Mauna Kea Beach Hotel

My wife and I decided to stay at Mauna Kea Beach Hotel to celebrate our one-year anniversary of moving to the Big Island from Manhattan (NYC). Our room was spacious and clean. Very big shower/bathtub space. The beach was beautiful, especially in the morning (low tide). Perfect for snorkeling on the north side of the property.

We booked this hotel from Paris and it has been beyond our wishes ! Very nice room with beautiful full view to the ocean The staff is very professional and attentive Nice beach and not crowdly One thing to do, go to see the sunset on the summit of Manau Kea volcano above the clouds at 4200 meters (do not forget to bring hot clothes) The best hotel we stayed during our trip in Hawaï Islands from far!

We stayed at the Mauna Kea for a week on a family vacation. The property is very beautiful and the drive up to the hotel past the golf course was prettier than a postcard. We enjoyed walking on the property and some paths along the beach. We had an ocean view room in the main tower. There was a large balcony overlooking the beach and Manta restaurant. The balcony had two nice size chairs and a table. The bathroom was small - a single sink, a tub, and the toilet. For families, it didn't provide much space. The walk-in closet was a great size. We were disappointed that the hotel has double size beds rather than queen size. For a luxury hotel, queen beds should be the standard. The room floor was all tile, which I suppose is easiest to clean. The beach was superb and the floating raft was great! We all loved watching the manta rays at night but it would be nice if the hotel discouraged guests from climbing down the rocks and jumping in the water with them (at least 3 people did that when we were watching the manta rays). The pool looked pretty but we never used it because the beach was so lovely! One item to note- there is waiter/waitress service at the pool but not at the beach. I heard it has something to do with all Hawaii beaches being open to the public. The hotel has a beach-side bar and restaurant but no service on the beach. The food at the Manta restaurant was very good- the breakfast buffet was nothing special, rather just what you would expect. We enjoyed dinner at Manta a few nights during our stay. The Copper Bar was nice too. We started with valet for our car, but given our room location, we switched to self-park because it was actually closer to our room. The guest laundry area was clean, we used it once during our stay. Hotel staff was friendly, but nothing out of the ordinary. Other Marriott properties (Ritz, JW, Autograph) have provided more customer-centric service. Overall, I would recommend the hotel but keep in mind the bed sizes when selecting your room type.

Wow, just wow! We loved this resort. The property is gorgeous and the service was the best I have ever had. Every single person (except one in the gift shop) was incredibly nice and helpful. Everyone was happy here and it showed. The building is a design from the 60's and you have to like this type of architecture to enjoy this resort. If you are looking for a shiny new slick hotel, this isn't your place. But if you want a graceful and interesting open air hotel sitting on both an amazing golf course and beach with a beautiful tennis club, this is the place for you. We stayed in the main building in a room that was sparking clean and beautiful. We had a king bed and a rollaway and while it wasn't huge we could manage just fine. The food in every place we dined was really good. If you go, enjoy breakfast at Manta with beautiful views and excellent banana bread. Dinner at Copper Bar during sunset is literally the best meal and experience we had our whole trip. If you go, stop to enjoy the beautiful artwork throughout the resort. It is unique and interesting. I have traveled a ton of places and stayed in countless hotels and resorts. This was by far my favorite. I can't wait to get back someday.

My wife and I wanted to check out the beach. You have to stop at a checkpoint to get in, then go to the front desk to get a parking pass, and there are only 40 slots. Beach is nice, price for rental equipment is very high. The beach at Anaeho'omalu is much easier, plenty of parking and very reasonable rental equipment prices.