now that Southwest flies to Hawaii...

... where are you going to stay?

Today, Southwest Airlines launched its long-awaited service to Hawaii with the departure of Flight 6808 from Oakland, California (my home airport) to Honolulu. Passengers were greeted with leis both on boarding and upon their arrival into HNL. Service will continue to expand with a second OAK-HNL flight on March 24th, flights to Maui on April 7th, and service to Kona on May 12th.

These will be no-frills flights with nothing but Coach seats to be had for the long 5 1/2 hour flights. Neither will full meals be available. By adding seats to the Oakland-Hawaii market, the price of coach seats will likely come down. On the other hand, I highly recommend flying First Class on Alaska or Hawaiian. Pricing is surprisingly affordable, and both airlines offer comfortable First Class service and full meals. Some Hawaiian Airlines planes even have lie-flat sleeper seats.

Where to stay in Hawaii? I've listed my favorite hotels, and Ourisman Travel offers you added value by providing free breakfasts, $100 hotel credits, upgrades, and more — all at the same regular prices you're seeing online.

Honolulu
The Kahala Resort
Halekulani
The Royal Hawaiian
Four Seasons Oahu at Ko Olina

Maui
Four Seasons Maui
Andaz Maui
Fairmont Kea Lani
Ritz-Carlton Kapalua Bay
Montage Kapalua

Kona
Four Seasons Hualalai
Mauna Kea Beach Hotel
Fairmont Orchid
Mauna Lani, an Auberge Resort

copyright (c) 2019 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

should you travel to the Big Island?

I'm going to Hawaii's Big Island, in three days, and I'm not worried.

Why not? The erupting Kilauea Volcano has been all over the news in recent days. Some travelers have been asking whether to cancel their vacation to Hawaii. My point-of-view is consistent with my own decision: don't cancel that trip. Here's why...

This google map shows the location of the volcano, as well as the locations of our Virtuoso hotels on the Big Island — Four Seasons Hualalai, Mauna Lani, Fairmont Orchid, and Mauna Kea. I'll be spending two nights at Four Seasons Hualalai, located 55 miles to the northwest of the area of volcanic activity. There is zero chance that lava flows from the volcano could reach the Kohala Coast. While fumes could conceivably reach the area, the trade winds blow from northwest to southeast, away from the beach resorts.

I'm looking forward to my trip to Hawaii tomorrow, and I'll send air quality reports to Team Ourisman while on the Big Island, 20MAY-22MAY.

copyright (c) 2018 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

Pololu Valley Lookout | Big Island attraction

view from Pololu Valley Lookout trail (c) 2017 by David Ourisman, all rights reserved

So you've enjoyed the beach, but you'd like to get out and explore. What's there to see on the Kohala Coast of the Big Island? Here's how we spent one day of our recent trip to Hawaii. After leaving the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, we turned north on the main road, then left at the intersection onto Route 270. We first stopped at...

Pololu Valley (c) 2017 by David Ourisman, all rights reserved

Lapakahi State Historical Park — an archeological site with the ruins of an ancient fishing village by the ocean. Free admission but frankly not that interesting unless you're really into stone foundations of what used to be buildings. Nevertheless, it's a pleasant interpretive walk by the ocean and on the way to...

Pololu Valley Lookout — a quite worthwhile place to visit. There's free parking in the small lot at the end of the road (which fills up quickly), and you can park on the road. What's here? A short but steep hike down the hill to a black sand beach. The views are truly spectacular (see both pictures above). Be sure to wear sturdy hiking shoes.

Statue of Kamehameha I — a quick stop on the way back. The statue is in the small town of Kapaau, where you can also grab an [overpriced but good] burger or salad for lunch (or ice cream).

Waimea — we took a detour on the way back to our resort, passing through the town of Waimea (population about 9,000). You'll find shopping opportunities here, but you probably won't want to go out of your way to visit Waimea.

copyright (c) 2017 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

view from room 610 | Mauna Kea Beach Hotel

the beach at Mauna Kea (c) 2017 by David Ourisman, all rights reserved

It will be hard to say goodbye to this tomorrow morning. It's the sight from the balcony of our room at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, an incredible view of the best beach on the Big Island. If you want a beach vacation at a resort with a long, wide beach covered with soft sand, you'll be very happy at the Mauna Kea.

Originally built in 1965, the Mauna Kea has won acclaim from the American Institute of Architects as one of the 150 best works of architecture in the United States. The hotel has recently undergone a thorough $150 million renovation, reopening at the end of 2008. The results are very pleasant.

Lead-in Beachfront rooms are on floors 1-4 of the Beachfront Wing, each looking directly across the lawn to the beach, with ground floor rooms being especially coveted as you can walk straight from the door of your room to the beach.

Main building rooms come with both Golf and Ocean views ... and in standard (600 sq ft) and Deluxe (900 sq ft) configurations. Needless to say, this Ocean Vista Deluxe room offers everything you could look for in a luxury room product ... and Suites offer even more. By booking through your Virtuoso travel advisor, you receive additional valuable amenities during your stay:

• Upgrade on arrival, subject to availability
• Buffet breakfast daily for up to two in-room guests
• $100 USD Resort or Hotel credit to be utilized during stay (not combinable, not valid on room rate or any third party vendor charges, no cash value if not redeemed in full)
• Complimentary Wi-Fi
• Early check-in/late check-out, subject to availability

But it's all about this fabulous beach!

copyright  (c)  2017 by Ourisman Travel LLC.  All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

back to the Big Island

beach tree at FS Hualalai (c) 2017 by David Ourisman, all rights reserved

It's been a cold and wintery week in Lake Wobegon, not to mention many other cities and towns in the continental U.S. It's chilly even in Northern California. Although the welcome but torrential rains of the past weeks have subsided, my thoughts have turned to warmer destinations. One month from today, I'll be flying to Hilo, Hawaii!

