Kailua-Kona Travel Guide
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Green Hotel Jobs: Four Seasons Hualalai’s Director of Natural Resources
After last week’s turbulent stock market rollercoaster at least there was some good economic news: unemployment is down. And they say that one of the biggest growth markets will be in environmental fields. So all this week, HotelChatter contributor Eric Rosen will be talking with the people who perform some of the coolest Green Hotel Jobs out there. He reached out across the globe to talk to the dynamic folks who do everything from breeding fish to teaching indigenous survival courses, and everything in between.
Islands are some of the most fragile environments on earth. Before the advent of modern technology, islands had to be self-sufficient, self-sustaining ecosystems. So it’s no wonder that some of the most interesting, innovative eco-jobs in the hospitality industry are at island resorts. That’s why we start out this week’s series on the coolest Green Hotel Jobs out there by talking with David Chai, the Director of Natural Resources at the Four Seasons Resort at Hualalai.
Hotel Reopenings / Hawaii Hotels / Luxury Hotels / → All Tags
The Four Seasons Hualalai Has Reopened After Tsunami Damage
Six weeks after the devastating tsunami in Japan reached Hawaiian shores, forcing the Four Seasons Hualalai to close for repairs, the hotel has just reopened and is now offering new guests a sixth night free.
The storm surge from the Japanese tsunami damaged the pool areas, landscaping, a restaurant and 12 guest rooms and suites. But all have since been repaired to new quality and the hotel even added some new beach furniture, new beach paths, and more oceanfront seating at the Pahu i’a restaurant as well as some private outdoor patios and lawns to some of the rooms and suites.
Hotel Closings / Four Seasons Hotels / Hawaii Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags
Tsunami Forces The Four Seasons Hualalai to Close for 6 Weeks
Last Friday, Hawaii hotels were on edge awaiting the ripple effect from the devastating tsunami that struck Japan but as we reported, most hotels did not suffer any damage. Guests had to be evacuated to higher floors until they were given an all clear but other than that, things were relatively calm.
However, the Four Seasons Hualalai wasn't so lucky. The storm surge flooded the pool areas, the landscaping, a restaurant and 12 guest rooms and suites with sand and debris, forcing the hotel to close for repairs until April 30.
The hotel sent out a press release about the closure but has also posted a note on its website that reads:
Four Seasons Resort Hualalai is closed until April 30 due to damage from the recent earthquake-generated tsunami. The Resort sustained damage from the storm surge, which brought water, sand and debris onto the grounds. Clean-up efforts have already begun and we look forward to welcoming guests back to the Resort soon.
Four Seasons Hotels / Hawaii Hotels / Sweet Suites / → All Tags
Four Seasons Hualalai is Getting Its Own Airport Lounge (with Free WiFi!)
Because the pampering doesn't have to end here.
Here's another reason why we're envious of those in the suites at the Four Seasons Hualalai in Hawaii--they get access to the resort's own airport lounge at the Kona International Airport.
Suite guests who fly in and out of Terminal 1 (United and US Air) will have access to the new lounge upon departure where they can wait for their flight in an air-conditioned room with plenty of seating, a wet bar, flat-screen TV, drinks and snacks, magazines and newspapers, and the all-important charging stations for computers, mobile phones and PDAs.
Most importantly, the lounge will offer free WiFi! Mahalo!
Celebrity Scoop / Hotel Weddings / Hawaii Hotels / Megan Fox / Brian Austin Green / Four Seasons Hotels / → All Tags
Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green Do It at The Four Seasons Hualalai
While flying and staying in Hawaii may be too expensive for your budgets, it's the perfect place for the famous to spend their money. Celebrities have always loved jetting away to Hawaii for vacation and typically when they do it, they land at a Four Seasons.
Uusually, it's the Four Seasons Maui.But when on-again, off-again lovers Megan Fox and David Silver Brian Austin Green chose Hawaii for their nuptials last Thursday, they headed to the Big Island's Four Seasons Hualalai.
Details are sort of scant on the wedding details but it was reportedly very, very low key. The couple later celebrated by hitting up some cabanas on the beach. Whether or not they took advantage of the hotel's wedding services we seriously hope they booked one of the hotel's amazing suites to celebrate. We've got our eye on the Makaloa Villa, a one-bedroom villa with its own pool, whirlpool, lawn area and above-ground fire pit.
With standard rooms here going for $775 a night, we're glad to see that celebs will always be able to keep Hawaii hotels in business.
