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Mauna Kea Beach Hotel Autograph Collection, Big Island of Hawaii [Master Thread]

Old Jan 23, 2015, 9:06 am
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Last edit by: tattikat2
Property is a resort, so Autograph Collection resort benefits apply.

Confirmed list of benefits for Marriott Platinum Elite (and higher) members:

Welcome Gift of 1000 Marriott Bonvoy points (per stay) OR continental breakfast at Manta Restaurant for member +1 (per day). See post 595 for a recent report of the elite breakfast benefit.
Eligible for an upgrade and late check-out, if available.
High-speed internet

Confirmed list of benefits for ALL Marriott Rewards Members:

Free wifi (3 devices max, also extends out to the beach area)
10% discount on breakfast buffet at Manta Restaurant (3/29/21 unsure what is offered as there is no buffet)
10% discount for MKBH's twice-weekly Luau dinner and show
2 comp rental club sets with 2 paid rounds for golf
2 comp tennis racquet rentals

Maximum # in room is THREE (which is strange for a family property), but multiple calls to property have confirmed this/they're holding to it.
02-02-2024 Website now says 3rd and now 4th adult in room is $95 extra per person
Parking:

Electric car charging stations: 4, For a fee
On-site parking, fee: 30 USD daily
Valet parking, fee: 30 USD daily

Room pictures: https://maunakeabeachhotel.com/accommodations/

Area restaurants: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hawa...ts-thread.html

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Mauna Kea Beach Hotel Autograph Collection, Big Island of Hawaii [Master Thread]

Old Aug 15, 2018, 2:20 pm
  #301  
 
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Cash only and I'm sure they would give you a price now.
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Old Aug 15, 2018, 4:09 pm
  #302  
 
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Originally Posted by kciflyer
I have four golf view rooms booked for a 6 night stay in late January using points. I am currently a Gold Elite member, so I doubt that I will be getting any complimentary room upgrades. If I wanted to upgrade one or more of the rooms to ocean view, do I just contact the hotel directly and ask about what the cost would be? Can I do it this far out? Is it cash only to upgrade or can I use points? Thanks.
Usually you get an option when booking if its available, it's $150 extra for beachfront wing and $200 for main building ocean view. So check each night individually and see which night is not allowing the upgrade, meaning they are already expecting higher occupancy on that night.
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Old Sep 16, 2018, 7:57 am
  #303  
 
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Wondering if any Plat (+) has stayed since the switch? Wondering what the "free" breakfast benefit looks like...thx!
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Old Sep 20, 2018, 2:26 am
  #304  
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 113
Originally Posted by davidsc111
Just got back from a 7 night points visit. Our treatment was a little disappointing but we had a nice time overall.

Good
The beach is still spectacular...
Interestingly enough for those who have been there, our first morning we went down to Hau Tree and the surf had been so big the night before that sand and debree had washed up all the way onto the concrete floor...I'd never seen it anywhere close to that before.
Food options seem to be improving (as in more options) although prices are still at isolated resort levels.
Beach Club staff were very helpful
Cleaning and nightly turn down staff were great

Less than expected
Even though I'm platinum and regularly do 75+ BIB nights every year (or maybe because of it) I knew it was a points reservation in February so I didn't expect a room category upgrade. We received the Golf View room we booked...as was said earlier in general it was just fine. However, the room they gave us was immediately above the valet area...so cars came and went and people hit their alarm so horns are honking etc. I asked for a same category room but further away from the circle drive and the front desk clerk said they were completely sold out and nothing was available. When we got up to our room she then called back and said she had found a room (must be magic) and she offered me one that was three rooms over on a lower floor but at the other end of the circle drive (so frankly even worse). I had reached out to the resort ahead of time to explain that my wife and I were celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary...apparently it fell on deaf ears. My disappointment isn't that we didn't get a better room category, but that they didn't block us out a room far from the drive...there appeared to be about 20 rooms that would have fit the bill. In fact if I could choose ahead of time I would rather have a regular golf view room far from the valet vs Deluxe golf view right above it. Because I travel so much for work and usually to the same places I don't worry about room placement as much as I should. I ask for a quiet room and they always oblige...not this time. Yes, I did ask for them to find me a room to switch to later in our stay. After the first offer of the worse room I was never contacted by anyone. I did stop by the front desk to inquire about the possibility several times and they had it "in the system" but they found no options. If they were sold out...I guess there were no options but I did see tons of people checking in and out everyday...

We had a small ant trail that was passing through our room on a daily basis. These were the smallest ants I've ever seen and were never a problem but kind of put my wife off. I didn't really care as I've had worse things crawling around a hotel room.

We had toilet issues with one occurring at a very bad time. It was early and I was going scuba diving...my wife was sleeping and I didn't want to leave here with a broken toilet so I had to wake her up. I've never had that issue at a hotel before but I assume it can happen...then several days later the same thing. Not sure what the problem was but very frustrating.

