Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, Autograph Collection

The building is amazing. The property is so much better than it looks in pictures, it is really stunning. The food was delicious and the staff was so kind and helpful, they never made us feel like the bumbling tourists that we were! I especially appreciated their very high quality water toys, my kids boarded on the waves for hours.

Favorite beach, solitude of location, &drama of ocean & geography. We’d always enjoyed it as a couples retreat. Now, fauna has been cleared away, no longer a place of Hawaiian solitude, has become an active, family resort. Sad that the Manta experience has become over exploited, with excursion boats and night snorkeling.

The Mauna Kea is a stunning property with wonderful amenities for the whole family. We had full use of surf boards, boogie boards, SUPs, kayaks and snorkel equipment throughout our stay. The resort is elegant and has beautiful walks; the restaurants and bars are priced highly as you'd expect, but the quality of food and drinks is very good. Staff were incredibly helpful and very friendly. We did the Authentic Sails experience while we were there and cannot recommend it highly enough. We found that to secure a bed on the beach, we had to get there very early (7-8:30). You are permitted to reserve a bed for a couple of hours, so people tend to go down early, reserve all the best beds, and then disappear and come back later which is a little irritating. There's nothing to do but play the game unfortunately. Finally, the room wasn't huge and for a family of 4 sharing, it was a little cramped. However, we felt safe enough at the resort to let our kids (10 and 13) come and go throughout the day, so they had their own space when they needed it. Overall, the property exceeded our already high expectations and we can't wait to return.

Mauna Kea is amazing! Great for families and friends alike. Beautiful property, superb food, and great friendly service! Mahalo!

The Mauna Kea is our hotel of choice on the Big Island because of the lovely beach! In March (just the hubby and I) we stayed and watched the whales play in the water from our pool chairs, turned around to face the ocean, the service was lovely that time. We returned in June with 3 kids and 80 YO FIL, and summer must be a definite "off" season. The cleanliness of the home had drastically changed, one of the kids rinsed some type of food out in the sink and it was there for 2 days. The coffee at the coffee shop was terrible, the food at Hau Tree was terrible, where as in March, i didn't want to eat anywhere else and made liberal use of the coffee shop daily. Service at the pool was very spotty and 3 separate days, i had to walk to the pool attendant to ask for towels, etc, and also walk to her to place food orders! My 12 year old son was disappointed to find the advertised game room doesn't exist because "all of the gaming systems have been broken"...really?! Not that i think he should be playing PS3 and X Box in Hawaii, but it would have been helpful to know. Why have a game room? or a pool table with ONE stick? HMMM. They need more breakfast options, maybe breakfast service at the pool.

If you are looking for the "Hawaiian" vacation...definitely stay here. It's a lovely resort with a relaxing vibe. The staff members are super friendly, there are a ton of activities, and the beach is absolutely gorgeous. The minute you walk in, the energy of the place is awesome. The restaurants have delicious food and the property is so large, it offers something for the entire family. DO NOT get suckered into staying at the Four Seasons on the Big Island. It filled with uptight people who are not having fun. The Four Seasons does not have a large beach area to layout in. It's more of a stuffy hotel ...not a tropical paradise like the Mauna Kea Resort.

My wife and I had dinner here a couple of times on previous trips to the Big Island and have since stayed for a week on three occasions.  We have enjoyed the Plumeria and Mt view rooms.  The rooms are large, comfortable and filled with all the amenities we need.  Service is transparent.   There are three principle restaurants with varied results.  Manta (B&D) is pretty good, but you never feel the staff cares.  Hua Tree (L) has a limited menu, but a great staff, and fantastic location.  Monettes (D) is fantastic but pricey.  All have million dollar views.  The resort location on basically a private lagoon is spectacular.  That you can get a four star meal over looking said lagoon is priceless.   There are more expensive resorts on the Big Island, but none have as good a location.   There are some irksome rules at Mauna Kea,ex: the pool area is closed at 6 (seriously?) even the Marriott doesn't do that.  There are several other nice resorts (fairmont, mauna lea and even the Four Seasons(we like to hit the Four Seasons for L&D on trips to and fro Kona and the harbor)) nearby with more great restaurants.  You can stay a week, eat at great restaurants and not dine twice at the same place.  Of course this takes more time and effort than staying at the Mauna Kea.   When school is out there are lots of kids, when school is in the average age is AARP.   If you want a beautiful room, in a beautiful place, with pretty good food this is a great choice.  There are other choices who say NO less, but it will cost you.  

Fourth time we've been there, and, I can say that this place is still worth every penny! The only thing that was off a bit was that it was President's Day week and there were way more families with babies/toddlers than I've ever seen. For me, that detracted a bit from the experience. Probably not bad if you have small kids though. The place was sold out and it never seemed crowded. And, I gave them a 4 on condition and upkeep...needs some paint in some areas. Otherwise, perfect! We'll be back in December and/or February 2014.

We think the Mauna Kea has the best beach on the island, and when the surf was calm, I'd say this beach would be perfect for families with children (although there were days when the waves were large enough to knock down an adult). The hotel was superb, the Manta restaurant was great, and the sunset view was one of the best on the island as well. The wine bar was great too, as was the breakfast buffet. The concierge was helpful and pleasant, and the valet parking staff were friendly. Most of the hotel staff were nice, with a few exceptions who appeared a little put out with questions and requests.