Just got back from a week at the Orchid and The Spouse and I had a fantastic stay.
One thing that particularly stuck out for me was that despite the hotel being quite full (two weddings and some sort of business event were going on and the parking lot was full) the hotel never really felt full. That reinforced the feeling of luxury and tranquility.
Staff was friendly and helpful - and one thing I noticed was that they were not only that way to the guests, but also to each other (for example, I saw a front of house staffer rushing to help a waiter wrangle two room service tables into an elevator when it quite likely wasn't her job to do so).
The landscaping was a big plus, especially over by the North tower where the "Spa without walls" booths are located. Lots of little pools, tons of trees and flowers -- it was a pleasure just to walk through it.
Our partial ocean view room had more view of the golf course than the ocean, but made up for it by having a larger than average terrace. Wifi access was a little flaky, and there was no wifi at all in the Orchid Court, which was a bit annoying for those who like to catch up with the day's news while at breakfast.
We visited the Hapuna Beach Prince while on the island, and although the beach itself was lovely, we felt that the hotel itself was clearly inferior to the Orchid.
All in all we're extremely pleased we chose the Orchid and would gladly return.
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Our partial ocean view room had more view of the golf course than the ocean, but made up for it by having a larger than average terrace. Wifi access was a little flaky, and there was no wifi at all in the Orchid Court, which was a bit annoying for those who like to catch up with the day's news while at breakfast.
We visited the Hapuna Beach Prince while on the island, and although the beach itself was lovely, we felt that the hotel itself was clearly inferior to the Orchid.
All in all we're extremely pleased we chose the Orchid and would gladly return.
Glad to hear you had a really nice stay.. Backing on the course is a pretty nice side of the hotel..
I thought that Hapuna needed some renos.. We considered doing a suite up at Hapuna, but the Orchid being a former Ritz is where its at in terms of hotel. We considered doing a suite at Prince Hotels in HNL this year, but opted for Trump Waikiki one bedroom with a full kitchen.
The nice thing with Kohala Coast, you're guaranteed dry with only 8 inches of rain there a year.
We're considering spending five nights of our honeymoon at the Orchid (the other three nights perhaps elsewhere on the big island as we get out and about). Being FPC Plat, but not having stayed here before, I'm just looking for suggestions on how to play this to get the most bang for our buck during this stay.
It looks like Jetsetter is offering a $196/night rate on a Fairmont Garden Room, which seems pretty great. I should be able to use a suite upgrade cert on that, even though it's prepaid, right?
Can I attach my free night certificate onto that reservation through FPC after booking four nights through Jetsetter?
Programs: Via Preference Privilege, AC*A, Fairmont Plat, SPG Gold
Posts: 1,286
Quote:
Originally Posted by jounce
Hey folks,
We're considering spending five nights of our honeymoon at the Orchid (the other three nights perhaps elsewhere on the big island as we get out and about). Being FPC Plat, but not having stayed here before, I'm just looking for suggestions on how to play this to get the most bang for our buck during this stay.
It looks like Jetsetter is offering a $196/night rate on a Fairmont Garden Room, which seems pretty great. I should be able to use a suite upgrade cert on that, even though it's prepaid, right?
Can I attach my free night certificate onto that reservation through FPC after booking four nights through Jetsetter?
Any chance of getting a 1br suite out of it?
Thanks for the advice!
I don't think you can mix a free night cert and a prepaid reservation through a travel agent (ie Jetsetter). Since Jetsetter collects your money there the ones who would have to issue any refunds, but doubtful they will help you redeem a free night cert. A suite upgrade should be fine though.
American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts has a fourth night free offer that includes daily breakfast, $100 dining cert etc but you need an Amex plat.
Programs: DL PM/1MM, HH Gold, Marriott Silver, National Exec Elite
Posts: 1,896
Quote:
Originally Posted by jounce
Hey folks,
We're considering spending five nights of our honeymoon at the Orchid (the other three nights perhaps elsewhere on the big island as we get out and about). Being FPC Plat, but not having stayed here before, I'm just looking for suggestions on how to play this to get the most bang for our buck during this stay.
It looks like Jetsetter is offering a $196/night rate on a Fairmont Garden Room, which seems pretty great. I should be able to use a suite upgrade cert on that, even though it's prepaid, right?
Can I attach my free night certificate onto that reservation through FPC after booking four nights through Jetsetter?
Any chance of getting a 1br suite out of it?
Thanks for the advice!