In the end I won't go all Flyertalk and claim our vacation was ruined (it wasn't) because they didn't pamper me as a platinum...It would be nice though to get a consistent experience even when you're at a resort. I probably could've got somewhere if I hounded the front desk or stalked the GM but I was on vacation without the kids and wanted to focus on the time with my wife. I would have appreciated it if the GM (or frankly anyone) had at least reached out to me and explained that Google booked 30 rooms last minute and etc, etc, etc... but nothing...
Same thing happened at this hotel. They seem to ignore status and default to offering the worst room in a given category when you book with points. In my case I paid for an ocean view upgrade ($200/night cash), but they stuck me in one of those adjoined rooms with zero noise insulation. I could literally hear every word uttered by the guest staying next door. It felt like I was at this hotel with unexpected roommates.

As far as I can tell, only 2 rooms on each floor were adjoined. So it was a very deliberate placement.

We used to pay cash to rent the ocean front suites at Hapuna Prince (sister hotel to Mauna Kea) for the last 10 summers. They converted these rooms into condos so we were scouting for a new hotel we can be regulars at. Sadly Mauna Kea won’t be it.

Also, this hotel didn’t offer any of the following -
1. Room upgrade based on status (atleast for points + ecert stay)
2. Early checkin
3. Late checkout
4. Discounts on anything (spa/restaurant)
5. Free self parking
6. App support (e.g, checkin, chat, etc)










Last edited by Sung Sam; Sep 20, 2018 at 2:34 am
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Old Sep 20, 2018, 5:27 am
  #305  
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Originally Posted by Sung Sam


Same thing happened at this hotel. They seem to ignore status and default to offering the worst room in a given category when you book with points. In my case I paid for an ocean view upgrade ($200/night cash), but they stuck me in one of those adjoined rooms with zero noise insulation. I could literally hear every word uttered by the guest staying next door. It felt like I was at this hotel with unexpected roommates.

As far as I can tell, only 2 rooms on each floor were adjoined. So it was a very deliberate placement.

We used to pay cash to rent the ocean front suites at Hapuna Prince (sister hotel to Mauna Kea) for the last 10 summers. They converted these rooms into condos so we were scouting for a new hotel we can be regulars at. Sadly Mauna Kea won’t be it.

Also, this hotel didn’t offer any of the following -
1. Room upgrade based on status (atleast for points + ecert stay)
2. Early checkin
3. Late checkout
4. Discounts on anything (spa/restaurant)
5. Free self parking
6. App support (e.g, checkin, chat, etc)















Seeing as the Mauna Kea and the Westin Hapuna Beach are owned and managed by the same company, I doubt the Westin will be any different in the long-term. While each has separate general managers they share all of the back office functions.

When I stayed at the Westin about a month ago in late August, it was at times kind of disorganized. Elite status recognition was the minimum, but I chalked it up to staying in the midst of the transition from legacy SPG to the combined SPG–Marriott program. The hotel also felt empty. If there was 30% occupancy I would be surprised. I also felt like I was staying at the Mauna Kea's annex because, for example, the gift shop only sold clothing and other merchandise branded Mauna Kea. Several of the staff also had uniforms with the Mauna Kea logo. It was kind of weird. Regardless, all of the Westin staff were generally pleasant. I didn't get the whiff of rudeness that I've heard about Mauna Kea staff.

Even though I stayed at the Westin, I visited both hotels over the week I was on-island. I think food-and-beverage is identical at each property. Acceptable, but not gourmet. The Mauna Kea's kitchens were much quicker the two nights I ate there while Meridia, the nice restaurant at the Westin, was painfully slow (like 40 minutes between courses). Also, for example, neither hotel's food outlets used shaved parmesan cheese in the salads. For the price of the food, I would expect that. The food in some ways was disappointing because even between two hotels there wasn't enough options for a stay of 7 or 10 days, unless you are fine with repeating every other night. The beaches are also basically the same, but the Mauna Kea's beach looked a little more private because the Westin beach adjoins a state park. Design-wise, all of the Westin's rooms faced the ocean while the Mauna Kea had rooms facing the parking lot.

Last edited by hockeyinsider; Sep 20, 2018 at 5:35 am
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Old Sep 21, 2018, 12:51 pm
  #306  
 
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Food used to be much worse at Hapuna but it has improved since the remodel last year. Meridia used to be Coast Grill. Steak and seafood often came out over cooked, plating was uninspiring, etc, The sevice was excruciatingly slow. Sounds like they kept the waiters around after the remodel.

FWIW, Hapuna’s ocean front suite (building 3) had great sound insulation. I rarely heard any noise asides from the one time they hosted a Bacardi sponsored pool party. There were a few dozen kids running around screaming. Too much vodka red bull maybe?

