We stayed at the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort for the next 4 nights. We chose it for its location and its price. It has two swimming pools, beach access and two restaurants. The rooms were very clean and well maintained. The staff was very helpful and pleasant to interact with. The Marriott has beautiful grounds and ample walkways to enjoy the property.
Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort Grounds
Located between the resort and the beach is a small lava field with grasses and flowering plants sprouting up through the rock. We spent an hour wandering around the grounds, admiring the landscape and looking for sea life in the many ponds and pools of water within the lava field.
The Grounds at the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort
The walkways also led to our favorite restaurant, Lava Lava Beach Club, which is not a part of the resort.
Dinner with a View
We did enjoy a wonderful meal at the Hawaii Calls Restaurant and Lounge, located near the pool, at the resort. While we were at the resort they happened to have a special of buying one meal, getting one free, so we chose to eat at the resort on the night of the special. Everyone enjoyed their meal and we were able to watch the sun set while savoring our dinner. I would recommend the restaurant, although without the special, it would be pricey. I am not sure if the special was only for guests staying at the resort or for everyone, as the restaurant is open to the public.
After dinner we decided to get our swimsuits on and check out the pool, which was empty at the time. By the time we got back down, there were some people there, but it was not crowded, except in the hot tubs. I would say that the resort could definitely benefit from additional hot tubs, as that seemed to be where almost everyone wanted to be.
Anaehoomalu Bay
The beach had some pluses and minuses. On the positive side, it was empty, we had it entirely to ourselves. During the day, they have a shaved ice stand, paddle board and kayak rentals, and an odd looking paddle bike that could be rented right on the beach. Half of the beach was lined with lounge chairs, the other half was sand. It also had a slow slope going into the water, so it would be great for families with young children. On the negative side, the sand felt more like little pebbles than sand. It was not comfortable to walk barefoot on. We only visited the area once and stayed for a brief amount of time. We much preferred Hapuna Beach and opted to return there when we wanted more beach time.
The high points of the resort were the beautifully maintained grounds, we thoroughly appreciated the outdoor environment, the restaurants and lounges were lovely, with fabulous views of the palm trees and ocean, access to the beach with plentiful rentals (during the day only), and being walking distance away from the delicious, ocean front restaurant, Lava Lava Beach Club. It was also located centrally to the rest of our activities. The low point would be room size. It was definitely the smallest room we stayed in for the greatest price. (It is competitively priced with other resorts on this side of the island.) We also only had a partial ocean view, which means if you slide your chair over on the balcony as far as you can, one person can see the ocean. We did choose not to pay for an ocean front room for our stay here, as we did not want to pay the steep upgraded price. Also, the beach simply can not compare to the white sands of Hapuna Beach. We did not visit the beach fronts of other hotels in the area, except Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel, which is located on Hapuna Beach, so I can not offer comparisons for the other resort’s beach access. This side of the island is lined with resorts. The whole area is beautiful, you probably can’t go really wrong no matter which resort you choose.
We used the Marriott as our base for our excursions to Kohala Zipline, Waipio Valley Shuttle and Pololu Valley. It was lovely to come back to. We spent each evening either walking to the Lava Lava Beach Club, or in the lounge/bar area having a drink and enjoying the ocean view. As always, wishing you happy travels and fantastic adventures in this thing called life.
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To see other accommodations that we stayed in on the island click on the links below:
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