Although I've visited the Big Island twice and have done extensive site inspections, it's been too long. There are renovated rooms and suites to see practically everywhere. Mauna Kea was a hard hat construction site when I was last there. Mauna Lani has had a complete renovation of its guest rooms. Four Seasons Hualalai has totally redone Palm Grove because of the damage caused by the tsunami resulting from the 2011 magnitude 9.1 earthquake off the coast of Japan.

But we begin in the Volcano National Park on the eastern side of the Big Island. I've frequently been asked about this attraction, so we are beginning our trip in Hilo with two nights at the Volcano Forest Inn. After checking out, we'll drive the entire northern shoreline of Hawai'i, visiting some of the attractions recommended by the concierge at FS Hualalai. Here's my Google map of those attractions.

After our visit to the volcano, we will spend two nights at Four Seasons Hualalai and our final three nights at Mauna Kea. We will also do a site inspection of Mauna Lani. Can't wait! And if you can't wait either, don't miss out on the valuable Virtuoso and Four Seasons Preferred Partner amenities we can get you. Although I'm not permitted to list FSPP amenities on a public website, I can tell you that we can get you perks like free breakfasts and hotel credits at all three hotels I've mentioned.

copyright (c) 2017 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell Travel. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

Mauna Kea | free breakfast and golf

Mauna Kea is a luxury beach resort on the Big Island of Hawaii. Its recent renovation took down interior walls, resulting in guest rooms 50% wider than before. Guests have been highly complimentary about the new rooms. Mauna Kea has just announced a Travel Mart Bonus Offer. Make a new reservation by September 5 (minimum 5 nights) for stays through December 18 (but excluding Thanksgiving), and receive a free round of golf for two or Luau for two as a bonus gift from your Virtuoso travel consultant.

This offer applies to any rate or package and comes with the full Virtuoso amenities:

• Upgrade on arrival, subject to availability
• Daily buffet breakfast for up to two in-room guests
• A $25 Pro Shop credit, once per stay
• Complimentary parking for duration of stay

Mauna Kea has one of the most beautiful, secluded beaches in Hawaii ... and is also offering an all-inclusive plan with breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily (including Sunday brunch and a traditional Hawaiian luau).


Mauna Kea (search here on Google)

copyright (c) 2011 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
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the luxury hotels of Hawai'i

First, a word about the Big Island of Hawai'i. When I left the Kona airport and drove north along the coast, the view was unlike anything I had ever witnessed. On either side of the highway are lava fields — once-molten lava that hardened when it cooled — an other-worldly sight! I wasn't quite sure what the resorts along the Kohala Coast would be like, but not to fear. The Big Island's beach resorts are among the finest in the world.

The Fairmont Orchid is a large resort (pictured above) with 540 guest rooms in two 6-story wings. Each room is generously sized at 522 square feet. The property was originally developed by Ritz-Carlton, later became a member of Starwood's Luxury Collection, and finally came into the Fairmont family of hotels. The resort is small enough that you can walk easily from your room to the restaurants, spa, swimming pool, tennis courts, and beach. At the same time, it is large enough that one is impressed by the spaciousness of the grounds. There is no sense here of being cramped. The grounds are lushly landscaped with beautiful lawns and plantings.

Four Seasons Hualalai is the perfect intimate beach resort. The 243 guest rooms and suites are arrayed in four "crescents," each crescent facing the beach with its own pool in the center. Pictured above is the Palm Grove crescent, especially popular for guests celebrating their honeymoons or anniversaries. The Palm Grove pool is adult only, adding to the sense of privacy and seclusion in this section of the property. What I like best about Hualalai is that buildings are low-rise, nothing on the property higher than two stories. Many ground floor rooms even have an outdoor shower. The resort is family-friendly with a complimentary kids program. Free washers and dryers are available for guests.

Mauna Lani Bay Hotel has 343 rooms and suites, a smaller property than the Fairmont but larger than the Four Seasons. Set on a beautiful beach, the resort offers two 18-hole championship golf courses, 10 tennis courts, a pool, and a children's program. I especially liked the open-air design of the hotel. You will never have the experience of walking down a long, closed hallway that might as well be in any high-rise city hotel in the world. The interior of the hotel is an open courtyard with beautiful plantings, with all guestrooms facing to the outside, and the feeling of being in an idyllic tropical destination is enhanced by the hotel's architecture.

Mauna Kea Beach Hotel was originally developed in 1965 by Rockresorts. At the time, it was considered the most expensive hotel ever built and named by Esquire magazine as one of the three best hotels in the world. It has been closed for two years for a $150 million renovation with its re-opening is scheduled for December 2008. It is set on Hapuna Beach (pictured immediately above) and in the midst of a challenging championship golf course.

Big Island Beach Resorts (search here on Google)


copyright (c) 2008 by David J. Ourisman. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
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