Mariott Waikiloa Beach?
 

Has anyone stayed at this hotel? Is it recommended for a family with 2 kids ages 5 and 11? We would like a swimmable beach, if possible, but we are going to Kauai after the BI although probably staying at Grand Hyatt so not much beach there either. Heard Hilton Waikiloa is like Disney - not up our alley. Would appreciate any suggestions on very nice hotels on BI. Thank you so much.
Laura

laura, I really liked this hotel, even before it's recent renovation. It's on A-Bay, a beautiful, swimmable beach. This resort is more Hawaiian and a bit more reasonable than the others hotels in Kohala. It's where I will stay when I go back soon! :)

We are leaving on Friday, and we are staying at the Marriott Waikoloa on the BI, and then the Grand Hyatt on Kauai, so it sounds like we have a very similar trip planned! We have stayed at both hotels before.

The Grand Hyatt is FABULOUS, and your kids will love it. The beach is too rough for swimming there, though, but the hotel grounds and pools are amazing.

The Marriott Waikoloa was a very good hotel when we stayed there a couple of years ago, and they recently renovated the whole hotel, so the rooms and many other sections of the hotel are new. It has a lovely setting on A-Bay. You will be able to swim there. Another good choice on the BI on a swimmable and beautiful beach is Hapuna Beach Prince Resort.

Beachgirl perfectly expresses my feelings about the Marriott Waikoloa. We really enjoyed our stay and would definitely return.

Hapuna Beach is gorgeous, so I would also look into the Hapuna Beach Resort.

We walked through the Hilton Waikoloa and it was too over the top for my tastes (too big & no real beach), but my children were begging to stay there. The funny thing is that I expected the same reaction when we walked through the Grand Hyatt on Kauai and they barely noticed the pools and slides and really didn't seem to care that we weren't staying there. I still can't figure that out.

If you end up staying at the Grand Hyatt Kauai, you will also have, in addition to the pools and waterslide, a wonderful huge saltwater lagoon for the kids. It located right next to the ocean, has a sand bottom and the ocean water pumped in. You can float on mats, rent kayaks and swim.

Thanks for the responses, Grand Hyatt it certainly is for 5 nights, now we just have to decide between the Mariott and the Hapuna on the BI, both seem to be around the same price, any thoughts on which is better for kids or are they both equally as good? We will also want proximity to some restaurants since I'm hearing there is pretty bad wallet bleed at the resort restaurants - ?
Laura

Beachgirl, would you mind sharing your itinerary re: flights, day excursions, etc? Since we are both doing BI and then Kauai it would be helpful to us.

Laurab: I don't know about the Marriott, but the Hapuna is pretty far removed from restaurants other than what they have at the hotel. There is a nice casual restaurant not too far by car, I think it was Cafe Pesto. Food was very good and it was about 15 minutes from hotel. There are restaurants in the other direction at the Kings Shops at Waikoloa (I'm sure I've got that name wrong). We visited the Hapuna last year, and it is really very nice, but not within walking distance to anything other than the beautiful beach.

We stayed 3 nights at Hapuna Beach in October 2006 just days before the earthquake. We LOVED it. That said, it is a bit of a drive to any restaurants and activites - not long but a drive none the less.

Please do not take this the wrong way, but it doesn't seem to be to be a place that would be great for kids. It was very quiet, almost serene atmoshere and we saw only 1 child during out stay. I would worry about children having things to do other than beautiful beach and nice pool. Restaurants are again more adult oriented as well.

Drive over the Hapuna Beach and enjoy the beach, but find a more child friendly hotel.

IMHO of course..
Debi

I would tend to agree with DebitNM regarding the Hapuna being less kid friendly. We visited after spending a week on Maui, traveling with a teenager. While DH and I enjoyed the serenity, DS was totally bored after a few hours in the pool and ocean each day. We spent time earlier in the week at VNP which he loved, but once we got to Hapuna, the activity level dropped and he was less thrilled with that location. I probably would choose a different location if we visited the BI again.

