colleen

My husband and I are planning a belated honeymoon on the Big Island in November.The reason we picked this island was because the Travel Channel rated Mauna Kea as the best beach in the U.S and the 5th rated in the world.The Mauna Kea Beach Resort looked breathtaking and romantic. Anyone have any comments or suggestions regarding this area? Thanks!

Dave

The beach at the Mauna Kea Hotel and at its sister property, the adjoining Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel are among the best beaches in all of Hawaii. The sand is white and the water crystal clear.

There are arguably nicer resorts on that side of the Big Island (Four Seasons at Hualalai or Mauna Lani for example)but if you want the nicest beach on that island, you can't go wrong with either the Mauna Kea or Hapuna Prince.

If you have a car during your holiday, I suggest trying Merriman's restaurant in nearby Waimea and Cafe Pesto in Kawaihae.

Have a nice honeymoon and watch out for the sun, it's unbelievably strong there and you can get burnt in a heartbeat.

anne

Congratulations on your belated honeymoon. Have you visited Hawaii before? We toured the big island for a week for our fifth anniversary, including a stay on the front end at Mauna Kea, a couple of days at Volcanoes National Park, a day in kona coffee country (I'm the coffee addict) and then back to Hapuna Prince. The beach at Mauna Kea is gorgeous and the staff extraordinary. We would go back there in a heartbeat. It is a bit further up the coast from Kona-Kahula area (about 45-50 minutes driving from the airport), so it's a bit more remote. I agree with the previous post that there are newer, more elaborate resorts closer to Kona-Kahula (mauna lani, four seasons, hilton, etc) that are spectacular, but I thought the beach was better at Mauna Kea. I guess it boils down to what's most important to you. Hapuna Prince reciprocates with Mauna Kea and is a larger, newer facility. I found Mauna Kea more restful and Hapuna Prince more lively. The golf is good at Mauna Kea. Volcanoes Park was spectacular (about a 4 hour drive from Mauna Kea) and we enjoyed our overnight at the kona coffee plantation bed and breakfast. The town of Kona is quite touristy so I didn't spend much time there. Merriman's is a great recommendation for a restaurant. We also liked a bavarian restaurant (!) Edelweiss(?) in Waimea.

Frank

The beach at Mauna Kea is a very nice crescent beach, one of the best on the Big Island, but don't expect an exotic South Sea Island palm tree laden remote beach...that simply is not Hawaii. Although Mauna Kea is further north on the Kohala Coast, its location is actually an asset, as it is closer to the wonderful scenery of the North Kohala Mountains and is a better starting-off point for car rides to the lush, green Hamakua Coast (Waipio Valley, Akaka Falls, Tropical Gardens, etc). Enjoy!

Anna

My husband and I visited Mauna Kea Beach in February. It was a beautiful beach, the water was crystal clear with a nice sandy bottom (no rocks/coral). We also went to Hapuna Beach next door and it was very nice too. I would rate Mauna Kea definitely one of the best beaches in the U.S.

kam

A long,long time ago we spent our honeymoon at the Mauna Kea. We've revisited many times since. I've never seen a more perfect site for a honeymoon in Hawaii ever. Go for it and have a mai tai on the beach at sunset! Congrats.

bubba

I agree w/ everything above but... The water in Hawaii is not crystal clear. Clear-yes but nothing like the carribean. This is no slight only a fact. The water in Hawaii is a deep blue where the carribean is a light (closer to crystal clear) green. I absolutely prefer Hawaii and the Mauna Kea resort!

Steve

Actually, "Bubba," the water IS crystal clear at Hanauma Bay on Oahu -- and many times directly in front of the Kahala Mandarin Oriental Hotel on the same island!

Anna

The day I was there the water was crystal clear, it is not like that every day however.

bubba

Ok, you take my grits from me this morning. I would agree that Hanauma Bay has some areas that would qualify as crystal clear. Folks, I was not trying to be critical, only trying to paint a more acurate picture of what "Most" of Hawaii's waters look like. I didn't want someone going there expecting to see Carribbean type waters. I not going to call my self a resident expert, howevr, I did live on the Big Island for 2 yrs.