Beware In Kona....
 

I just returned from 9 days in Hawa'ii and had a spectacular time for the most part.

While staying at the Hilton Waikoloa Village we went into town (Kona) our second morning there and ate breakfast at Denny's. I became violently ill with food posioning about 5:00 p.m. and remained pretty sick for 7 hours after that.

I am pretty positive it was from the food at Denny's because the last time I ate prior to that was 8:00 p.m. the night before. Please be careful, I would hate for anyone to become as ill on their vacation as I was. It was pretty frightening. I reported the incident to the Hawa'ii health department and was sent to a hospital for testing, to determine what exactly made me ill.

Denny's of course accepted zero responsibility, but did offer me a free meal (just what I wanted). Be careful out there!

That's awful that you had to go through that. Hopefully you didn't suffer more than that one terrible day! We'll be sure to stay away from Denny's.

I hope you feel better. I think it's wise to stay away from Denney's in any state! Do you really think anyone being paid minimum wage is going to care about the quality of the food they serve to you? I'd rather have crackers for breakfast than go to one of those places.

I do hope the food poisoning didn't put too much of a damper on your trip. But, can you specifically pinpoint it down to Denny's? Food poisioning may generally occuring a few hours to 6 after eating, but it can also take a few days before the food toxins affect you.

Well, there is low wage kitchen help in fine restaurants as well. This can happen anywhere, regardless of wages.

I agree with the advice of avoiding Denny's, but for a different reason: the food is boring, greasy crap.

Real sorry to hear that. Hope you feel better. Agree with slippahs, you sure you can pinpoint it to Denny's? I have eaten breakfast there many times and have never gotten sick.

Does not sound likely to be food poisoning. I suggest calling the county health department and talking with them. That way, if it is food poisoning, you'll likely find out as you won't have been the only customer to get it.

If you read my post you will see that it was reported to the health department and I am currently awaiting test results. The health department told me that food posioning does not necessarily come from spoiled food, food can be contaminated by workers who don't wash their hands and a whole host of other things.

As far as being sure it was Denny's...can i be 100% sure? No...however my doctor said it was highly unlikely it was what I ate for dinner the night before since that would have put my illness at over 19 hours from eating time.

You know I kind of feel like I am having to defend myself here.....I am just trying to let people know what happened to me and to beware. I feel like I need to apologize for being stupid enough to eat there and/or to blame Denny's for it.

I've gotten food poisoning twice, and I had just about the same time lag between the source and the symptoms. There are different incubation periods for various pathogens in food, but I'd bet that you're right about the meal at Denny's.

I don't think anyone wants to make you feel defensive about it, just honestly trying to make sure there's no other cause.

Like the last time I thought I had food poisoning from a dinner on a Friday night...and the following Sunday night I needed the remains of my appendix removed. Sometimes what seems like food poisoning with a pin-pointable source isn't so obvious :)

I'm not supporting Denny's and don't eat there, but in fairness to Denny's, it might be more appropriate to point the finger towards them subsequent to definitive results from the health department. I look forward to hearing the outcome.

My apologies. I didn't want to assuage blame in fairness to Denny's. Ditto above.

This post has given me renewed strength to never go to a Denny's. I remain, however, obsessed with Waffle House. Not that there's any Waffle Houses in Kona, I suppose.

I was in that Denny's once with some friends and didn't eat there. Something about eating cheap, greasy, processed food when it's 90 outside didn't really appeal to me.

Not that it matters, but let me be clear that I am no food snob. I sometimes indulge in cheap, greasy, processed food. It's just that Denny's version of it is so bland.

so sorry to hear of your food poisoning, starprincess, that's such a miserable thing to have happen anytime, especially on vacation! it's always tricky to figure out exactly where it came from, as other posters have noted different strains of bugs have different incubation periods.

i'm not defending denny's, but i've eaten at the kona denny's several times in the past year and have found it to be greasy, yes, and bland, but consistent and not poisonous. when i really want a grand slam breakfast, grilled cheese or chicken fried steak in kona, they do just fine, and i can sit outside while i eat it :)

we lived in kona for four years, and when we wanted 'normal' comfort food or an easy breakfast--no, there's no waffle house--denny's was sometimes our best bet. (how pathetic is that? :rolleyes: )

Update on Test Results
 

I finally got my test results from the Hawaii Department of Heath today. I did not have food posioning proper such as e-coli or salmanoella, but I did test positive for the norwalk virus. This is transmitted via fecal matter on hands to food. I most likely got it at the hotel the night before, as the incubation period is about 24 hours.

This virus is pretty rampant in Hawaii right now, it is the one all the people on the cruise ships have been getting. I guess I now need to address this with Hilton Hawaiin Village. Be careful out there!

You may want to ask the Hawaii Dept of Health if they have notified the hotel. One would certainly hope so.

We have heard (and on research I can find) nothing about Norwalk being unusually active here in Hawaii, nor on any cruise ships at this time.

Norwalk is always a consideration when eating in public places. I believe that on cruise ships, the buffet food and serving utensils may be of concern.

Noro incubation is 24-48 hours, not 24 hours. Noro can be transmitted via a kitchen, but can be as easily contracted by improper hand hygiene practices.

As I said previously, I have a hard time with your blaming Denny's before, Hilton Hawaiian Village now, or anyone, prior to conclusive evidence.

Apology to Denny's?
 

This is precisely what I was thinking as I read through this post, even before getting to the OP's results from the DOH.

This alarmist post was simply UNFAIR and I do believe an apology to Denny's is in order.

Were you staying at the Hilton Hawaiian Village or the Hilton Waikoloa Village the night before getting sick? From your original post, it sounded like you were staying at the Hilton Waikoloa Village. :confused:

Frankly, any reports to our Dept. of Health do get noticed, become public record, but become very hard to find out about. In order for one to find out more information about the history of an eatery, one needs to call the DOH during regular business hours and talk to someone. Compared to other states, this seems rather ridiculous in informing the consumer...

Nice opinion :td:

Having been in the foodservice business for many years, I've experienced first hand plenty of "minimum wage" workers that care a great deal about preparation/presentation/quality of what they serve and practicing good hygiene.

With all the wonderful "local" places on the islands of HI, going to Denny's, Cheesecake Factory, or other chain is what puzzles me.

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I agree, but one chain worth visiting is Maui Tacos.

:rolleyes: :D

ok, MAINLAND Chain :)

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Well sorry you got sick and hope your feeling better. I must say rather quick to judge a restaurant before the source is found. Working in the food industry all my life I just find that theese things happen and when traveling it happens more often.I feel that getting food poisinging can happen at any type of restaurant and just not at chain greasy spoon. You may want to think twice of eating in that 5 star restaurant or hotel if you only knew what went on in the kitchens.

:confused: Maui Taco started from Maui. I think DCA location was one of the first mainland location...

With all due respect, I know where and what I ate and your thinly veiled suggestion that maybe I wasn't hygenic enough was frankly uncalled for. I have been in pretty close contact with the Hawaii Dept. of health since I have been ill. They were the ones that told me what my test results were and that the virus was rampant in Hawaii right now. I am not simply making this up. I HAVE A HARD TIME with the fact that I spent 1/2 of my vacation so deathly ill, through not fault of my own.

It is with our best wishes that your Hawai`i forum co-moderators hope very much that none of our Hawai`i visitors would ever have to deal with being sick while in paradise again for whatever reason!

Aloha,

cblaisd and slippahs, Co-Moderators, Hawai`i forum