14 August 2011: Honolulu, Waikoloa, and Kona, Hawaii

Today, we woke up and got the hot breakfast option before walking back over to the Hilton Hawaiian Village and doing some shopping, sitting on the beach, and taking some pictures. We then cleaned up and checked out of the Doubletree before driving to the airport.

The Doubletree is a perfectly good hotel and the Waikiki Doubletree is just like pretty much every other Doubletree. It is not a resort, but a good hotel. So, if are looking for a place to sleep and a good base for your explorations of Oahu, it is a fine choice. If you are looking to spend some serious time at your hotel, it is not appropriate. Just understand this. If you’re OK being across the street from a resort, and saving some money due to not actually staying there, then it’s a great choice. The service is great as well…I cannot say that enough.

Anyway, we returned the car and checked in for our flight to Kona on the Big Island. We split a Chesapeake Bay style crabcake sandwich at the airport bar…just to try it, since we are from Maryland and know crabcakes. It was actually not that bad. A short plane ride later (about 30 minutes) and we landed on the Big Island of Hawaii.

We got our rental car (free upgrade to a 4x4 Jeep Liberty!) and drove up to our accommodations, the Hilton Waikoloa Village (their website is here and their TripAdvisor page is here). Now this is a resort! This Hilton reminded both Cin and I of the places we stayed at in Bora Bora for our honeymoon. There are multiple pools, a massive natural lagoon to swim in, awesome views, a crazy comfortable room, and many, many, other things. This place is easily one of the nicest places we have ever stayed. Score. :)

After we got settled, we got back in the Jeep and drove the 25mi or so into Kona, where we found the Kona Pub and Brewer (their website is here and their TripAdvisor page is here). I’ve been drinking Kona beers since we got here and loved them (they have bottles of it back home, but never on draft) and this place came highly recommended from others who have been here before, so we were all about it. I got a beer sampler of four types I had not had before, including two IPAs (their Fire Rock Pale Ale is common and available in most places, but not their IPA), one that is a normal brew and one seasonal variation, both of which were awesome. I ended up getting a custom pizza with Cajun Tomato sauce…and it kicked my ass. So hot and spicy, I spent a good amount of time wiping sweat off of myself. Wowsers.

We drove back after dinner and spent the rest of the evening relaxing and watching TV ... and the amazing sunsets you get here.

This resort is amazing…and the perfect place to spent the second part of our vacation.