After surviving our snorkeling adventure, we went off in search of more food and shopping. We went to the touristy shopping haven on Alii Drive. I honestly can not remember where we ate, so it must have been good enough that I do not remember it negatively, but not spectacular enough to have registered in my memory. I do remember that we were seated outside, in the shade, with an unobstructed view of the ocean (and all the cruise ships that dock here).
We were able to wander through the Coconut Grove Marketplace as well as the Kona Farmer’s Market. What my husband and I most enjoyed was strolling through the art galleries that heavily populated the area. What we enjoyed least were the people from the cruise ships rushing about because they had a very limited amount of time to spend on the island before having to return to their ships. This area was by far the most crowded that we experienced. It was also the least relaxing, due to the crowds.
After some leisurely shopping we checked in to the Royal Kona Resort in Kailua-Kona. We picked the Royal Kona for the amazing ocean views, literally ocean front, at a reasonable rate. We really loved it here. It was quiet, peaceful, not overly crowded and was a great location for what we had planned for the next few days. We stayed here for two nights. The rooms were clean, a decent size, with a nice lanai that looked directly out onto the ocean.
A Room With a View
This photo was taken from our lanai. We spent a considerable amount of time sitting out here. The door to the lanai was linked to the air conditioner, so you could not have the door open while leaving the air conditioner on, which is of course understandable, but we wanted to be able to listen to the ocean crashing against the rocks while still remaining nice and cool. The 16 and 20 year old opted to shower, relax and cool down in the hotel room for a bit before dinner, so my husband and I headed down to the oceanside bar for a drink. My young adults were again given a safety lecture, until my husband cut me off and said, “You’ve all ready given this lecture,” handed them his phone and said, “They have a phone, they can see us from the lanai, all they have to do is yell if they want us and we will hear them.”
Mai Tais and a Barrel of Monkeys
So off I went to enjoy some time with my husband. I was quite delighted with Don’s Mai Tai Bar’s bartender. She informed me that there are actually quite a variety of mai tais and helped me pick this delightful concoction with the little monkeys hanging off the glass. Maybe I am easily entertained, but these silly monkeys really made me happy.
A delightful view
Enjoying this view also made me very happy. Even though it is apparent that the circle of rocks is man-made, walking down here is prohibited. As the tide was coming in, we were watching the ‘tub’ fill up with water as it was crashing into the rocks. This is the shoreline that lines the resort’s property, so if you are looking to go swimming directly out of your hotel, this is not the place to stay. Beaches abound on this side of the island, and it is a short drive to many of them. In my opinion, after visiting several of the beaches the Hapuna Beach Prince Resort had the best swimming beach….white sands, multi-hued blue ocean waters…here is a page dedicated to that beach. In fact, if we were ever to return, I would spend at least a few nights there. It is important to note that all beaches are open to the public in Hawaii, whether or not they are on hotel grounds. The beaches do not ‘belong’ to the hotels, they ‘belong’ to the public and everyone must be granted access. I would also return to the Royal Kona, for the spectacular view at a very reasonable rate. Here is the direct link to the page with the room choices, we picked Ocean Front.
Courtyard at the Royal Kona
The Royal Kona consists of three different buildings. The building we were in has an open courtyard in its center, surrounded by rooms. The only downside we experienced during our stay was the exterior of the buildings needed some maintenance. The paint was peeling on the lanai and the outside walls of the building and some of the walkways could use some cleaning and restoration. It is very possible that both of these issues have been rectified since our visit. The interior of the rooms did not have any issues.
We also attended a luau on our second night, where we did run into some issues, but I believe it was more a reflection on the company running the luau than the hotel. We had purchased our tickets ahead of time because we wanted to be sure that we would have seats. You can not reserve specific seats, it is first come, first served (you tip the person leading you to your table to get a great seat). We went down to the show 30 minutes ahead of time to get in the line that we could see was forming from our lanai. We were extremely disappointed when the people who had not bought tickets ahead of time where being seated ahead of the line of people who all ready had their tickets. The people who were drop ins were given preference over those who had pre-purchased. After witnessing this for 10 minutes, where our line had not moved while 1/4 of the tables were filled with drop ins I went to ‘discuss’ the issue with the person who was seating people. I was informed that this was actually their policy, so I informed them of all the reasons why it was unfair. Eventually, either they tired of listening to my lecture on fair business practices or someone overheard me say that I didn’t mind paying a little extra for good seats but I was afraid they would all be gone by the time they got to my line, that they decided to open another line and seat my family right away. We handed the person seating us a $20 (which is also their business practice) and were given front stage, center seats. My kids were impressed with my accomplishment and asked me how I managed to get us these seats. I simply quoted Mr. Brady, “Calm, cool, reasoning.”
While we were waiting for dinner to be served, storm clouds started rolling in. My husband offered to run up to the room and grab our umbrellas. He got back just as it was starting to sprinkle. My daughter and many other people had headed for the tents when the sprinkling began. My son and I stayed put, as I wasn’t going to risk losing my seats. My husband had only brought two umbrellas, so my son and I sat under our umbrellas, pushed my husband’s and daughter’s seats under the table and table cloth so they wouldn’t get wet and waited out the rain. As an extra bonus of amusement, there was a man across from us who had teased his family about running to the tents and was determined to wait out the storm, minus an umbrella. It was pouring at one point for about 5 minutes, and there he sat. My son and I thought this was absolutely hysterical and were chatting with him, while he good naturedly said, “I can’t give up and go under the tent! They’ll never let me hear the end of it!” The whole rainstorm was over in 10 minutes and then dinner was served. The food was ok, the drinks were good and so was the dessert. We all had several desserts that night.
Luau at the Royal Kona
The show was entertaining. Some of the performers were quite amusing. I would have liked to see more of the fire dances. The best part of the evening was when my son was chosen to go up on stage and participate in a dance. We have video and many, many photos of his time on stage, but I have promised to keep those private. We did notice when we were at the Marriott a few days later, the same performers were doing the luau there. I am not sure if they were doing the same show, they had a different emcee (ours was much better from what we could hear at the Marriott), but the music seemed to be the same. It might be worth finding out if the shows are different or not because the prices at different resorts for their luaus are not the same and you do not need to be staying at the resort to buy tickets to the luau. I am very glad we went, but I would not bother to go to another one.
Tomorrow’s adventure centers around hiking, turtles and tide pools and the Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park.
As always, wishing you happy travels and fantastic adventures in this thing called life.
(All pictures are available as Fine Art Prints and Digital Downloads for purchase at full resolution through Alamy. If you see something you like, click on the link. If you are unable to find it, use the Contact Me page and I will make sure the image is available.)
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Ocean Front Accommodations in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
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