The Over 30 Girly's Edit

Aloha, I just came back from a 5-day trip to the Big Island of Hawaii, and I have a lot of thoughts that I need to write down ASAP before they evaporate from my crazy mind.

First and foremost, the trip was amazing in many ways. Yes, there were some uncontrollable things like a crazy tropical storm rolling through all of Hawaii for a day and a half, and our red-eye flight home got delayed for 2 hours due to a mechanical issue, but they were not contributing to my overall experience on the island, or at the Kona Village Resort (it’s basically where we were for the entire time, a truly lazy beach vacation). There are so many great things about this resort, but also a lot of things that are just not there. But, let’s just get into all of them, shall we?

Kona Village – The resort

Kona Village, I believe, is the oldest resort on the Big Island. It was certainly a frequent spot for locals and tourists alike, but the tsunami in 2011 destroyed most of the resort at the time. Then, the Rosewood hotel group took it over, with some hefty investments (as they say) from a very wealthy family; they rebuilt Kona Village. It was reopened in late 2023 and definitely has been rejuvenated as if nothing ever happened to it.

It was very apparent while we stayed there that the locals love Kona Village. We always overheard conversations from locals visiting the bars or restaurants there, and it was very interesting and exciting. I can’t fault them, though – the resort is stunning. I don’t know what it looked like before the rebuild, even though there are photos of the old days all over the property, but what they have today is a picture-perfect paradise filled with dreams, hope, and calmness. More impressively, the entire resort is powered by solar energy, obtaining zero-waste TRUE certification. They have also received LEED Gold and landscape sustainability SITES certifications – this makes them the only resort in the world to earn all three.

Did I mention the resort was stunning? Because it was. We love how Hawaiian it feels – the hut exterior style hales (houses) but completely new and clean inside. The property isn’t super huge, but it spreads out enough that even though we had 90% capacity while we were there, unless we were at the restaurants, it certainly didn’t feel that crowded. Alongside the pools and beach, there were sitting areas ensuring their guests could take in that ocean view at any time, anywhere.

Other great views here were at the gym (yes) and the spa. They were located in 2 separate buildings but close to each other, both near the reception area. The gym was indoor and outdoor with a decent number of newer machines, as well as an area for free weights.

The outdoor area houses more machines – treadmills, ellipticals, peloton bikes, a rower, and stair mills. I did say “views” earlier, which may be a bit exaggerated, but there was indeed a mountain view. But, honestly, being able to work out outside in warmer weather was truly awesome. It didn’t need the most spectacular view to please me.

The spa or “Asaya,” which is the wellness experience branding of the Rosewood hotel group, was designed minimally but oh so special. Nestled in the lava rocks, the environment of the spa was so zen. It wasn’t the biggest spa I’ve been to in a resort, but it was certainly very quiet—just how a spa should be. Walking from the spa reception into the women’s and men’s separate areas, I was amazed by what I saw.

The Guest Room

Perhaps one of the best parts about this resort was our hale – one of only two legacy oceanfront hales. Legacy because it is one of the original houses that they were able to keep the structure from the original resort, but renovated inside with the most meticulous details everywhere – the ceiling, the different wood pieces throughout the hale, the cabinets, the bathtub, the sinks even. And best of all, the view. We were literally on the water, surrounded by the lava rocks, overlooking the most amazing ocean view. We were told that we could see the whales from our hale in the morning. Although I didn’t see one from there yet, we did spot a few while on the beach on two different occasions. In addition, the location of these two legacy oceanfront hales was perfect to walk around the property, to their restaurants/bars, pools, and beaches. There were bicycles everywhere at the resort for guests to use, but we never needed to because of how close we were!

The Restaurants, & Bars

Let’s get one thing out of the way here: besides the very boring and bland food (sprouted salad) we got at the Moana Bar (Moana restaurant isn’t open for lunch service) when we first arrived, everything else was delicious. Certain things were better than others, but in general, they have their food nailed.

At Moana – their more “upscale” restaurant of the bunch, we had dinner once and “breakfast” once. The food at dinner was very good, especially the Sautéed Prawns dish for an appetizer. Toby had Mahi Mahi for the main course, while I slurped down a bowl of seafood ramen. The drinks were alright; I was also super tired from traveling all day, so I cared less at that point. The biggest minus here was the service, but I’ll just save that for later. I also didn’t take any pictures of the food this time (I was tired!), but truly I wasn’t in the mood (I’m sorry!).

The one dish that I did manage to snap a photo of was their famous Chili Pork Ribs. We ordered this from the Talk Story bar, but the food was from Moana’s kitchen, and it was delicious. The portion was very generous, too; generous as in 6 ribs per order, which we didn’t know until they came out with 2 orders of ribs, and we were just laughing at each other. Food coma to follow for sure.

If you have to pick between their 2 main restaurants: Moana or Kahuwai Cook House, I’d say go with Kahuwai Cook House anytime. It’s a more casual place, but the food slaps there (as the kids say these days). We had dinner there three times (yes!), although one of those was their special Paniolo night (BBQ night) – buffet style. I must say, for a $500 dinner that night, it was not worth it for us. We are not the type who stuff our faces with food at buffets (and that’s why we rarely go to buffets), so it was a loss for us from the get-go. But the food was just alright. There was one dish that I had twice (papaya chicken soup); everything else was good but not that great. Drinks – I’d skip – sugary cocktails are not my thing. However, the other 2 nights with their regular menu were so great. The food was exceptional – shrimp cocktails, kanpachi ceviche, spam musubi, pineapple fried rice (yes!), and a whole fish (or in this case, 1/2 a fish) grilled, served with tortillas, rice, beans & ham. The flavoring of all the dishes was really on point: bold, sharp, and Hawaiian!

