If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 60 days.
Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (USD1,090.50), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.
Roots run deep at Hawaiian hideaway Kona Village, a Rosewood Resort. Not only does it co-exist with sacrosanct land, scattered with petroglyphs, and whose history spans from Polynesian settlers to Captain Cook, but it’s also the second coming of a beloved resort built in the 1960s, which original staff and guests still speak of with much warmth and reverence. The nostalgia’s been nudged gently into the present, with respectful, refined design in the thatch-roofed hales, a spa cut into lava rock and culture-rich activities. And when considering your own return, the drama-laden landscape, genuine staff and impeccable ambience will plant a seed, for sure…
Noon. Check-in, 3pm. Both are flexible, subject to availability, but pre-registration may be required.
Prices
Double rooms from £1028.70 ($1,286), including tax at 17.962 per cent.
More details
Rates include breakfast, trips in the house car, non-motorized watersports and bike hire.
Also
Almost every room and suite here has an ADA-adapted version. Some have special communication features (a flashing fire alarm and doorbell, braille door number, portable ADA audio kits for guests with reduced hearing); and some have been designed for wheelchair-users, with access ramps, lowered handles and widened doors, roll-in showers, bath seats and grab rails. And, staff will ferry you about the resort in a golf cart on demand.
At the hotel
Beach; archaeological sites; cultural center; watersports center; farm and apiary; bocce, tennis and pickleball courts; fitness center; open-air cinema; concierge; laundry; and free WiFi. In rooms: Bluetooth speakers, minibar, kettle and coffees, free bottled water, and Prima Fleur bath products. Guests staying in kauheles (suites) get welcome and departure gifts, snacks and a drink, and an Evidens de Beauté travel kit; signature suites have butler service, and special extras: a cultural experience, one-way or roundtrip transfers, a spa treatment, and more. And the Ocean Front Four-bedroom Maheawalu Kauhale has all-inclusive dining.
Our favourite rooms
Hawaiian architecture has been paid homage here, with thatched-roofed and tropical-wood-lined hideaways; they’re sleek and modern on the inside (the work of designer Nicole Hollis), but with locally inspired prints and native handicrafts to anchor you in the locale. Where you stay depends largely on what you want to look at: tropical gardens? The leafy natural lagoon? Where Kahuwai Bay’s waters meet the sand? Or perhaps just the Pacific Ocean all around? Hale (thatched hideaways) are cosier for couples and kauhale (suites) have a living room. Of the signature suites, we like the standalone one set by the black-sand beach or the Maheawalu or Kumukea kauhale, which have a private pool and hot tub.
Poolside
There are four pools. The Shipwreck Pool is set by the sand and puts blue on blue with the Pacific in the near distance; while not strictly adults-only, it’s a quieter, more grown-up spot with loungers and deck chairs for drinks. It’s connected to the 25-metre lap pool, where more active guests can stay in their lane. The huge Moana pool also melts into the view and has two integrated hot tubs, and kids have their own sandy swimming spot. All are loosely open from 11am to 5pm, but staff aren’t going to kick you out on the dot. And you can swim off the sandy beach too (the coast to the north is rockier and wilder).
Spa
At Asaya Spa (open 10am to 7pm), there really isn’t anything more relaxing than looking at a (reassuringly inactive) volcano. The complex is built into the cooled black-lava flow from Hualālai, and open-air treatment and relaxation rooms overlooking the venerable monument make you feel calmly connected to the land. And this deepens during time-honored rituals: lomi-lomi massages, gentle lava rock pummelling, and energy-point activating, alongside CBD soothing, after-sun and Sturm Glow facials and beauty touch-ups. There’s a sauna, aromatherapy steam rooms and hot and cold plunge pools, too, and the fitness room is packed with Technogym kit, some spilling out onto the lawn for alfresco work-outs, plus there’s a yoga studio.
Packing tips
Pack sturdier-than-usual flip-flops (lava stone is tough on flimsier sorts), and a rash vest will be handy whether you’re wave-riding or not.
Also
The resort’s Hale Hookipa Lu`au grounds let you party in authentic Hawaiian style, with an imu pit for traditional open-air cooking.
Pet‐friendly
Up to two dogs on the smaller side (under 22 pounds) can stay in a room. Extras will be provided, but they’re not allowed in the spa, gym, restaurants, pool areas or beach, and any extra cleaning needed will be charged. See more pet-friendly hotels in Hawaii.
Children
As Lilo & Stitch fans know: ohana means family – and no-one gets left behind. Kona Village caters heavily to children, with the Rosewood Explorers Keiki Club, huge multi-bedroom suites, dedicated menus, eco-friendly and cultural activities, and more.
