Mauna Lani, Auberge Collection — Hotel in Hawaii

We really enjoyed our stay! I booked this resort for their food accommodations and was not disappointed. We had the Hālani breakfast buffet included and although there was not a ton of gluten + dairy free buffet options outside of fruit (pineapple, papaya + lime, and longans were amazing) and meat (the bacon was consistently perfect!!) they did make me GF+DF pancakes every day and açaí bowls. Folks should note that I got conflicting info on what I could special order without being charged extra. It seems that if Ube pancakes are served on the buffet you can special order a GF+DF version without extra cost, but if normal pancakes are on the buffet you can only special order GF+DF normal pancakes or waffles. That being said, I was able to get Ube pancakes on a day they were not being offered on the buffet so it may depend on what server you talk to. I suspect that I got glutened one day due to a mild reaction but couldn’t pinpoint the cause. The açaí bowl granola cannot be guaranteed to be GF and it is closer to a sorbet than a smoothie bowl. They also allowed me to order a GF sandwich at 8 am before my check out even though the sandwiches at the market did not start until 11 am. That really meant a lot to me, to have a sandwich ready to go with me on my long flight home and not have to worry about what I was going to eat at the airport or starve. I was also able to dine at the Canoe House with dishes that met my restrictions. The 24 oz prime rib was absolutely delicious and my server so kindly brought me a complimentary dessert that was GF+DF. In addition housekeeping ran a tight ship! They must know when you key in and key out because we always came back to a room with tidy towels multiple times a day. Truly impressive. We also appreciated the beach that was a short walk from our room with the umbrella covered complimentary seating. We experienced pretty good snorkeling not far from shore and saw a sea turtle close to shore on our last day which was a real treat. Some areas are quite shallow and there is no lifeguard. Be prepared to exercise caution and do not stand on the reef + wear reef safe sunscreen! There are a lot of sea urchins if you don’t watch your step. We also saw an eel very close to shore in the shallow end. This is just typical marine life you encounter but good to be aware/exercise caution. They do provide towels and free sunscreen in the beach area so it is extremely convenient. Their key system uses waterproof wristbands too which is also handy. Overall the resort property is large and my only regret is not getting to explore it more and take advantage of their other beach near the historic fish ponds, and I wish we had time to take a walk around the fish ponds. I also wish we had time to take advantage of their in-house programming. We stayed only 4 days but would definitely stay again in the future. If you stay 1 full week you will probably have more time to take advantage of their grounds and programming. As for any cons- the location is not bad but I would have preferred it is closer to Kona just because we ended up doing a lot in that area and it can be 40-50 mins from most of the coffee farms/snorkel tours. Further, there is a decent walk from the front entrance to your room that involves going up/down a flight of stairs then to an elevator to your room. So if you forget something in your car it’s not a quick walk. They must have an option for folks with mobility challenges but I didn’t see it, so we relied on the bell man to who delivered our bags expediently when we checked in as soon as we got to our partial ocean view room which was well appointed, spacious, comfortable. Finally it is true that the grounds and elevator are not air conditioned which can be warm at times however not uncharacteristic for Hawaii (even the airports are this way). There is a problem with birds eating food at Hālani so don’t leave your plate unattended but they are working to rehome the birds. Overall amazing stay, beautiful grounds with sunset views, and...

Decided to book Mauna Lani Resort for my husband’s birthday as we always travel ourter-island to celebrate. Many of my family and friends had just recently stayed at the newly renovated Mauna Lani and we were so excited to stay as well! Their Kama’aina rate was decently priced, so we decided to try it out. Big mistake.

We booked our trip for 4 days and 3 nights, which 3 out of.the 4 days we were there had no pool attendant. We were left to set up our own pool umbrellas, with my husband climbing over to help elderly couples set theirs up as well. The Ha Bar was also closed for 3 out of the 4 days, so we were left having to walk over to Halani restaurant to order takeout food and drinks and bring it back to the pool since there was no pool attendant to take our orders and deliver. Not the biggest deal, but definitely strange for a high-end resort.

We normally don’t rent a car when we come to big island since we mostly stay at the resort, however, we decided this trip since we were staying for four days we could go up to Waimea for a bit over the weekend. We valet parked for our four day reservation. On the second day, we went to the bell desk to have the valet retrieve our rental car around 1100. As our car came around, an older woman walked directly up to our car and the valet attendant gave her the keys and she hopped right on in. My husband was extremely confused and double checked with me that was our car – I luckily took a picture of the rental car on the lot and saw that it was truly our car with our exact license plate. As we ran over to the valet attendant to tell them that was our car, the woman was already driving off the property! The valet attendant had to literally RUN down the driveway to have the woman stop and get out of the car! She seemed totally unphased and said, “Oh I thought it was my car, he just let me in.” I asked the valet attendant if they even checked her ticket to see if it matched the one in the car and he said, “oh I thought it was her car she just walked right up to it and got in.” That was extremely negligent and frankly unacceptable if she had driven off the property. What if she got into an accident under our rental agreement? What if she was driving off to Hilo and wasn’t coming back to Kona side? I can’t tell you how infuriating that situation was. We also barely got an apology from the valet attendant.

