Sally lewis

We want to fianlly visit Hawaii. We want to do it over Christmas. We want to stay in a hotel that features suites and possible breakfast. What island is the best? Is it true that the ocean and beaches are very dangerous during this time period? Will the weather be great for swimming?Any comments or suggestions would be of great help. Thanks

Louis Dameson

I presume you mean the big island and you would most likely rent a car. You might consider staying at a B&B. Fodor's had a book on B&B's in the islands that we used with great success. Some of the B&B have wonderful siting areas and of course the breakfasts are wonderful. We stayed at a B&B on Oahu and three different ones in various parts of the large Island. Also we stayed in the newest section of Valcano House overlooking the crater and just loved watching the changing light in the crater. All of the places were outstanding values for the money, comfort and location. The one on Diamond Head made our stay in Oahu enjoyable--it was away from all of the things we dislike. We slept on the queen's original oversized bed--much larger than king size

L. Montgomery

If you have never been to Hawaii before my chioce of Islands would be The Island of Hawaii ( The Big Island) The Volcano area is not to be missed, we stayed at a wonderful little bed and breakfast on the crater rim called The killeau Lodge. We had a suite with a corner fire place which was lit for us in the evening. Volcano area is often rainy and cool.

I would spend 2 days and perhaps one night there and then go back down and spend the rest of your stay at the beach.

Yes the water is often dangerous at this time of year especially on the North Shore of each Island.

Second chioce would be Kaui - a very lovely Island. The Northshore is often breathtaking with beautiful hidden beaches , wet caves etc.,etc.

In Kaui we stay at the Princeville Hotel on the Northshore - and the Hyatt on the sunny southshore...both glorious.

Maui offers the Kie Lani Hotel which is all Suites and in a lovely area, however their beach is not very swimmable in the winter.

On Oahu, I would not stay in Waikii Beach, very commercial, even Deluxe Hotels have small portion of beach.

The Ihilani Resort and Spa is on the West side of the Island Wonderful service, most deluxe rooms, beautiful swimming beach year round as it is protected by barriers, of all the Hotels I have stayed in, this is my second or third favorite , infact I am giong back to Hawaii and the Ihilani this comming Tuesday.

Tom

Hi...read the other responses...my suggestion is to go to at least two islands. Oahu is the most commercial, and you can get many flights into and out of this area. Almost all of the hotels are not American owned. Because I have children, I want a place where there a facilities for light cooking as well as a restaurant on site, or nearby. I personally stay at the Imperial Hawaii Vacation Club. It is the closest you can get to Waikiki Beach without paying a fortune, yet still have extremely nice accomodations. Each unit has some type of facility to do light cooking...microwave, etc.

If you want a beautiful island, travel to Maui. I stay at another timeshare resort, the
Maui Sunset II. It is absolutely wonderful and the sunsets are breathtaking.

The big island has never done much for me except to watch for the volcanic activity.

Shopping should always be done on Oahu, because any gifts are much cheaper than the other islands, and you can negotiate for an item in the market place.

If you have any other questions, contact me.

Tom

Teresa

I hope you mean Christmas 1998. I have just finished booking a trip for Christmas 1997, and really had to work at finding what I wanted. It's the most expensive time to go, and most of the good places are already full. Unless you really like crowds and big cities, leave Oahu as soon as possible, take a direct flight to the Big Island or Maui if you can. Kehei on Maui is not too expensive, we like the Mana Kai Maui.....right at the south end of Kehei on the beach. It is a condo, so lots of room, and there is fairly good snorkelling right there. I hear the beach was somewhat erroded last year after a storm, hope that it is back this year.
Some of the B & Bs on the Big Island sound fantastic, we're hoping to try some out soon.