Just back from Hapuna stay last week. Here are some overall impressions

* Construction continues. The building where the construction is occurring was the former beachfront rooms. Marriott sold the property and the developer will be turning these into condos. I wonder if they will have access to Marriott pools and beach services since it still looks like it is part of the Marriott. Also, it looks like the shell of the rooms will be the same. Some of the new condos will be fairly small - similar to the size of the regular hotel rooms. Construction at the hotel itself is complete and the hotel remodeling/refresh effort is complete.

* Construction noise - the noise is steady during the day. It would impact you if you stayed on the north side of the hotel (closest to Mauna Kea). We stayed at the beach during the day and although we could hear the construction, it did not bother us. The hotel moves a lot of people to the south side of the hotel (see upgrades below). They have a lot to do at the new condos - so expect this to be going on for several more months.

* Points/Upgrades - I am a Platinum member and booked Hapuna with points (plus one night free) back before the points program was changed (140,000 points). I was traveling with a friend and we had a two queen room. I tried to use suite upgrade, which didn't go through. Keep in mind this is a destination hotel and very popular for elite members to use points and suite upgrade. Once we saw the construction situation, we could see that staying on the south side of the hotel with a nice ocean view room was more important than receiving a suite upgrade. Almost everyone staying at the hotel is elite and using points, so you won't be the only person who is elite trying to get a suite upgrade. There are not that many suites - especially if you want to get one away from construction. I would say "get over yourself" - you won't get the suite upgrade, but you will still have a nice room and an "upgrade to beach view" for your status. Status was acknowledged and everyone was so nice during our stay. We were given bracelets to wear at the beach and pools but never found out what we got for being elite versus just the average person. You will get more towels than you could ever use if you want them. The ocean view room had a nice balcony with table and chairs and nice lounge. The room was large and had a nice large bathroom with two sinks. Very comfortable for two people.

* Pools/beach - we stayed at the adult pool the first day when we got there and was waiting for our room to be ready (note: your room will not be ready early even if you are elite - everyone is elite - remember - and won't check out until they absolutely have to so that means you won't get your room until the guaranteed time - suggest cooling off all day at the beach or the pool and have a cocktail). It was nice. There are rafts to use and lounge chairs in the water if you want to chill out. You can order drinks and just tell them you are checking in and charge it to your room without an issue. Because the pool bottom is dark and the pool fairly small, the water is warm. I think the family pool below is larger and nicer with more chairs. It only had a few children screaming which didn't bother us. It also has the pool grill restaurant which was nice to have right by the pool. We went to the beach almost every day. There are chairs lined up under umbrellas every day about 8 or 8:30. The shady side gets filled up more quickly. The sand is very fine and soft. The water was very nice when we were there. There was a manta ray that follows you as you swim up and down the coastline and a turtle or two to see. More fish near the rocks. Better snorkeling over at Mana Kea (but it's a smaller beach). Several Mauna Kea people come over to the Hapuna beach facility to use the pools and beach because the pool is better at Hapuna. You don't get the pretty bright orange towels like they have at Mauna Kea, just nice big plain white towels at Hapuna. There are rentals at the beach if you want to snorkel or use boogie boards or almost anything else. Service is great and efficient. Prices for food and drinks are high - as you would expect at a resort.

* Restaurants - we use the elite status for free breakfast buffet every morning. It was a great benefit - huge buffet with omelets, Hawaiian and Asian offerings, bread toast and almost every fruit you could imagine. It cost $72 per day for two if you pay for it. They also have a menu you can order off of. We loaded up on breakfast every morning and it lasted until we needed to eat dinner - so you can save on lunch if you want to focus on touring the island or other pursuits rather than eating lunch. They also have a food to go and coffee area if you want that instead. We also ate at the casual grill at the pool a few nights when we were too lazy or tired to leave the property. It had entrees and burger/salads. Everything was fine. Drinks were potent. Prices are high - as you would expect for a resort. Hapuna also has a new "fancy" restaurant above the grill with Spanish tapas. Kind of weird to have that type of restaurant in Hawaii, but gives you alternative to burgers, fish and other typical island offerings if you want it. We looked at the menu and prices and decided "no." It was always empty every night, so it seems like everyone else agreed with us.

* Hapuna versus Mauna Kea - You can walk over to Mauna Kea via a paved path over the golf course or along a rugged coastal path around the coast. Both are hot if you go in the afternoon sun as we did. Take water and sturdy shoes if you decide on the hike. Mauna Kea is a smaller beach, maybe more swimmable and with more fish as it's rockier and protected (so calmer water). Hotel is closer to the beach. You get bright orange towels - so if you are visiting from Hapuna you stick out like a sore thumb with your white beach towels. There is a nice casual grill restaurant right on the beach at Mauna Kea. You can do room charge there if you are staying at Hapuna. We had drinks and nibbles at the bar upstairs with a nice view of the bay. We didn't feel like there was a huge upgrade from the common areas, beach and pool at Mauna Kea versus Hapuna. We liked the pool at Hapuna better and felt the beach was nice at both places. Mauna Kea is the classic mid-century design, has the mistique of the original big resort on the big island and probably has nice rooms. So up to you what you want. Both hotels are very nice.

* Running path - the running path that they give you at the Hapuna gym is very hilly and challenging (at least for me a non-professional runner). Swimming at both Hapuna and at Mauna Kea are wonderful. Water was fairly calm at Hapuna and lots of open ocean water swimmers in the ocean when we were there.