ORCHID AT MAUNA LANI OR MAUNA KEA??
 

My wife and I are confused about which of these two to stay. Can anyone comment on the beach at the Orchid at Mauna Lani. We hear it's manmade and calm, but is it a nice beach? Should we spend a little more and stay at the Mauna Kea just for the beach?

Spend extra for the Mauna Kea. The beach is fabulous as is the rest of the hotel. It was just renovated a couple years ago. The golf is also great--especially that 3rd hole! We've been staying there off and on since it opened in the 60s and never found anything to compare to it.

We stayed at the Orchid after it opened as the Ritz-Carlton. Very pleasant stay in all respects. Great room (mostly because we'd been upgraded to a suite....the standard rooms were nice, but not much different than most other Ritz's). The beach is not large, but was quiet (no surf) with nice sand. We seldom strayed from the pool and were not disappointed. I have no idea how the service has been affected by the change in ownership, but I'll bet it didn't improve (was top-notch before). Now has a lot more convention clientele, which can be a big negative at times. <BR>We visited Mauna Kea and were impressed. In speaking with other friends and acquaintances who've been to the Big Island, MK has an impressive history of winning clients for repeat visits over many years (as with Kam, above). Standard rooms may be a bit small, but beach is great and service is supposed to be stellar. I'd bet on MK over Orchid.

Thank you both, we have decided to stay at the Mauna Kea.

Jim, I guarantee you won't regret it! Take the catamarran cocktail cruise some evening. I can never leave the beach until the sun goes down over that beautiful water. I have such good memories about the Mauna Kea and hope you will soon.

Just came back from the Four Seasons on the big island-- fantastic in every way!!

The Four Seasons is lovely

The Four Seasons has a LOUSY beach, so if you are a beach fanatic, FORGET it!!!