Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, Autograph Collection — Hotel in Hawaii

Overall, this was a very nice and relaxing stay. I would definitely stay here again with hopes that a few changes will be made once the construction is completed.|||THE POSITIVES:|||THE LOCATION: The beach here is really one of a kind. It is a beautiful setting; the water is stunning, and the bay is sandy – no rocks or coral to deal with. The water is perfect for all ages as it is a shallow bay to start, and one needs to walk a bit to get into deeper water. ||The staff: Everyone at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel that we interacted with was very nice, helpful, and welcoming.|||THE ROOM: Our room was an ocean front room in the main tower (the beach front rooms were undergoing renovations). This was a very nice room and the view from the lanai was amazing.||Reusable water bottles: They give you a reusable stainless steel water bottle to use while here and to take with you when you leave. There are water filling stations in each of the rooms as well as around the resort. This is a fantastic way to reduce single use plastic bottles and protect the environment. Having the water filling station in the room is very convenient.|||THE CONSTRUCTION: We were a bit unsure of what to expect booking here during the construction, but it really didn’t impact us at all. || We are not “pool” people but if you are, you should wait until the construction is completed as there isn’t a pool during the construction. We were told that the construction will be ongoing until sometime in October 2025. |||PICKLE BALL COURTS: There are 8 courts that are specific for pickle ball. This is a nice change from trying to play on tennis courts and adjusting the size for pickle ball. It is $25 per person per hour. However, if no one shows up to play the next hour, you may play on.|||AREAS WHERE THERE IS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT:|||THE BEACH SHACK: I am hoping that this will improve after the renovation is completed. We booked the complimentary canoe paddle and was told to check back at 7 am the next morning to see if it was running. An improvement would be to have them call the hotel guest to either confirm or cancel the paddle. I realize that this is weather dependent and won’t go out with high wind but them letting us know via a call would be much better than getting up and heading down to the beach shack to find out it was cancelled. On the positive side, we had no problem getting beach chairs anytime we went down to the beach. I think this was due to the fact that the hotel was not at capacity. |||THE FOOD: The food here is not what I would expect of a resort of this caliper. The hotel really needs to up its food game.||Breakfast was decent. They have all of the things you would expect, an omelet station, fresh fruit, pastries, etc. As a Titanium member for life on Marriott, I was able to get the buffet included. ||For dinner our first night we ate at the Copper Bar, and I ordered grilled fish on my salad. The fish was raw and when I mentioned it to the server, she said yes it was “pan seared”. This was not ahi, and my expectation was that it would be cooked. She didn’t offer to have it cooked or to get me anything else. Needless to say, I did not eat it. My dinner and the server’s response were disappointing to say the least. The next day, we ate lunch at the Hau Tree (their outdoor bar) and I ordered a beet salad. This was possibly the worst beet salad I have ever had. It had a few pieces of arugula, and the beets were overcooked to the point of being dehydrated. We did not even try Manta Ray for dinner after these two experiences but ate outside of the resort each evening we were here.||So, the opportunities exist to really improve the food offerings to align with what one would expect from a resort of this caliper. The beach bar could use some appetizers such as wings, potato skins, fried calamari, hummus and veggies, etc. ||And the opportunity to improve dining at the Copper Bar, offer fresh grilled fish and a salad these items are not hard to make. I am really hoping that positive changes will be made to your food lineup once the construction is completed.|||THE DRINKS: The Hau bar drink game was pretty weak. If I wanted a spicy margarita, I had one choice, and it was going with a no name tequila that had been infused with jalapeño and cilantro. I would personally have liked to have had a specific tequila for this drink as well as have had some fresh jalapeños. The lady next to me at the bar ordered a mojito and it didn’t have any mint in it. How is that a mojito? I think it is fine if you just want a beer or low-end wine but that isn’t what I would have expected from...

