A Different Family Vacation
Written: Mar 04 '01 (Updated Mar 04 '01)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Off the beaten track, truly relaxing. Family oriented. Sailing, diving and snorkeling.
Cons: Shopping is not nearby
The Bottom Line: This was by far the most relaxing and enjoyable of the 30 or so vacations my wife and I have taken in the last 25 years.
|
|
|
| mmihalik's Full Review: Kona Village |
I was introduced to Kona Village Resort last year, after reading a few top resort articles, and hearing that Steve Jobs and Larry Ellison spent their family vacations there. What was so special about this place on the Big Island, that caused families to return year after year?
My wife and I had been to Hawaii several times - Oahu and Maui in 1980, and Kauai in 1982. In 1999, after a long hiatus and travels to other parts of the world, we returned to Maui in 2000 with our 7 year old son. It was a week in paradise, so we knew we just had to return to Hawaii for a special vacation in 2000.
We had never been to the Big Island, so we targeted Kona, and quickly discovered Kona Village Resort as a top destination. We soon learned of its unique vacation offerings - a small Hawaiian village with vagabond families at its core. 125 families to be exact, living in hales with South Pacific themes. Comfortable bedrooms and baths, open to the cooling tradewinds; nature's own air-conditioning.
The hales are nestled around the vast grounds; some near the shore, some near the lava flows, and still more near the fish ponds and lush gardens.
What really made Kona Village attractive to us was the all-inclusive offerings - meals, watersports, children activities; and the remote location meant we were far from the "madding crowds". The food was better than we expected! While the breakfast and lunches were served buffet style, these were not typical buffet offerings: fresh fruit and berries, cooked to order eggs, pancakes, and waffles; sausage, ham, and bacon; yogurts and cereals for a hearty breakfast. Lunch was even better: fresh seafood, vegetables and salads, sushi, more fresh fruits. Even special appearances by some of those chef specials from the night before! Breakfast and lunch are served al fresco, and the rain only pushed us inside one day out of eight. Only annoyance were the pesky birds looking for a few free morsels.
The evening dinners were a nice cap to the day. The food again exceeded our expectations, whether in the normal dining room, or one of the two special dinners held each week - their very traditional luau, and the special cowboy barbecue.
My wife and I are new certified divers, so we welcomed the on-site dive shop, that was ready to take us to several nearby dive sites. No need to bring any of your own equipment as they were well equipped to provide everything necessary. Just be sure to bring you cert card. My son was 8 during our stay, but he was in for a special treat. The shop offered a PADI Blowing Bubbles experience that permitted him to use scuba equipment in the safety of the pool with a child-friendly instructor. He was definitely beaming after this experience.
Everyday, we snorkeled just off the beach; plenty of active sealife just offshore in the protected bay. In the afternoon, we walked along the beach, and came across several turtles sleeping soundly or eating the greens near the shoreline. This is a daily sight, but be sure to leave them be.
In this part of Kona, there are many ancient trails that hug the shoreline. One day, we packed up our snorkeling gear and hiked about 2 miles south of Kona Village to a beautiful, isolated white-sand beach. It's not very accessible to cars, so we pretty much had the place to ourselves. We also saw the Kona Village catamaran just off shore, as it had picked this cove for this days excursion.
Another day, we headed north on the beach trail, discovering the village's version of Hawaiian graffiti: arrangements and monuments constructed of white coral rocks. They were quite a contrast against the black and red lavascape. Further north, the trail was blocked by a huge lava flow, but we discovered a fine black sand beach that we had all to ourselves. I ventured up one of the rock hills to leave behind our coral mark.
We did not bother to get a car until day 6 of our 8 day stay. For once we were going to relax, rather than drive all over the island to soak everything in. Concierge arranged for us to be picked up by the rental agency, shuttled to the airport, and we picked up a car for a drive to the south part of the island to see the active volcano region. We also had to take a short trip to some of the other nearby hotels to see if we were missing anything - we weren't! Also went into town to buy a few items; be sure to check out the authentic Aloha shirts, as well as the other dive shops.
In summary, we had a great time. For those concerned about the costs, just think of all the money you would typically spend on a vacation, and remember that almost everything is included with the Kona Village package. We selected the 7 night celebration package, which included several extras, and gave a slight break from the normal fare, when all costs are considered. There are a lot of details at their web-site, www.konavillage.com
Would we go again? Most definitely! In fact, on our day of departure, we reserved the same hale for the same time this year. We'll be back there again 8/24-31, 2001.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
mmihalik
|
|
Member: Mike Mihalik
Location: Beaverton, Oregon
Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
Been there, done that, time to relax. No more rat race for me.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.