Hapuna Paradise
We stayed at the Hapuna Beach Hotel in April 2009. It was wonderful; we paid for a partial ocean view which was the best partial ocean view we have ever had. There was another wing of the hotel in front of us, but we could still see tons of ocean and beach. They have very nice size balconies, two chairs, a lounge chair and table. We arrived at the hotel and they have free valet parking, minus the tips of course. You enter into this wonderful open air lobby. Once you approach the front desk they greet you with a tray with wet towels and some great mango juice. That was nice after a long flight and it was humid. The rooms were quite nice, very nice size room. The bathrooms were very nice and large, separate shower and tub with granite counter tops, even a telephone in the restroom area. Like other reviews stated there was a musky smell to the room, however, what hotel room doesn’t have that musky smell…The room had a king size bed, a TV and TV stand/ dresser, a large chair and a table for computer Internet set up. The Internet/ WIFI was $34.95 for two weeks or $9.95 a day. A small free safe and decent size refrigerator. The maid gave you fresh ice each day. The room had a sliding glass door with sliding plantation type shutters as well as a heavy duty sliding screen door that locked. We slept with the door open every night and it was wonderful hearing the ocean. Put me right to sleep. There were bathrobes and slippers for your use. Plenty of towels and great smelling lotion, shampoo and body soap. We took a few home…Hehe…The front door also had a heavy duty locking screen door that you could leave open for extra cross ventilation if needed. They were nice and dark so people on the outside couldn’t see in. The property was very well landscaped with Plumerias and Hibiscus flowers all over. Very nice and green as well. Very nice looking golf course if you golf, we didn’t, but it looked nice. While I am on the topic, don’t be surprised when you land in Kona by all of the black lava rock. We knew it would be that way and it was still a shock. We got used to it though after a day or two. The Hapuna Beach was very nice, the sand was so nice and white and soft. It was a short walk from our room and lobby area. Very nice and clean restrooms by the pool as well. There were lounge chairs and umbrellas on the beach for the hotel guests, there was never a shortage. The pool guys and beach life guards were pretty nice. You can snorkel for $7.00 an hour and there is a great cove just feet from the hotel, we saw tons of turtles, it was great. You can rent boogie boards for I believe $7.00 an hour too.Very nice swimming pool, it was a vanishing pool. It was nicely heated and hardly anyone in it. The food by the pool was not cheap and was average taste. It was crazy how few people were there; at times it was strange, but also very nice. The open air feel of the hotel is wonderful, we just loved it. There is an outside wall near the business center that has beautiful colored geckos everywhere. The hotel staff was nice, not the nicest, but pleasant.
There is not much around the hotel, it was very secluded which we enjoyed. The closest thing really is the Waikoloa Village about 10 minutes down the road towards the Kona Airport. They have a place called Queen’s Market Place that has a small strip mall and a food court. They had a Subway, Arby’s and some other local island places in the food court. There were two other bigger chain restaurants as well. There is a store called Island Gourmet which is like the Hawaiian ABC sister store. All the same goodies you would find in ABC and the same look, just a different name. There is also a Kings Market across the street that had a few bigger chain restaurants and a little grocery store as well. We grabbed some good prepackaged sandwiches from the market. The town of Kona is about 35-40 minutes away from the Hapuna Beach Hotel. Overall, the Hapuna Hotel was great, we would defiantly go back.