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Big Island, HI hotel

winelover123winelover123 member
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in Honeymoon Discussions
I looked at a few pages and didn't see anything specifically on this, so here's another Hawaii post!

We're getting ready to book our second hotel for our HM on the Big Island. We'll be there in early October and our budget for a hotel tops out around $350/night. So far the top contenders are the Sheraton Kona Resort at Keahou Bay, the Fairmont Orchid and the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel. Preferably, we'd like an ocean view room, but that's not necessary. This part of our HM is our lazy-lay-on-the-beach-most-of-the-time portion. I've scoured tripadvisor reviews for these three hotels and am still unsure which to go with. Does anyone have any experiences you'd be willing to share, or recommendations for other hotels? TIA :)
 
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Re: Big Island, HI hotel

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    daria24daria24 member
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    We stayed at the Sheraton and loved it. It has a weird 1970s space age feel to it (it looks like a monorail should be running through it-it was totally our style). It was nice being outside of town but not too far of a drive. And we had a great office view. They were doing construction while we were there so a section was closed, but we got a great upgrade and free breakfast because of it. 

     A few things to be aware of though-there is no beach, not even in walking distance. There is a bay to snorkel in and we actually took a Zodiac tour from that bay, so it was nice to just walk down there and hop in the boat. I believe the Fairmont is close to a beach, if not actually on one. It's almost a closer drive to a lot of great beaches north of Kona. 
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    winelover123winelover123 member
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    In Response to Re: Big Island, HI hotel:
    [QUOTE]We stayed at the Sheraton and loved it. It has a weird 1970s space age feel to it (it looks like a monorail should be running through it-it was totally our style). It was nice being outside of town but not too far of a drive. And we had a great office view. They were doing construction while we were there so a section was closed, but we got a great upgrade and free breakfast because of it.   A few things to be aware of though-there is no beach, not even in walking distance. There is a bay to snorkel in and we actually took a Zodiac tour from that bay, so it was nice to just walk down there and hop in the boat. I believe the Fairmont is close to a beach, if not actually on one. It's almost a closer drive to a lot of great beaches north of Kona. 
    Posted by daria24[/QUOTE]

    Awesome! I'm not bothered at all by vintage-y styles - we'd probably be pretty amused by 1970's decor. I'm a little disappointed that there isn't a beach in walking distance, but if there's one that isn't too far of a drive then it's not a big deal.
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    daria24daria24 member
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    My favorite beaches in Hawaii were on the BI. The best ones are an adventure to get to-the green sand beach is incredible, it takes about 45 minutes to walk back there. But there were locals with trucks that were ferrying people for a tip. 

    There is also a beach north of Kona called Makalawena. You first have to survive an awful 2 mile unpaved road to Kekaha Kai Park, then hike about 20 minutes over the lava fields to get to it-but the sand seriously is the most incredible thing I've ever felt. It was like sugar, there was no one there, and it was just an absolutely incredible HM experience to be all alone at this magnificent beach. I highly recommend the effort it takes to get there. 

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    winelover123winelover123 member
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    In Response to Re: Big Island, HI hotel:
    [QUOTE]My favorite beaches in Hawaii were on the BI. The best ones are an adventure to get to-the green sand beach is incredible, it takes about 45 minutes to walk back there. But there were locals with trucks that were ferrying people for a tip.  There is also a beach north of Kona called Makalawena. You first have to survive an awful 2 mile unpaved road to Kekaha Kai Park, then hike about 20 minutes over the lava fields to get to it-but the sand seriously is the most incredible thing I've ever felt. It was like sugar, there was no one there, and it was just an absolutely incredible HM experience to be all alone at this magnificent beach. I highly recommend the effort it takes to get there. 
    Posted by daria24[/QUOTE]

    It's a good thing that we love hiking :) If you have any other suggestions, I'd love to hear them (on the thread or feel free to PM me!). I have all of our Maui activites planned out, but haven't started looking at BI activities/beaches yet. I really want to go to secluded beaches!
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    daria24daria24 member
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    We were on the BI for a week. We went to Volcano National Park and stayed past sunset to see the lava. We hiked...in the dark...for 45 minutes...to see the damn lava...and it was too foggy. So then we drove up the observation area and you could see a little bit of lava from there. The conditions change all the time there, and because of the higher elevation it tends to be rainy/foggy. It's kind of a crap shoot.

    We spent one day at the south end of the island going to the black sand beach, which was great-lots of sea turtles baking the sand. We also did the green sand beach that day and South Point. At South Point we got a little crazy and jumped off the cliff-which was a ionce in a lifetime experience. I'm glad we did it...but I would never do it again haha!

    We did our Zodiac tour with Sequest-3 snorkeling spots, lunch provided, fun rubber raft. Slightly terrifying going 60mph in a rubber boat, but we enjoyed being able to go to some secluded spots.

    One day we went to the Place of Refuge, the Painted Church, and some small towns south of Kona. The painted Church was definitely a sight to behold, mostly due to the cat that was manning the altar. 

    We took an organized tour of Mauna Kea for star gazing and I don't think it was worth the cost. You can drive up there for sunset on your own and have a similar experience. 