The last restaurant-ish was the Shipwreck bar, which served a bar food menu from Kahuwai Cookhouse, but they also have a sushi menu on a few nights a week. We were excited about this place before we even got there because who wouldn’t be with an actual boat of the original owner, allegedly pulled in from the ocean. It had a tiki vibe and the beach vibe at the same time. However, I must say it was the biggest disappointment for us both. Sushi was fine – the menu was incredibly small (and confusing), and the taste was mediocre at best. I don’t know why I had expected more out of it, and maybe I shouldn’t have. Their drinks were also too sweet and too fake – I ordered a skinny margarita, and I think I had a better one from a restaurant in a mall in Bellevue, WA, than that place. Too bad because the setting was so fun and quirky.

Now it leads to our favorite place to get cocktails in this resort: the Talk Story Bar. It was a beach shack. It was right on the water. It was the coziest spot we could find anywhere on this planet, truly; and they served some mean cocktails: Mai Tai, their version of the Old Fashioned, and yes, a very good Skinny Margarita. I normally don’t just drink skinny margs, I swear, but I was on this trip because of this place – the bartender made one of the best ones I’ve had. Strong, tart, and no funny business (not like the one I took 2 sips of from the Shipwreck). It was a good damn place for a nightcap after dinner. The sound of the ocean and the breeze definitely would send everyone off to a good night’s sleep.

The sunset from this beach shack was definitely magical.

The Service

When it comes to their service, I’m really torn. On one hand, we met one of the friendliest people ever – the driver who took us from the airport, the bell staff who took us to our room, the best bartender at Talk Story bar, the barista at their coffee shop, and the spa staff. And to be fair, overall, the service was not that bad considering it could have been worse, AND there was a tropical storm during our stay, so that might have played a big role in the staff presence at the resort.

However, certain things are non-negotiable for a 5-star resort, such as service at the pool/beach, dinner experience at the main restaurant, or reception! At Moana for our first night (which the storm hadn’t started yet), our reservation was at 7 pm but we came at 6:30 pm. Yes, we were 30 minutes early; but keep in mind we stayed at the resort and there were empty tables in the restaurant. It was very busy, though, but they weren’t completely at capacity. We were told to come back at 7 pm, and we couldn’t help but think that The Four Seasons next door would never. We came back at 7 pm, got seated, and that was the longest dinner we had to sit through. Enough said. The service was so slow (from the front of the house to the back of the house) that the couple next to us was literally taking naps at their table! One strike.

The beach/pool was tough for me to judge honestly. They had one guy who worked on the beach chairs (any chairs that were on the sand), and he was busy. So yes, it’s understandable that he couldn’t check on us as often as we would have preferred, but if a guest’s glass of water was all gone or all melted because of the heat, you may want to fill that glass up with iced water. We’re paying 5-star room rates, aren’t we?

There was a “Coconut” service on Saturdays from 1-3 pm where they could push a cart full of coconuts and bottles of mixed rum & lime juice to pour into the coconut if the guests preferred. The idea was so fun! And I am going to sound like a spoiled brat here, but if they were going to do something fun for their guests, they should do it all the way. Keep the coconuts cold! The coconut water was so warm it tasted so weird with the rum in it, or without. I am Vietnamese, and yes, I take my coconut water seriously.

Now, the Shipwreck. Oh, the Shipwreck; food was mediocre, drinks were bad, but I couldn’t care less if the service was exceptional. It wasn’t. Not only that, one of the guests asked the bartender what was in the Original Mai Tai that was served at the Talk Story bar, as they had their own version of Mai Tai served at the Shipwreck (don’t get it!), and she had no idea what was in it. That explains why my margarita (off the menu) order was so bad—they actually had no idea about cocktails. I felt like we were at one of those beach bars somewhere in a college town where we would just drink bad stuff, take shots, and get wasted. Not here, not if we paid over $2K a night.

Lastly, the reception’s helpfulness was very close to zero. I won’t go into too much detail about what business we had to sort out with them (no, we were not trying to be difficult like that one man in the first season of The White Lotus), but it was very challenging to get in touch with them via a text number they provided to us to coordinate. I don’t want to keep bringing up the Four Seasons and the Aman folks, but if you text them for anything, the response would almost be instant for those two brands.

Final Thoughts

I think there is so much to love about this newly renovated Kona Village, and I think it shows by the locals coming for drinks/dinner, and guests who either wanted to go back to their old stomping ground or wanted to try what the hype was all about (like us!). The property was done very well – everything was thoughtfully put together, especially when they tried keeping a few legacy rooms from the original resort. But, being positioned to compete with the Four Seasons right next door, they’re just not there yet. We have only stayed at a few Rosewood hotels in Montecito, Vancouver (Canada), and Hotel Crillon in Paris, so I can’t quite tell where they would rank against the other famous luxury brands yet. Solely based on this experience, for the same amount of money (Four Seasons) or a bit more (Aman), the service level is significantly different.

I hope this was not a common experience for all their guests, because I do think the storm might have done a few numbers on it. Hoping that one day if we come back, we’d be pleasantly surprised.