[Photo: The Sun UK]
Deal or No Deal / Hotel Deals / Resort Credits / Hawaii Hotels / Four Seasons Hotels / → All Tags
Four Seasons Hualalai Offers $1,000 Resort Credit That's Even Good for the Room
The latest deal from the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai sounds extremely enticing. The resort is offering guests $1,000 resort credit that can be used for anything you can charge back to your room including the room itself.
Some suggestions from the hotel:
· an invigorating body scrub using a blend of local botanicals and minerals created just for you at the spa's new apothecary - $193 per person
· a guided hike to Puhiapele - a spatter cone that last erupted in 1800/1801 - $105 per person
· Surf, Sand, and Stars - a signature oceanfront buffet event on the beach with items grilled to order, a soufflé station, and s'mores - $85 per person
· a Romantic Dinner on the Beach - starts at $600 per couple
· stand-up paddle board lessons with the Alaka'i Nalu, Hualalai's ocean ambassadors - $130 per person
· four rounds of golf on the Jack Nicklaus Signature Hualalai Golf Course, home of the opening event for the PGA Champions Tour - $250 per person.
The $1,000 resort credit is good for standard room rate stays from May 1 to September 30. However, if you plan on using that credit towards the room those rates start at $725 a night. It's not much of a savings, especially since there's a four night minimum but it can at least pay for one night and a spa treatment. Or one night and four rounds of golf. Or one night and paddle board lessons. (The possibilities are endless!)
Yet this only seems like a deal if you had your heart set on staying here this summer, regardless of economic conditions. Our budget will have us seek out cheaper room rates elsewhere.
Hotel Woes / Hawaii Hotels / Sheraton Hotels / → All Tags
Sheraton Keauhou Bay Struggling to Stay Alive
Add the Sheraton Keauhou Bay to the list of hotels struggling due to declining travel and tourism, according to the Honolulu Star Bulletin. The hotel re-opened as a Sheraton in 2005 after a major renovation and is considered to be located on a one-of-a-kind property atop a cliff overlooking the ocean.
Along with several other hotels in Hawaii, this hotel has been averaging 50 percent occupancy since September 2008 and is having trouble paying for its loans -- even though it has free rent from the owner of the land. Not only that, but the owners spent $70 million to renovate the hotel inside and only to have the county say the resort is worth a little over half of that, $43.8 million.
Halloween Hotels / Hawaii Hotels / Hotel Hell / → All Tags
Ghosts and Bedbugs at Hawaii's Kona Beach Hotel
The Shadowlands, one of the internet's creepiest compendiums for real-life haunting stories, has a thumbnail listing in its Haunted Places list of King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel, located on the Big Island of Hawaii.
Footsteps. Apparitions. Hauntings. Ancient Polynesian warriors. The pissed off bones of the Hawaiian King himself, buried at an undisclosed location someplace beneath the hotel, that only his ancestors know about. A portrait of Queen Lilliuokalani, that glares at you and breathes.
It turns out this place is indeed haunted by more than just Hawaiian royalty, but by dozens of angry, restless spirits. You can even see them during daylight hours -- their hair-raising reviews on Tripadvisor will surely have you heading for the rolling green hills of The Big Island -- or flinging yourself into the nearest live volcano.
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Another Honeymoon in Hawaii
You thought we were done with Valentine's Day... you were right. But romance can happen on the other 364 days, especially in Hawaii.
A coconut in front of your door is code for "Do Not Disturb" at Kona Village Resort. They call it "barefoot luxury," but you might call it "peace and quiet"-- no TV's or other electronic gadgets (AC, phones, computers are a no-no) to distract you from the resort's beauty and your significant other.
Guests stay in hales, polynesian huts-- aka bungalows. But recent guests mention a need for renovation. If you start to go crazy and miss cell phones, glitz, and Gucci then this isn't the place for you. Four Seasons is just around the corner.
Tip: Lots of families with kids go in August, so if it's romance you seek, try another month.
Related Stories:
· Here are the top hotel picks for romantic getaways in Hawaii [Philly.com]
· Kona Village Reviews [Trip Advisor]
Hotel Deals / → All Tags
Brand Spankin' New Hotel Deal II
Wednesday is hotel deal day on the web.
Turns out SideStep is also pushing an introductory rate, this one at the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort on the Big Island in Hawaii.
The rate SideStep is pimping is a $169 per night rate if you book and travel by December 20, 2005.
Mele Kalikimaka
Related Stories:
· Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort Reviews [TripAdvisor]
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