I too am interested in this Jetsetter rate. Any idea if a suite upgrade cert will work?
If not, they have a Fairmont Savers Rate of $264. Can you apply a free 3rd night cert to a prepaid Fairmont Savers stay of 5 nights?
Programs: LH, BA, AC Super Elite, IC Amb, Fairmont President's Club Platinum
Posts: 5,225
Quote:
Originally Posted by jjglaze77
I too am interested in this Jetsetter rate. Any idea if a suite upgrade cert will work?
If not, they have a Fairmont Savers Rate of $264. Can you apply a free 3rd night cert to a prepaid Fairmont Savers stay of 5 nights?
No personal experience with Jetsetter, but suite upgrade certs can usually be applied towards reservations made through "regular" travel agents / third party suites, however some broker-like sites such as Priceline are excluded afaik, so you may want to ask the hotel.
If the Fairmont Savers Rate is sold directly be Fairmont, you should be able to apply a 3rd night free cert, however as getting a refund may be a bit of a hassle IŽd make that reservation over the phone. The Fairmont res agents tend to be very helpful and knowledgable IME.
Programs: DL PM/1MM, HH Gold, Marriott Silver, National Exec Elite
Posts: 1,896
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jasper2009
No personal experience with Jetsetter, but suite upgrade certs can usually be applied towards reservations made through "regular" travel agents / third party suites, however some broker-like sites such as Priceline are excluded afaik, so you may want to ask the hotel.
If the Fairmont Savers Rate is sold directly be Fairmont, you should be able to apply a 3rd night free cert, however as getting a refund may be a bit of a hassle IŽd make that reservation over the phone. The Fairmont res agents tend to be very helpful and knowledgable IME.
Just as an update...
I gave the hotel a call to try and sort everything out and spoke to a wonderful agent named Tanah. She was extremely helpful in explaining how to use the certificates that I have and what was available. I wanted to get into the oceanfront suite & she said that I had to book an oceanfront room. The suite was available for my dates, but oceanfront rooms were not so she told me that I could book a different category and still get the oceanfront suite. She also said that I could use my free night cert by simply booking a 4 night stay instead of a 5 night stay through Jetsetters and that she would extend the stay by 1 night to allow me to use my certificate. Overall great service and I am looking forward to my stay next week!
Would people agree that (for half the price) the Orchid is a better bet than the FS Hualali?
FS Hualalai is a top 100 world resort.. and I would agree its service and property is at a higher level than the Orchid. Having visited the property and experienced Hualalai service, it is worth a premium.
We spend within a budget, and Fairmont provides the value for the hotel/services that we seek some places that we travel.
I agree. I don't think the FS and Fairmont Orchid can be compared, but value for the price, we thought the Orchid was amazing. Planning another trip soon.
We are thinking about a return visit this fall and have both room upgrade and suite upgrade certs that we could use... assuming we'd get a GV Suite at most (but OV would be bonus!!), can someone tell me more about these suites? I see the basic description on the site, but more concerned about location. Are they in the North or South or both? Are only certain floors considered GV suites? Are they in the "back" of the building (low numbers) or how far down could you be? I really want to avoid the ground floor (which can be several floor numbers depending on where you are - we had a 3rd floor room last time - for one night ONLY - and a little cat wandered into our room from the Lanai as the room was basically on the ground) or a heavily trafficked area.
The alt is to book up with the room upgrade to a better ocean view room.
Thoughts? It is just the two us (celebrating the upcoming birth of our first baby) so we don't really NEED the extra space.
I've seen references to this formerly being a Ritz Carlton property. Does anyone know when it transitioned to a Fairmont? Thanks.
In 1972, Francis H. I'i Brown sold the property to the Mauna Lani Resort, and Kalahuipua'a was rechristened Mauna Lani - 'mountains reaching the heavens' - named in reverence to the five volcanic mountains that surround the Kohala region.
It took quite a while for approvals and for the land to be developed. The property opened as a Ritz Carlton in December 1990 but then it became The Orchid at Mauna Lani and transitioned to Starwood's Luxury Collection in 1995. The hotel changed hands again in 2003 and Fairmont assumed management that December.
We are going to be visiting the Orchid in October. We booked the rooms in August through our TA and are using our FPC room upgrade certificate as we were told that there were no suites available. Our first choice was obviously to use those upgrade certifs instead.
I would like to inquire again about the chances of getting into a suite - never hurts - and was wondering if I would have better luck talking to Fairmont's main CS reps, or calling the hotel directly.
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