My husband and I stayed at the Hilton Waikoloa last year. LOVED IT. It is definitely a huge resort -- lots of pools, lots of restaurants, lots of shops -- but we liked the convenience. It didn't feel like a tourist trap, if that's what you're worried about. Just big. We were barely there because we had lots to do and litle time, but we both said that when we had kids, we'd come back and stay put for a few days. Depsite the lack of beach, I think it would be so much fun for a 5- and 11-year-old. And it's a short walk to the gorgeous beach at A-Bay.

By the way, I still fantasize about the breakfast buffet we had at the Ocean Tower every morning.

I may be wrong about this but I think the rooms at Hapuna Beach Prince are for a max of 3-I remember reading this in a post a while back so the only way to confirm would be to call or email the hotel directly.The draw here is obviously the incredible Hapuna beach within walking distance but I second the fact that it feels a little cold and quiet, not so child friendly.I would not stay at the Hilton (I know this is not one of your choices anyway but...)as the resort itself on the whole is really showing signs of wear and tear. Chipped paint, dated flowered fabrics, pink and brass in the buffet breakfast restaraunt.The waterways kinda smelled to me , but I am very picky. We visited the Hilton to do the dolphin quest and just to pacify ourselves that we had made the right choice in staying at the Marriott. The Marriott also had very good food, we ate 2 dinners and had breakfast a few times and we were never once disappointed. As well, the Marriott has a small water slide in the main pool which is just big enough for a 5 year old, but not too small for an 11 year old, plus a sandy beach area in the pool for fun.Keep in mind the last I heard they were still building the new main ballroom outside so you may want to see if they are still doing this. We were there when they were building the new pool area and it wasn't too bad noise wise but we didn't spend alot of time at the resort. Enjoy wherever you end up!

Stay at the Marriott. You can always visit the beach near Hapuna; there is an adjacent public park. The Marriott has beautiful grounds and the beach will be fine with the children. There is a trail to the left of the beach that goes up the coast where we saw petroglyphs and sea turtles. I second the food at the Marriott as better than expected, but you will be walking distance to other dining options.

Thank you all for your ocmments. It will definitely be the Mariott. Now I'm trying to decide if we should just do 9 days on the BI and skip Kauai this time or try to do both on this trip. Hate to miss the Hyatt on Kauai but I'm tired just thinking about all the activity between the two islands.

We're at the Marriott Waikoloa now, and it's beautiful! There is no more construction, and all the renovations are wonderful. It's truly a great resort, and for $199/night, a MUCH better deal than many of the other Kohala resorts!

Others may disagree but nine days is plenty for both. A flight from BI to Kauai is only less than 45 minutes. Big Island and Kauai have very different flavors.

Back to Marriott. Their beach in the back had the straight-from-a-travel-catalog sunsets! Amazing place :) In the early nights, when the wind picks up due to hot volcanic rocks everywhere, close your eyes and you will transported into a different world altogether.

Thank you for the replies, especially the live one from the hotel Beachgirl!
One other question, is there an airline that has direct flights from BI to Kauai? I've found ones that connect in Honolulu but that takes 3hours or more of travel time!
Laura

I am a one island per Hawaii trip person myself, and you can easily spend the entire trip on the Big Island. I do think you might like to spend 2 or 3 nights near Volcanoes National Park/Hilo. It is simply too much driving otherwise and you will not be able to spend an evening walking out to the lava flows at VNP if they are available. We have stayed at Volcano House and it was most convenient with a great breakfast view over Kilauea crater. A visit to Akaka Falls is a must, and don't overlook the Puna area including the natural pool at Ahalanui. We usually split our nine days on the big island at 3 hotels, a few nights at the Marriott, a couple of nights near Hilo, and then a few nights at one of the higher-end resorts.

I've searched high and low, and could not find a direct flight from Kona-Lihue. This is the 1st year we've had this, and it's due to the 2 choices we made for islands this year! The best I could do was find a flight on Aloha that only stops in HNL, but we don't have to change planes.