Posts Tagged ‘kona vacation rental’

• Eating out and discovering great spots is one of the special pleasures of being on vacation. I don’t know about you, but Bonnie and I savor our restaurant experiences and hate to be disappointed. When at our condo we do often eat out and have many favorite places and opinions on food, service and the overall dining experience. A hidden gem is the Holualoa Café (76-5901 Mamalahoa Hwy, Holualoa (808) 322-2233). The drive along Mamaloha Hwy to Holualoa is itself like going back in time to older Hawaii. We go for either breakfast or dinner but mainly breakfast (see below for other breakfast recommendations). Good food and a lovely tropical patio. Traffic noise from the nearby Mamalohoa Hwy detracts a bit. We have also experienced very slow service on occasion. So take it easy, relax, and enjoy the location and moderate prices.
• A favorite place of ours, for at least one dinner visit while at the condo, is Jackie Rey’s Ohana Grill (75-5995 Kuakini Hwy,. Kailua-Kona, 808.327.0209). I would characterize it as a small family style place in a tiny strip mall. No tropical setting, no ocean view. It is best seen at night when it’s open wooden window shutters gives a kind of Hawaii Back Country feel. The food is good and the prices are reasonable..I like their attitude. They are plugged into the local community and care about it. Sign up for their news letter and when you are back home you will be an occasional memory aid of your visit when the newsletters arrive in the mail.
• For a really fine dining experience, Bonnie and I always pick the Pahu i’a. This restaurant is located in the Four Seasons Resort (72-100 Ka`upulehu Drive Kailua-Kona (808) 325-8000). The restaurant is very upscale and with prices to match as you would expect from Four Seasons. We have had breakfast and dinners there and have always felt that the whole experience was worth the price. Actually the experience begins at the entrance to the Four Seasons Resort property. The drive to the front lobby through the idyllic golf course (greens set in lava fields) sets you up for a walk through the lobby building. Splurge and leave your car with the valet. The lobby building, for me, epitomizes the tropical architecture style (perhaps Polynesian more than Hawaiian with it grand open-to-nature feel. Then walk to the Pahu i’a where you can take a table at the ‘rail’ and be nearly at the water’s edge. This is luxury setting with creative fusion cuisine. Impeccable service too. No question that the Four Seasons beats the Kona Coast for style and nearly everything else (as it should for the price). But when I look at those room units (at about $400/night), I think, you know they don’t even compare to the quality and value and livability of our condo. After a lovely special meal it is great to get back to our condo and the comforts of home.

I don’t know about you, but Bonnie and I enjoy eating out. And by that I mean ‘Al Fresco’.
Outside in the lovely Hawaii air. The condo kitchen is great for sure but we also eat out
every chance we have. Breakfast is just one such opportunity for pleasure during a day but I will focus on breakfast in this message. There are at least three places we always make an effort to enyoy during our ever so brief time at the condo. Each as a different character to savor and they have different distances from the condo.

The condo has a large number of pocket books in its ‘lending library’. Guests can feel free to leave a book or take one of these pocket books if they are not finished reading one at the end of the stay.
But a most important book in the condo is the guide book “Hawaii The Big Island Revealed”. Bonnie and I refer to it as the ‘blue book’. It has a blue cover. Whenever guests ask how they should prepare for their trip to the Big Island, I suggest that they pick up a copy of that guide book and begin reading before they arrive. However, don’t worry if you don’t have a copy as there is one in the condo. In fact this is so popular that we have had to replace it a couple of times when the condo copy gets too ‘dog-eared’. A nice thing about this book, in addition to ranking beaches, restaurants etc., is that sights are organized by mile marker along the major road around the island. So you can take it with you on a road trip, watch the mile
markers and stop wherever there is something interesting. Enjoy and use this book but also please leave the copy for the next guest.
Kona Coast Resort Unit 7-106

When Bonnie and I were recently at the condo (Kona Coast Unit 7-106) we added to the art collection in the condo. We have an eclectic collection and to it we added another piece of Chinese art. While in the Chinese city of Xi’an in October we visited a famous pagoda called the ‘Big Goose Pagoda’. That visit is a story in itself, but while at the pagoda we purchased an impressive original watercolor of a bamboo tree. We hung this in the master bath which has a kind of bamboo theme. Indeed bamboo is lovely and so tropical. We really enjoy getting up in the moring and enjoying the sun that streams into the bath, now made more enjoyable by this new painting.

Winter is upon us, but warm and wonderful Keauhou Kona unit 2 is a delightful place to escape the chill. As an enticement to gather your swimsuit and sandals, Al and Lyn are offering a very special winter rate discounting their regular rate of $220/night to only $199! There are still nights available in Jan-April, so don’t wait to take advantage of this great price. Spend your days snorkeling (a fantastic beach only a few minutes away), exploring the reef just in front of your lanai and finding a lounging Green Sea Turtle enjoying the warm Kona sun. The Big Island has so much to explore and do, be sure to stay as long as you can to take it all in. Check for available dates and contact Al and Lyn with any questions. They have lots of experience of the islands and are eager to help and assist you.
May your dreams of paradise come true!