The next day we decided to try the breakfast buffet at Halani. Waited over an hour to be seated, was told the breakfast buffet would be extended until 1230 to accommodate the long wait for guests. Omelet bar closed at 1130 and was unable to have an omelet - also ran out of lump crab and salmon that was supposed to be offered in the omelets. Omelet attendant extremely rude and kept saying, "we were supposed to close at 11000" and kept rolling his eyes. Did not refill malasadas or fried rice on the buffet line so was unable to try. Waiter did not bring out manager after I asked twice to speak with one regarding our poor dining experience. Overall underwhelming and quite frustrating brunch experience.

The customer service at Mauna Lani was absolutely lacking, and definitely needs some sort of intervention. The resort grounds – beautiful. Overall, did not have a great experience especially choosing this resort to celebrate my husband’s birthday. I received an email from the Director of Operations, Sergio Caceres, and had a phone call with him to discuss our concerns shortly after. He was extremely apologetic about our entire stay, however, there was no actual tangible resolution offered by him or the resort. Again, lacking customer service. If anyone is debating on staying here or Four Seasons Hualalai, would highly recommend choosing Four Seasons for an exceptional stay as always,...

Just finished 9 glorious (expensive) days staying at this stunning resort. If you love a dramatic contemporary hotel entrance, this is it! incredibly well-designed with a sincere attention to detail..

The landscaping alone was probably a million to install. Lush indoor and outdoor gardens lovingly maintained + fish ponds, lots of outdoor loungers and 4 places to eat.

Super elegant, minimal and tastefully presented. All open-air....

What I loved:

*the sheets in the room were so soft *mattress was a little firm, thank goodness! *nespresso coffee and bottled water *three different light settings for different times of day *great bath and body products *lovely outdoor patio *great furniture and decor *ceiling fan!! a must *rooms open out onto a lush indoor garden

also loved:

*both swimming pools which were the perfect temperature and long enough to swim laps every morning + 2 hot tubs *towel, drink and lunch service by the pool *outdoor fire pits and candles being lit every night *the music they piped in throughout the property was perfect....good choice of music and not too loud... *sunscreen provided at the pools *great bellmen/bellwomen *excellent concierge *beads for the guys when they arrive plus juice at the front desk *excellent housekeeping twice a day *all the staff were super friendly and helpful *seeing all the furniture facing the same direction, all the loungers perfectly lined up....so important for first impressions

while this hotel is not as luxurious as the Four Seasons or Rosewood hotel down the street, it is pretty close.

A few suggestions:

*please use real eggs on your breakfast buffet and not liquid eggs

*please make fresh pastries (like you do in the Market) and don't serve premade pastries from Costco on the breakfast buffet

*the coffee in the restaurant needs to be upgraded

*remember raw fish and meat at the breakfast buffet cannot be kept off ice for very long...

*considering the remodeling for two weeks of the main restaurant, if you cannot offer the full breakfast buffet experience, then i would lower the price....it's missing other hot entrees like grilled fish, grilled veggies, hard boiled eggs, grilled chicken, and freshly made breads.. a salad bar, etc.

*plants in pots not being watered by your underground drip system need to be watered more often to keep their appearance and look fresh

*to cover the exposed irrigation system pipes in the ground in the lobby, you could cover with black mulch or crushed volcanic rocks

*please light all the lanterns at night, especially the ones on all floors outside of the elevators which were never lit during my stay

*the white folding lounge chairs on the beach are pretty worn, stained and damaged and don't have the same appearance as the other much nicer loungers with padding....i would remove them completely...they take away from the sophistication of the property..

I understand all food on Hawaii is expensive, but some of your entrees are way overpriced for what you get.....especially dinner at Canoe House which was severely overpriced....it was good but not $200 a person good...

I would not put guests above the areas that are being remodeled, due to the noise...

the only other item was the arrival of 200 people for 4 days from Chili's restaurant group which in my opinion was a bad idea...they were incredibly rude to the staff, horrible to the property, and while it may have been a big money maker for the hotel, it was a real disappointment for all the other guests....i think the holiday inn would have been a perfect fit...

lastly, what happened to the cucumber water in the lobby? my favorite thing!!

shout out to these great staff members: Alli, Garrett, Jeric, Cym,...