Aloha from Ohana Hartsell. We've finally returned from a wonderful 9 days in the Kohala area of the Big Island of Hawai'i. We left Thursday morning May 8th from Portland, had a brief layover at the Kahului airport in Maui, then on to the Kona airport. Rented a car and drove about 20 minutes north to the Waikoloa resort area of the Kohala coast. We had been here previously (September 2005 with Nama and Papa, Nate Ang and Eliza) so we knew to expect the lava desert upon arrival at the Kona airport. We stayed 4 nights at the Hilton Waikoloa Village, then 4 nights at their condos. The HWV is like a mini-Hawai'i Disneyland. Check out their website at http://www.hiltonwaikoloavillage.com/ for all the details. It's a great place to stay for families, as the kids always have something to look at, do, or otherwise attract their attention. The grounds are beautiful, they have their own saltwater lagoon, heavily populated with native marine life, great pools and waterslides, and you have 60 something acres to play on. However, there are downsides, which are minor and avoidable: food is even more costly than the average for Hawai'i, there is no sand beach on the ocean within walking distance, and it is BIG. You can remedy all that with a little planning and research. All in all, a wonderful stay, especially with the kids. If Teresa and I went alone, we'd likely not spend a full stay here, but we might bring the kids back later.
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