Best for
You could comfortably bring little ones of any age here, but those aged five and up will get full use of the facilities.
Recommended rooms
The two-bedroom kauhales will serve small families, but for multigenerational stays book the 'Ohana Pool Four-bedroom Kauhale.
Activities
The Rosewood Explorers Keiki Club entertains five to 12 year olds Monday to Saturday, from 9am to 5pm (closed during special events). Activities lean towards learning about local culture in engaging ways, interacting with nature on the estate, frolicking in the water and picking up indigenous crafts (lei-making, painting coconuts to use as postcards). Otherwise, there’s all manner of watersports, jungly adventures in nearby national parks and alfresco movie nights. The spa offers gentle facials, manicures and haircare for smalls
Swimming pool
Shallow, with a sandy bottom, the keiki saltwater pool (open all day for swimming, with food and beverages from 11am to 5pm) is safe for little ones to splash about in (although unsupervised).
Meals
Moana restaurant has a ‘keiki’ menu for kids aged 12 and under. It’s filled with favourites: mac and cheese, brioche grilled cheese, tenders, sliders and rice bowls and veggie platters in the name of health. Dinner served 5pm to 9pm, desserts served all day. While Kahuwai Cookhouse’s menu brings pizzettes and hot-dogs to the plate.
Babysitting
Babysitters or nannies can be arranged through an external company on request.
No need to pack
Baby-monitoring equipment can be borrowed on request.
Sustainability efforts
Being caring and respectful custodians of the land is Rosewood’s kuleana (privilege and responsibility) – indeed, the land is leased from Kamehameha Schools, who provide scholarships for Hawaiian learners of all ages – and they have a sustainability manager to maintain its green cred, a ‘Sense of Place’ initiative to bring the locality in, and the ‘Rosewood Impacts and Sustains’ eco-friendly programs in action. All water is recycled or reclaimed using a wastewater plant and desalination in groundwater wells; there’s the largest private solar-powered microgrid in the state; and guests are welcome to fish for tilapia (an invasive species) from the ponds on-site, after which they’re used as high-nutrient compost or sent to a monk-seal rehabilitation center where they’re fed to weaning pups. The ‘Try Wait’ initiative supports sustainable fishing, and Rosewood works alongside the local Marine Life Advisory Committee and the Nature Conservancy to protect coral reefs. The 22 archaeological sites in the grounds are lovingly tended to, all artwork was commissioned from natives, and staff are locals, ensuring a feeling of ohana built into the hospitality. Dining is kept local and sustainable, with the ‘Partners in Provenance’ initiative cutting down kilometers for ingredients (70 per cent of which are sourced on island), and immersive dining experiences to be had; and there are many ways to take a cultural deep dive here, starting at the dedicated center. And suitable leftovers are supplied as feed to an organic pig farm nearby.
Coo over Kahuwai Bay from Moana, luxuriate amid greenery at Kahuwai Cookhouse, and dig your toes into the sand at the Talk Story and Shipwreck bars. Romantic meals in secluded locations on the property can also be arranged on request.
Dress Code
Sling on a colorful sarong for Kahuwai Cookhouse; Moana is a little more dress-up.
Hotel restaurant
Chef Victor Palma is reverential in his approach to Kona Village’s cuisine, growing ingredients in the on-site kitchen garden and running the apiary, or embracing the island’s largesse, working with local makers and growers (meat from Parker Ranch, cheese from Hawaiʻi Island Goat Dairy, produce from Adaptations, and honey from Wai Meli). But other influences creep in, from Mexican vaquero (cowboy) culture to flavors from across the Pacific Rim. Take Moana’s lemongrass-and-strawberry-topped waffles or pork and poached eggs in furikake hollandaise for breakfast, and the kimchi, katsu, shoyu and shiso-leaf hits peppering the dinner menu. (Don’t miss the pineapple upside-down cake, which is as rummy as a pirate.) Snack and light lunch on macadamia biscotti, blueberry-cheesecake scones and burritos at Kahuwai Market, or get a taste of cowboy-style fire cooking, pickling and salting (think poke tossed with guava-wood-smoked ahi, tomato sandwiches on garlic-yam sourdough, pork fritters) at Kahuwai Cookhouse. And Shipwreck Bar has meat and fish skewers, tostadas and shaved ices to sustain beachy castaways.