    Make sure you get some Donkey Balls-they sell them a few places in Kona. They come in a bunch of different flavors, the salty balls are the best :) 
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    winelover123winelover123 member
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    In Response to Re: Big Island, HI hotel:
    [QUOTE]We were on the BI for a week. We went to Volcano National Park and stayed past sunset to see the lava. We hiked...in the dark...for 45 minutes...to see the damn lava...and it was too foggy. So then we drove up the observation area and you could see a little bit of lava from there. The conditions change all the time there, and because of the higher elevation it tends to be rainy/foggy. It's kind of a crap shoot. We spent one day at the south end of the island going to the black sand beach, which was great-lots of sea turtles baking the sand. We also did the green sand beach that day and South Point. At South Point we got a little crazy and jumped off the cliff-which was a ionce in a lifetime experience. I'm glad we did it...but I would never do it again haha! We did our Zodiac tour with Sequest-3 snorkeling spots, lunch provided, fun rubber raft. Slightly terrifying going 60mph in a rubber boat, but we enjoyed being able to go to some secluded spots. One day we went to the Place of Refuge, the Painted Church, and some small towns south of Kona. The painted Church was definitely a sight to behold, mostly due to the cat that was manning the altar.  We took an organized tour of Mauna Kea for star gazing and I don't think it was worth the cost. You can drive up there for sunset on your own and have a similar experience.  Make sure you get some Donkey Balls-they sell them a few places in Kona. They come in a bunch of different flavors, the salty balls are the best :) 
    Posted by daria24[/QUOTE]

    I'm saving all of this - it sounds awesome! I will have to try cliff jumping! Thanks so much for all of your help! :)
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    daria24daria24 member
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    In Response to Re: Big Island, HI hotel:
    [QUOTE]In Response to Re: Big Island, HI hotel : I'm saving all of this - it sounds awesome! I will have to try cliff jumping! Thanks so much for all of your help! :)
    Posted by winelover123[/QUOTE]

    Just to warn you-the cliff jumping isn't an organized thing. We went to South Point and there was a group of guys just jumping off the cliff. And silly me thought...sure why not. The snorkeling is amazing at that spot, but it's completely unprotected, so you have to make sure the ocean is REALLY calm before you jump on in. There is an old ladder you can use to climb back up but it's exhausting-its actually easier to swim to the right (if you are facing the cliffs) and climb up the rocks. 
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    winelover123winelover123 member
    5 Love Its First Anniversary First Comment First Answer
    In Response to Re: Big Island, HI hotel:
    [QUOTE]In Response to Re: Big Island, HI hotel : Just to warn you-the cliff jumping isn't an organized thing. We went to South Point and there was a group of guys just jumping off the cliff. And silly me thought...sure why not. The snorkeling is amazing at that spot, but it's completely unprotected, so you have to make sure the ocean is REALLY calm before you jump on in. There is an old ladder you can use to climb back up but it's exhausting-its actually easier to swim to the right (if you are facing the cliffs) and climb up the rocks. 
    Posted by daria24[/QUOTE]

    Thanks for the warning - still sounds awesome, if the conditions are right.
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    MissMollyMissMolly member
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    Donkey balls? Like, actual edible donkey testicals? Please, fill me in on this!

    Mauna Kea...FH has been up there, observing (he's an astronomer), and it's something I'd love to see! And green sand beaches would be a nice jar addition to my growing collection of sand. :)

    In Response to Re: Big Island, HI hotel:
    [QUOTE]We were on the BI for a week. We went to Volcano National Park and stayed past sunset to see the lava. We hiked...in the dark...for 45 minutes...to see the damn lava...and it was too foggy. So then we drove up the observation area and you could see a little bit of lava from there. The conditions change all the time there, and because of the higher elevation it tends to be rainy/foggy. It's kind of a crap shoot. We spent one day at the south end of the island going to the black sand beach, which was great-lots of sea turtles baking the sand. We also did the green sand beach that day and South Point. At South Point we got a little crazy and jumped off the cliff-which was a ionce in a lifetime experience. I'm glad we did it...but I would never do it again haha! We did our Zodiac tour with Sequest-3 snorkeling spots, lunch provided, fun rubber raft. Slightly terrifying going 60mph in a rubber boat, but we enjoyed being able to go to some secluded spots. One day we went to the Place of Refuge, the Painted Church, and some small towns south of Kona. The painted Church was definitely a sight to behold, mostly due to the cat that was manning the altar.  We took an organized tour of Mauna Kea for star gazing and I don't think it was worth the cost. You can drive up there for sunset on your own and have a similar experience.  Make sure you get some Donkey Balls-they sell them a few places in Kona. They come in a bunch of different flavors, the salty balls are the best :) 
    Posted by daria24[/QUOTE]
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    daria24daria24 member
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    Donkey balls are chocolate covered macadamia nuts and they have at least 10 flavorsspicy, coconut, milk, dark, etc. They also have "boar balls" that are malted milk balls. Delicious. The green sand beach is amazing but PLEASE don't take the sand. There is such a small amount on the beach, there's a huge fine if you remove it, and the locals police the beach themselves to protect the sand. I felt so guilty just seeing the little bit of sand in my suit at the end of the day, I can't imagine purposely taking a sample.
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