It has been awhile since someone has reviewed Mauna Lani. My wife and I have been going here for years now, and have to say it is still a great experience. I don't really want to get into who is the best on the island, but just say for my wife and I it is the best for us. We have stayed at Four Seasons, Mauna Kea, Fairmont Orchid, and at the Westin on the Big Island -- for us the Mauna Lani experience is both consistent and comforting. Thanks to DavidO we've always gotten the Virtuoso benefits when staying, and always gotten either an Ocean Front room or a suite on property. One missed opportunity with the hard product is that the rooms all seem to be the same, but quite contrary to the website there is actually some wide variation in the suites. One most be particularly careful in booking the right suite type if one wants a suite with a bath tub. We got a nice upgrade to a top floor premium suite last time, but alas it had no tub; not a complaint, but something to be mindful.
All the suites appear to be ocean view or ocean front.
The view from our Premium Ocean View top floor suite.
The arrival is much improved from years past with a very welcome arrival from the valets, and a warm feeling. On check in -- it is annoying that they say welcome, and ask, "if we've been there before." Especially when there is a note to call the Resort Manager on arrival. The management works very hard at delivering a consistent and care free experience which is appreciated. One difference from Hualalai is it feels Hawaiian -- perhaps due to the large number of locals who have worked there for years.
The welcome amenity (probably) because of my birthday was a bottle of Krug and a smorgasbord of meat, cheeses, and fruits. Plus another nice bottle of wine. We saved the Krug for later :-)
Breakfast used to be a credit, and now it is buffet for 2 adults. One minor nit is it is never clear if it includes gratuity or not, and it was nice when it was the credit because you pick off their a la carte menu which has some fabulous options like their loco moco. The breakfast buffet is pretty good -- an old timer Arnold works the omelette station often, and its like visiting an old grouchy friend. He is like a country western song -- his son moved back home recently, and his stories ad to the charm of the place; although I can imagine from management's perspective he could be a handful. For breakfast be mindful the really only rotating thing appears to be the potato dish -- the rest is the same every day. The other thing to remember is you can ask your server for waffles or the person working the acai bowl section. The pastries are decent, but are poorly lit, and they used to have macadamia not rolls which I miss.
I tend to get an omelette, fried rice, and papaya a lot. You can ask for their home made chili water to add to your eggs its quite nice.
One miss at Halani where you eat breakfast, lunch, and a more casual dinner is a lack of pairings to go with the cocktails. Many of the cocktails are fabulous, but they don't seem to have any recommendations of what goes nicely with what. In addition the steak option is a miss on property -- they have experimented with huge steaks in the past, but they now have some kind of flank steak in Halani; if I am going to get a steak I want a ribeye or a new york strip -- doesn't have to be huge if people avoided due to cost, but I'm not going to order a flank steak at dinner in Hawaii.
The drinks are both flavorful and strong
The non-alchoholic ones aren't bad either, but a sommelier told me in disgust at restaurant in town, "you know its just juice.." lol
The surf shack serves fair quick order items (think burgers, tacos, and wraps). It relieves pressure from the main restaurant when they are busy. You can ask for no anchovies in the wrap if you don't like that. The fries are great there, and the smash burger is usually a hit. Sometimes the salt monkey gets a hold of the food here in odd ways. But its a welcome addition for a quick bite. The market has a much improved selection of premade sandwiches, salads, and snacks; the mornings you can even grab a musubi. One thing people seem to forget is the dessert case -- their desserts are fabulous.
Glad they serve you the food now last year they would yell at you to come and pick it up. The hot dog was a surprise in a good way.
Picnic with a view from the surf shack.
Canoe House is still very good - the new chef has found is stride, and the food is as good or better than it was before. Some teething issues with some items like he added caviar to oysters in the tasting menu, and to be honest you didn't need them. The service can be a bit iffy at times, and the timings of the fish and meat course were off but the view and quality of food make up for it. I didn't end up with a bone in my fish, but hey that happens. We really enjoy Canoe House, and were nervous after the rasa's left.
The eel tostada was the best thing we ate on the Big Island by far...should be an a la carte item.
I would recommend asking to sit to the left of the main restaurant for the best sunset. We saw a baby whale breach, and the whole restaurant clapped.
The side patio is great for the view, and it feels like a restaurant within a restaurant. Here I am with two of the fastest women on the planet for triathlon.
The watersports at Kainalu is great, and we can't recommend the canoe snorkel highly enough. Ian Bremer, Jade, etc. all know their stuff really well. It makes the experience so great to have people who really are local water people to show you the area. They make it great for kids to the elderly with a real charm. On a sad night our understanding that the local aloha historian Uncle Danny suffered a fairly serious brain injury and is absent, but you really do feel welcome here.
The spa is great -- although they often forget to offer you the add-ons for treatments; also it is a small spa so book well in advance. The goop store isn't our thing we're tori richards folks, but I'm sure folks will find many souvenirs and nice things on property. If you are a triathlete like me -- it is very hard to run or cycle in the area. Also the closet pool (25 m) that you can use is in up in Waikoloa Village the town not the resort. You can sign up for free and do laps there -- although there are a number of locals who occupy a lane and well its their pool. You can rent a road bike at the Queen's shop down the road, and if you need running / cycling routes feel free to contact me.
The Saturday Farmer's markets (both of them in Waimea are great). Lots of food at both, and interesting crafts.
Cacao at the Park Ranch Farmer's Market on Saturday up in Waimea.
Peter the GM, David the Resort Manager, Jake the Sales Manager, and the whole team make you feel welcome. You feel like you're family (but in a good way) -- not the you're stuck with drunk Uncle Stu at x-mas. Is it perfect no -- is it for everyone no, but for my wife and I its the best luxury experience on the Island. It has an authentic feel and charm like Mauna Kea, great food like FS, and real sincere service. The staff here really cares and engages -- sometimes to the chagrin I am sure of the GM. One employee told me, "We have a great Friday night luau, but I'd rather drink my 100 dollars." IF you have kids this seems to be a great place to be -- and if not it is wonderful too.
I would add one thing -- you're in Hawaii. The above management, and indeed all managers I think in Hawaii work very hard to make your staff great. Its easy to be a jerk, but remember you're on vacation do you want to make complaining your job. If you have constructive feedback I'm sure its always welcome, but sometimes people just want to be miserable. Enjoy your time -- find things you like and I'm sure you'll have a great stay at Mauna Lani -- its still great.