Hotel bar
Shipwreck Bar, set by the pool, turned catastrophe into cocktails, being crafted from the actual boat the original owner used to sail around the world in the 1950s, which sank by accident and then became this charming fixture when it was dredged up from Kahuwai Bay. Drinks are totally – and utterly – tropical, with guava and banana coladas, a lilikoi margarita, libations lashed with rum and the signature 'Mick, the Jungle Bird' with bitter campari, sweet pineapple and passionfruit. And sundowners should be taken at Talk Story, a breezy thatched pavilion set waterside on the beach, pouring wines and champagnes alongside servings of caviar and oysters. Tuesday to Saturday there’s live entertainment till 10pm.
Last orders
At Moana, breakfast is from 7am to 10.30am, dinner from 5pm to 9pm. Kahuwai Cookhouse and Market open from 11am to 9pm. Drinks run till midnight at Talk Story.
Room service
Order drinks to sip in seclusion on your lanai and everything from day-break breakfasts to midnight feasts with round-the-clock room service. (Menus change throughout the day.)
Kona Village, a Rosewood Resort sits on the sacred shores of Kahuwai Bay, amid darkly lunar lava landscapes, swaying palms and long stretches of silvery sands.
Planes
Visitors from the US can fly direct to Kona from many capital cities; otherwise, you’ll likely need to land at Honolulu and then fly onwards to tiny Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport, which is a 15-minute drive from the hotel. The hotel can arrange transfers for up to three guests in a sedan for $158 one-way (including taxes and gratuities).
Automobiles
In keeping with the island’s very green nature, try to leave the car behind – you likely won’t need it. However, there’s secure free parking on-site and valet parking (free during the day, $40 overnight), if needed.
Other
Choppers can be chartered on request.
Worth getting out of bed for
Kaʻūpūlehu has a long and fascinating history, from when it was discovered by Polynesian settlers millennia ago, to Captain Cook’s arrival in 1778 on the tail of the fish trade, to the volcanic eruption that gave the area its dramatic lava fields – which make the sea seem even bluer and the palm trees really pop – in 1800. Then things cooled off till Texan investor Johnno Jackson rebuilt Kona Village using traditional architectural techniques in 1965, and yet more sought out this tropical paradise. At Kona Village, a Rosewood Resort, you could simply revel in it all, getting lomi-lomi massages in the spa; playing tennis, bocce or pickleball; sunbathing, or partaking in watersports from snorkelling to riding a sea scooter into the deep. You could make poke and more at free cooking classes, fish for tilapia in the resort’s ponds, learn how to sail, or paddle out from Kahuwai Bay in an outrigger canoe before sunrise, but as you engage with these ancient traditions you’ll find yourself wanting to know more, and there’s ample opportunity to do so… There are 22 archaeological sites in the grounds, including a field dotted with petroglyphs, a dedicated cultural center, and art commissioned from native creatives and those who’ve made the island their home: Suzanne Wang’s Japanese-style ceramics, Roen Hufford’s vividly patterned bark cloths, Jordan Souza’s wood-carvings, and Abigail Romanchek’s abstract prints. Off-site, enjoy the community feel at Waimea Farmers’ Market (each Saturday); gaze up at soaring gorges and the namesake 442-foot waterfall of Akaka Falls State Park; seek out the atmospheric Nāhuku cave (formed by molten lava 500 years ago) at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park; or take horseback tours and watch real live buckaroos at 175-year-old Parker Ranch and Rodeo Arena.
Local restaurants
In this Edenic place – with some top dining options – you could follow biblical advice and not leave paradise for the sake of food. Unless, that is, you’re scoping out the other luxury outpost holding court along the coast. The Four Seasons Resort Hualalai increases your eating options fivefold, with a Californian-Italian eatery, steakhouse, seafood served on a lanai, sushi bar, and fine Pacific Rim-focused diner.
Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this master-of-hookipa (hospitality) hideaway on Hawaii’s Big Island enriched by the native stories, a full account of their embracing the culture break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Kona Village, a Rosewood Resort by Kahuwai Bay…
With great hotels comes great responsibility, in which case Kona Village, a Rosewood Resort is very great indeed. Not only did the Rosewood group have to consider the land’s history, which dates back millennia to early Polynesian settlers, its cultural and spiritual significance (the grounds are covered with petroglyphs and archaeological sites), and the delicate ecosystems in place along Kahuwai Bay, but they took on a Sixties icon of a stay, beloved for its warmth, know-your-name staff and repeat guests. But, these stewards have stepped up, keeping the traditional thatched hale (thatched hideaways) while gently refining the interiors, adding a cultural center and commissioning local artwork and handicrafts, establishing Lu`au grounds, not-too-fussy eateries and a kids’ club for that communal feel. It might be set on a lava landscape of dark rocky outcrops and black-sand beaches (plus some golden ones) that almost feels alien, but you’ll soon feel very familiar.
