where to stay on the Big island

My husband and i are having four days on the Big island in May. We are not sure what part of the island is best to stay in. We will be doing some exploring of course but also like the beach and a good pool. We are having trouble deciding between a condo or a hotel. It appears that the kona are is old and the properties are dated. Any suggestions for which area of the Island we should stay at please?

Memmi

New Zealand

where to stay on the Big island

Kona hotels and condos are all 20 years old or more... and run between $110 and $180 a night. None with a beach Sheraton $180 Royal Kona $150 and Outrigger $160 best hotels. Kona By the Sea best condo $180-220.

If you want new hotels and new condos they are in Waikoloa Beach , Mauni Lani. They will run $300 to $900 a night average high $350 for Hotel ..

There is only one Condo with a beach and a pool Kolea $500 a night on the entire island

Marriott hotel has a Beach, $350, Mauni Lani $400

Fairmont $450 Prince $300 Four seasons $800, all hotels with pools and little beaches

I would not stay in the Hilo area unless you had to...if you think Kona is old..... I would avoid staying in or near the Volcano park with the present changing conditions for health reasons.

where to stay on the Big island

I advise you to look at the reviews for hotels and condos in the Waikoloa and Kamuela forums ... and read existing topics about where to stay, as there are literally hundreds of them that will clarify to you what you are getting in which location.

The thing with pools is they are cold here, so I would make my pick based on the location and the resort amenities, not on the pool. Other than kids, you see more people in the jacuzzi%26#39;s than the pools.

Could you post your preferred budget? That would help narrow things down.

Try the Kahaluu Beach Villas in Kona. The condos are just a few years old, they are directly across the street from Kahaluu Beach which has great snorkeling. It%26#39;s clean, well kept grounds and they have a nice pool and a spa. You can locate them at alohacondos.com.

at this time I would not advise anyone to stay in the Kailua-Kona area. It is enveloped in vog. It is not pretty. You can hardly see the sun.

At least, this was my experience yesterday. Even the Four Seasons was vog-shrouded. Waikoloa Beach, still pretty voggy. There was a break when we got to the Mauna Lani. A further decrease when we got past Mahukona. No vog in Hawi.

I find that driving from Hawi to Kailua-Kona gives me a chance to really evaluate the vog from various vantage points, as does driving from Hawi to Waimea over the Mountain Rd, and driving down Kawaihae Rd from Waimea, all of which I%26#39;ve done the last few days. I get to see it from afar ... sitting on the Kona coast.

The vog is horrible. I feel bad for anyone coming here looking for blue skies, and sunshine, and sunsets, and good photography. Especially in Kona.

Stay in South Kohala at least ... is my advice.

KamaainaK....I have been reading all your posts on vog. I am now worried. We are to arrive May 30 for 2 weeks at the Mauna Lani. We love the Mauna Lani. But this year the vog is really a concern. You say Kohala is not that bad. Does that mean it wont bother your nose, throat, eyes? Does it block the sunshine? Does it smell bad? I would really appreciate your observations. Thank you in advance......

this is a tough one, because the last thing I want to do is cause anyone to cancel a wonderful vacation. I have no crystal ball, and I don%26#39;t want or deserve that responsibility.

OTOH, I want to report honestly on the vog problem.

In the last week, I%26#39;ve seen the Mauna Lani, the Mauna Kea, and all the Kohala hotels under a vog haze at some time, but not nearly so bad as Kailua-Kona.

You do not so much ';smell'; sulfur dioxide (i.e. it doesn%26#39;t have the classic sulfur rotten egg odor, which is hydrogen sulfide, a different gas). The air is irritating to the chest in my experience, and also people%26#39;s eyes are itching and burning, and some people get bad headaches, those who are sensitive. Also I have had people I know who always pooh-pooh%26#39;ed my vog complaints come out and sort of apologize for acting like vog is nothing because it%26#39;s now so bad that people who have never noticed it are getting hit with symptoms.

So that tells me something ...

I would analogize it to being in an industrial city with pollution problems. The thing is, this is really weird to experience in lovely Hawai%26#39;i.

I was driving into Kailua-Kona yesterday, where they are working on the road, and there was this gray haze obscuring the air, lines of orange cones, yellow construction equipment, and cars, and it looked like some scene from L.A. of the 70%26#39;s, not a tropical paradise ... of course that was just one road segment, but I was imagining seeing it through the eyes of someone who just got off the plane for the first time, who might be wondering, is this Hawai%26#39;i?

I was down at the Mauna Kea beach on Sunday afternoon, when the vog was thick, and the conditions were good on the beach, other than the horizon being blurry -- but if I turned and looked towards the mountains they were obscured.

So ... I think the conditions at the Mauna Lani may be not all that much different from normal, but where it will hit you is when you leave the resort and go on a road trip, and in general the beautiful scenery is just not there on the west side. Hamakua coast is beautiful as ever and so is Hawi and on to Pololu.

I have no idea at all when this will stop.

The USGS website today noted that emissions have increased steadily since April 1st, so the ongoing trend is for things to get worse, but then again whatever is going on may reach its peak and revert to normal. Wish I had that crystal ball.

I truly regret that my words are not very comforting or very definite. Personally, I would probably still come if I were planning a restful vacation at the Mauna Lani, snorkeling, etc.. I might rethink it if I were coming to do a lot of hiking or to photograph the island. Exertion is the worst thing to do in the vog, and forget getting great photos in the haze.

KamaainaK...Thank you so much for the honest observations. We stay at the Mauna Lani yearly and that is what we plan on doing...staying put..I will continue to read your posts and again thank you so much for the information...Your input on this forum is invaluable

aw, thanks for the extremely kind words!

I%26#39;m relieved to hear you still plan to come.

To others reading -- if I were in your shoes and considering canceling, I would wait as long as possible to see if things change. I would not rush. Especially if you%26#39;ve been to the island before and you love returning to it.

Now if this is your first trip and you were undecided where to go, and VNP is the big draw, and you need to make up your mind quickly, well, maybe you should think about another island, because it is a gamble ...

I hate to even say this. I don%26#39;t want the good people in Volcano Village to lose business. KayLeeVVL of Volcano Village Lodge is very honest, and she has said that the air quality in the Village has been good.

The problem is the Park is not so good, being more downwind of the new vent.

I cannot personally comment on the air quality at the Volcano, because I do have asthma and I%26#39;m having a hard enough time without heading for the source of the fumes.

While neither myself or anyone in my family has experienced any health problems from the vog, it is a downer. I was at the Mauna Lani this weekend and while it was voggy, it wasn%26#39;t particularly noticeable on the beach. The main thing (for me) is that it just makes everything seem gray and depressing, even when it%26#39;s %26#39;sunny%26#39;. Definitely better the further north you go, although lately even far north it%26#39;s been voggy.

If you%26#39;re a diver or snorkeler, however, you won%26#39;t notice any any difference underwater!