My wife and I recently stayed 5 nights at the Mauna Kea to celebrate our 46th wedding anniversary. Most of the staff on property warmly wished us a Happy Anniversary, which was super nice. The hotel also greeted us with some special welcome amenities when we got to our room in the Beachfront wing. We had an ultra-relaxing experience, which is exactly what we wanted.||The Mauna Kea was a favorite pre-pandemic destination for us. We knew the resort was being completely renovated and were not quite sure what to expect. During our stay the main tower, registration area, shops, and Copper Bar were closed for remodeling. The golf course was also closed for a refresh. ||To me, the hotel management was very clever recreating services for areas being renovated. The glass walled golf course restaurant got a makeover and became a new registration area. I actually like the temporary check in area better because it is more spacious than the original but is not located at the entrance of the hotel. We’ll see what the new registration area looks like.||Next to the registration, the golf shop became the sole gift shop on the property. I would say it is adequate during the construction period but look forward to the variety of shops as previously. We went to the Westin Hapuna, a sister hotel next door, and shopped at the gift stores there. ||There are three dining options at the Mauna Kea. The Hau Tree is a beachfront casual dining (swimwear and sand ok) location. Think burgers and local fare. The Copper Bar is the casual dining option in the main hotel (shirt and shoes needed) and has a more upscale menu. I think the Copper Bar’s menu and food quality rivals many of the nicer restaurants on the Kohala Coast. Although the Copper Bar location was being remodeled, the restaurant was relocated to a glass walled banquet room not too far from the pool. There is some outdoor seating and the glass walls make the inside feel more open. I liked it and the food was excellent. I look forward to dining in the remodeled area.||Lastly is the Manta Restaurant, the resort’s fine dining option. The Manta boasts a spectacular, elevated ocean view from an outdoor terrace dining area. It has a premium fine dining menu, however the Manta’s atmosphere is not stuffy. This is “casual” fine dining at its very best. I tried many dishes and all were very good to excellent. They also have an extensive wine list. The breakfast buffet is legendary and should be tried at least once. When making reservations try to get a package that includes the buffet breakfast.||The entire hotel staff, from the restaurants to the spa, were very service oriented and accommodating. The iconic crescent shaped beach is the best on the Kona coast and great for kids. The ground floor Beach Front rooms open directly onto the broad lawn that runs along the beach. When the tower, new lobby, and shops are finished, then they will remodel the Beach Front wing.||As we planned our trip, the reviews were mixed about going to the Mauna Kea while it is being renovated. It’s true that half of the rooms, the old gift shops, the lobby, and golf course were closed. However all three restaurants, spa, pool, beach, tennis courts, and Luau were open. The temporary registration and gift shop were adequate for the reduced number of guests there.||My wife and I found the resort quite pleasant with half the number of guests in the restaurants, at the pool, in the recreational areas, and at the beach. We didn’t miss going to the old registration area, lobby, gift shops, or tower rooms. We didn’t mind the “construction appearance” of some areas and only heard construction noise once in 5 days. We enjoyed the beach, great meals, the spa, and great service.||If you have never been to the Mauna Kea, then you might want to wait until the renovation is done to get the full experience. I get that. However, if you are like us and are familiar with the resort from previous visits, I think going during the renovation is an excellent idea. From our expectation, we did not lack anything during our stay. All the open areas operated with the usual great Mauna Kea service. We never went off property except for a quick trip to the Hapuna.||Our goal was to have super relaxing time at a place with great hospitality. The Mauna...

PROS in summary: The location of the Mauna Kea is impressive. The beach is gorgeous and feels private. The staff is kind. Due to this, I rated it a 3/5. My husband and I just returned home after spending six days and five nights at the Mauna Kea to celebrate our honeymoon. Our room was in the beachfront wing, fourth floor. Once inside the room, we both felt the room was nice, with adequate space for two people (no more). Some aspects need updating (floors, cabinets, shower/tub). The room has a small fridge (ours was not plugged in when we arrived, which was questionable given we waited an hour for it to be ready) but no microwave. We had to request a second fridge because our original fridge took over 12 hours to cool down once plugged in. The bed was adequately comfortable, but the pillows were very flat. The outside view from our room was by far the highlight of the room and was completely beautiful. We were satisfied with housekeeping services daily, and the quality was consistent.We dined at the Hau Tree twice and purchased tickets to the Luau and Copper Bar twice. The food quality was good and consistent at Hau Tree. It's not meant to be fine dining, but limited entrees were fine for sandwiches. The Laua was an excellent cultural experience. I didn't find the food or drinks special and felt they crowded too many guests at one table. There was also minimal air circulation from the ocean, so it became uncomfortably warm. Copper Bar was delicious for our first dinner and was utterly disappointing for the second dinner. The second night, the burger was too raw, and half of my flatbread was burned/black. I called the spa to book a couple's massage. I have received deep tissue massages for 10+ years, and I've never had such a poor experience. We arrived early as requested and were ready to start at 345 PM, if not earlier. The time spent on my areas of concern was rushed and very rough at the end of the massage. I've had a massage therapist who prefers to use their elbows to apply pressure before, but I've never had someone do so without regard to the apparent fact that I'm 5'2'', 125 lbs. I have a high pain tolerance, but after a few minutes, I couldn't help vocalizing some pain. Instead of reducing the pressure, the massage therapist just moved on and wasted the remaining time. In summary, one side of my upper body was massaged extremely roughly and the other very little. This left the muscles in my shoulders, neck, and traps feeling completely unbalanced compared to left to right. Within minutes, our therapists had vocalized it was the end of our service, and they left the room. When I came out of the locker room, I was surprised that neither massage therapist returned and asked us how we felt. I decided to walk up to the front desk to pay and, to my surprise, watched both therapists walk out of the spa with their things to go home for the day. It was 4:45–4:50 PM. I hope that for a spa charging approximately $600 for a 60-minute couple's massage, the least you could expect is for your therapist to check in with you after, regardless of the end of the day. I think it's essential to add that I felt so sore and in so much pain afterward and the next day that I ended up seeking out care from a local Nurse Practioner, and paid $275 out of pocket for intravenous magnesium, Vitamin C, and B vitamins in hopes of salvaging the final day of our trip. When we returned from the medical appointment, I requested to speak to hotel management about the issue. The manager was kind and empathetic but reiterated multiple times that the Mauna Kea could do nothing as Mandara Spa is a vendor-owned and operated spa. I found management's desire to dissociate from the spa disingenuous. A poor experience at the spa will affect the guest's perception of the resort and their whole visit. The Mauna Kea should take accountability for the vendors they choose to do...