Mauna Kea has horrendous sound proofing in comparison. I have yet to get good sleep on day 4. I can hear conversations from the adjoined room, loud foot steps from the room above, lots of other random noises, etc. Loud enough to jolt me out of sleep at 12am, 1am, 3am, 6am, 7am... Not relaxing at all. I’m not a light sleeper either.

I’m going to try Mauna Lani and Four Seasons next to find my go to hotel for big island.

Too bad since asides from the rooms, I actually liked the property.



Last edited by Sung Sam; Sep 21, 2018 at 1:00 pm
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Old Sep 21, 2018, 8:06 pm
  #307  
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Originally Posted by Sung Sam
Food used to be much worse at Hapuna but it has improved since the remodel last year. Meridia used to be Coast Grill. Steak and seafood often came out over cooked, plating was uninspiring, etc, The sevice was excruciatingly slow. Sounds like they kept the waiters around after the remodel.

FWIW, Hapuna’s ocean front suite (building 3) had great sound insulation. I rarely heard any noise asides from the one time they hosted a Bacardi sponsored pool party. There were a few dozen kids running around screaming. Too much vodka red bull maybe?

Mauna Kea has horrendous sound proofing in comparison. I have yet to get good sleep on day 4. I can hear conversations from the adjoined room, loud foot steps from the room above, lots of other random noises, etc. Loud enough to jolt me out of sleep at 12am, 1am, 3am, 6am, 7am... Not relaxing at all. I’m not a light sleeper either.

I’m going to try Mauna Lani and Four Seasons next to find my go to hotel for big island.

Too bad since asides from the rooms, I actually liked the property.



I would go back to the Westin Hapuna Beach in a heart beat, especially for an award redemption. Right now, it might be the best points value in the Hawaii. The food-and-beverage could easily be improved. The same with amenities and services, like adding turndown service. That's such an easy fix.

My biggest issue with them is the disingenuousness concerning the construction. They claim construction is complete, but it isn't because the closest hotel building to the ocean was sold for timeshares and that will be under construction until at least November or December. The noise is horrible and none of the remaining hotel buildings are legitimately ocean front whatsoever. Ocean-facing and ocean view, yes, but not ocean front.
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Old Sep 21, 2018, 8:58 pm
  #308  
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Originally Posted by hockeyinsider
..........the closest hotel building to the ocean was sold for timeshares and that will be under construction until at least November or December.........
Scheduled completion date is mid to late 2019.
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Old Sep 22, 2018, 3:27 am
  #309  
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
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One other problem I’m noticing with higher end resorts such as Mauna Kea are lots of entitled people. People that is smoking cigars on their balconies when it’s no smoking, playing loud music when folks are trying to listen to the ocean, talking super loud and being super drunk, and generally causing nuisance. The hotels generally doesn’t do anything to mitigate the situation. I guess they hope things resolve by itself.. except it often doesn’t. I don’t care much about the $800/night rate, I’m more annoyed by the hit to my paid time off which is much more substantial. What do people do in situations like this?




Last edited by Sung Sam; Sep 22, 2018 at 3:33 am
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Old Sep 23, 2018, 10:53 am
  #310  
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Originally Posted by TerryK
Scheduled completion date is mid to late 2019.
Management told me December.
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Old Oct 4, 2018, 5:01 pm
  #311  
 
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Mauna Kea, Autograph Collection, Big Island, HA

Iconic if just a bit dated. Really, really, liked the place and recommend but not for too long. Mainly because if is on one of the few true sheltered sand-bottom sheltered beaches in Hawaii. Pretty average snorkeling each side of the bay pretty far out. You are a bit of a high-priced food captive and need a car if that bothers you.

The Big Island is. . . .big. In my opinion three nights here max and then go see something else (and stay closer to it). Too far to see the volcanoes from here.
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Old Oct 4, 2018, 5:53 pm
  #312  
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https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marr...nd-hawaii.html
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Old Oct 5, 2018, 8:27 pm
  #313  
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Could someone provide an update on breakfast post-8/18 so that I can update the exec lounge sticky? Thx!

Cheers.
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Old Oct 14, 2018, 4:40 pm
  #314  
 
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Mauna Kea, Autograph Collection, Big Island, HI

Absolutely fabulous swimming beach. Don't see that many in Hawaii with sand bottom and sheltered water. Room good if a bit dated. but they play up their "iconic" history. You are pretty much a dining captive without a car. On-site food is good but expensive for what you get.

Parking was not bad and better than most.

I'd go back.
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Old Oct 29, 2018, 1:52 pm
  #315  
 
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Saw a report on TA that breakfast for two was provided as a welcome amenity (or you could get 1,000 points). Will test the report out later in November.
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