices of hotels that would come close to what you are looking for: Hyatt, Marriott, or the Sheraton.

The Maui Sheraton in Kaanapali is in a good location for snorkeling and has equiptment for rent. The beach is wonderful. I have no idea if they rent bikes, though. It is possible to arrange tours through the hotel (any hotel with a concierge). It is also quite easy to phone the tour companies and make arrangements, most tour companies have hotel pick-up (on all islands). You can pick-up books in the baggage claim area of the airport that have coupons, ads, etc. for the tour opperators. Look for Hawaii This Week, Maui THis Week, 101 THings to do on Maui, etc.<BR><BR>I think one of the challenges is that, generally, hotels are not located where all the activities you describe are ideal: kyacking, biking, beach, snorkeling, etc. Consequently, you may not find any hotels in Hawaii that offer all of the things that you want.<BR><BR>The Princiville on Kauai is another good suggestion - and offers more services than the Kauai Sheraton.<BR><BR>On the BI you may want to look into The Orchid. Both Maui and BI have Four Seasons resorts that are likely to be very full service and offer at least some of the things you desire.<BR><BR>On Oahu - who knows? I can't think of any hotel that offers all of this stuff. The best snorkeling is in Hanauma Bay - a state park no where near hotels. The best beach, in my opinion, is Kailua Beach Park - again, no hotels near-by. The beach is Waikiki is nice (crowded) and does offer other activities: surf lessons, probably kyacking (which is also better at the beach is Kailua since you can paddle out to small bird sanctuaries).<BR><BR>It might help people to make more suggestions if we knew why it was important to have these things on site. For instance, if you are not renting a car then having near-by but not at the hotel activities would work for you, etc.<BR><BR>Have a good trip.