I snickered when I read the OP mentioning that he wants to stay at a 4-star resort and then saw the price. Some of the resorts out here are very expensive.

I personally am on the other side of the equation. I decided for my trips to always seek out the less expensive places to stay. (The first trip I stayed at a B&B and made life-long friends here). That left me more time and money to enjoy the

To pay hundreds of dollars a night for a room, and then spend most of the time elsewhere just doesn't seem very cost-effective to me. The flip side of this is the woman who came to the Big Island and stayed a week at a resort. She never left the resort to see the volcano, waterfalls, black or green sand beaches, etc. She could have stayed on the mainland for a resort stay.