Fairmont Orchid, Hawaii

We requested and were assured we had a room that was in an area that had been refurbished. Not only was our area not refurbished but the rooms next to us were being painted and hammered. The elevator was out of commission the entire week we were there. We had to walk a long way just to get down to the beach level. I drink a lot of coffee and my Nespresso machine would not work properly. I asked about another one and heard nothing, and I was continually out of creamers and sugar. The options for meals were seriously lacking, luckily we had a car (which we were charged $40/day to park) so we could go elsewhere for good food. The staff at the pool and beach couldn’t have been nicer, it was a bright spot! We were very disappointed as it was an Anniversary trip and we had picked this hotel especially because we have had such great experiences with Fairmont. Not this time.

Fabulous. Fabulous. Fabulous. We stayed for 7 days at the Fairmont Orchid on the Fairmont Gold Floor, and we had a great vacation. The rooms have been remodeled and are just gorgeous with a stunning view of the gardens and ocean (partial ocean view). The linens and towels are of the highest quality, and the cleaning/room staff are outstanding. (make sure to tip them!!). The Gold Lounge access is worth the upcharge as they serve an amazing breakfast that is more than just "continental". In the evening, they have more snacks that could easily substitute for dinner! My only negative is the choice of wines for the "honor" bar in the evenings. Better quality reds are needed for such discerning guests. The arrival process is epic, with a glass of champagne, and then they deliver a bottle to your room. We had a problem with the caulking around the tub, and that was fixed immediately with a bar of chocolate and an apology left in the room. A nice touch. The property is just beautiful, even by Hawaii standards. The landscaping is well-maintained the pool is wonderful. I saw comments about not enough umbrellas, but we had no problem during our stay. The pool attendants went out of their way to find something for us. The beach was fun and very safe for snorkeling. You must pay $140 a day to have the shaded chairs, but the other chairs are free. We knew this ahead and spent $20 from Amazon on a portable shade tent and packed it in our luggage. Well recommended, and if you have little ones, buy a larger version. We used the pool bar and food service, and it's the usual high Hawaii prices, but good quality. The best choice for food was the Taco Truck located behind the north tower, near the beach. The beach bar is adjacent, so you can have a drink with your tacos. We ate at Binochan and were disappointed with the food quality.........not recommended. Overall, the resort is just fantastic and the staff are wonderful. We will be back!

The Fairmont Orchid is an absolutely beautiful property with its own small private beach. The room was fantastic, clean, and WELL maintained. They even went as far as to line up my girlfriend’s jewelry. Quite above and beyond if you ask me. Parking on the property isn’t free unfortunately. We didn’t eat/drink on the property as the prices are rough. That is par for the course in Hawaii though. There really aren’t many affordable options in the area unfortunately. Highly recommend the Fairmont Orchid except for the one visitor we had… (see picture) yuk.

Highlights for us were the lagoon pool, snorkling in a protected cove and dinner at Brown's Beach House. The location was great for us for exploring the Big Island. We really liked the reusable water bottle and filling stations. I've only seen this at one other hotel before and it was a pleasant surprise. We had a king sized room with an angled ocean view. The room was well appointed and very comfortable. Our view was out over the resort and was spectacular. We also really enjoyed the trail that you can walk south from the resort along the coast. I couldn't give 5 stars because there were a few things I would change: more shade poolside, you do need to get down to the pool early to score an umbrella; the beach is not that desirable to hang out and relax on; and a broken elevator in the north building meant that we had a very long walk back to our room from the pool.

The resort hotel is located about an half hour north of the airport in Kona. The outdoor landscaping is awesome. The grounds look like you’re in paradise. There’s a beach that’s part of the property. You can rent snorkeling equipment, surf boards, kayaks and other water equipment. The snorkeling was a lot of fun with numerous schools of beautiful fish you could see. The food at the restaurants was expensive but there's a grocery store and other less expensive restaurants that are a walking distance away. The interior needs a little TLC. The carpet looked like it was overdue for a shampoo. The room needed a little more cleaning. It was dusty in some areas and the bathtub and floor in the bathroom were dirty. It took a few minutes for the shower to warm up. For some reason because of the humidity the door to exit to the hallway was sticking. I and my boyfriend had a hard time opening it. The chain lock was hard to use too. We called maintenance. They made adjustments to the hinge which helped a little. We had a garden room with a doorway to the outside. You could see people walking on the walkway when sitting there so it wasn’t very private. The staff at the resort were all very friendly and helpful. All in all we enjoyed our stay but I think we will select a different hotel if we ever return to the Big Island.