Mauna Kea Beach Hotel - Day 1

Mauna Kea Beach Hotel

62-100 Mauna Kea Beach Drive, Kohala Coast, HI 96743

(808) 882-7222

Duration of Stay - 6 nights (2/28/09-3/6/09)

Rating - 4 out of 5 stars

WOW! That's all I can say, WOW! It is amazing what two years and $150 million can do to a hotel. The Mauna Kea reopened in December 2008 after a forced renovation due to earthquake damage and has reemerged as the diamond of the Kohala Coast. They shall certainly give Four Seasons Resort, Hualalai (30 minutes south of Mauna Kea) a run for their money. The amazing thing about the new Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, is that none of its uniqueness was lost during it 21st century transformation. What was designed as "understated elegance" in the 1960s and severed the hotel so well for 40 years, has been replaced by a more modern sense of "understated elegance"  (no doubt carrying the hotel for the next 40 years). 

One of the things I love most about the property is the guardhouse located at the entrance from the highway. Not only is the guardhouse still there (and renovated) but the posted guard once again serves a purpose. Past the guardhouse the familiar views return and memories of prior visits come flooding back. (Especially the memory of hitting a window while playing on the 4th hole). And then you reach the bottom of the road where it gently curves to the left and you witness one of the pretties views on the Island, right there in front of the world famous 3rd hole at the Mauna Kea Golf Course.  Finally, you pull into the main driveway and the beautiful structure is there in front of you and after taking it in your eyes finally pick up the crystal clear waters of Kauna'oa Bay. 

Familiar faces are there to greet you at the car and you are then ushered into the lobby. The lobby has undergone massive changes. The beautiful marble and teak front desk has been replaced by a simpler "more inviting" set up. They are essentially sit down desks; I understand the idea behind them but its hard to accept changes. The worst part of the set up are the hideous orange retro style desk chair, (i get the orange bit since it's the hotels color but I sure has hell don't get the styling).  The front desk and lobby staff were very warm, welcoming and attentive. Their service was spot on; though Landon, the gentleman who checked us in, seemed to be in an awful hurry to show us our rooms, almost as if he had better things to be doing (oh, and he is the assistant hotel manager...). A young lady named Misty who works at the Concierge desk was extremely helpful with arranging our dinner reservations. 

The new rooms, which were created by Berry Designs, are jaw dropping. No longer the tired yet tradtional furniture but a highly modified floor plan as well. To say the least they are stunning and will require a separate post just for them. 

Our choices for lunch ended up being rather disappointing. We had been looking forward to having lunch at the beachside "Hau Tree" restaurant but they were closed (guessing due to the high winds). We ended up having lunch at the new "Number 3" restaurant located in the golf club house. The food was of superior quality but the service tended to be slow. The restaurant has only been open for two weeks and it seems like they are still getting all the kinks out. Number 3 will also be serving dinner in the near future. 

Due to the extremely windy weather, we were unable to have cocktails at the Copper Bar Terrace to watch the sunset. Instead we head over early to the restaurant. "Manta and Pavilion Wine Bar" is currently the properties only dining venue open for dinner (The Batik Restaurant will not be reopening in the foreseeable future). The service was excellent, with prompt attentive staff who went the extra mile on everything. With this being said, there was an extreme low point. Their menu is rather small and since I have severe food allergies, this limited my choices even further. The Chef was extremely helpful in providing a dish I could eat but it wasn't worth the excessive cost. 

I will end it here for this evening and post more tomorrow. So Far So Good. 

-- Jaguar