We’ve made countless visits to Hawaii over the years and while we’ve stayed mostly at hotels, we have rented condos on two occasions. When we stayed at this condo, we had a whole new appreciation for condo vacationing in Hawaii. Especially THIS condo!

The location of the Kolea complex itself in Waikoloa is nearly ideal. Every place we wanted to go in Waikoloa was within walking distance for us. We especially enjoyed the selection at the new grocery store and restaurants in the Queens Marketplace. For years we’ve enjoyed the shopping and free, live, local music & dancing in the evenings at the King’s Shops. It too was a short walk from 16B.

Probably the most enjoyable short walk for us was to the Kolea Ocean Club Pool and ‘A-Bay’, just a stone’s throw from the pool. ‘A-Bay’ offers perhaps the nicest beach experience in the Waikoloa area with its calm, protected waters, sandy beach and abundant marine life.

The condo itself offered many luxury options that were never available to us at resorts we’ve stayed at. First the condo was so spacious and lavishly funished that we really felt at home. We had the options of cooking indoors in the well equipped kitchen or outside on the large lanai using the Viking BBQ. I loved the fact that in the early morning I could enjoy my coffee on the lanai in my pajamas.

Although other people were staying in neighboring condo units, we never heard a sound from any of them. This condo was very quiet.
Although it was just the two of us, we both felt that it could comfortably accommodate 6 people. Our bed was comfortable and the bathroom spacious. When we have the opportunity to return to Hawaii we are planning on staying in this unit again!
Mahalo Nui Loa for allowing us to stay in in your hale (home).

Sam and Brenda

In this blog, list your favorite meal or place to eat on the Big Island of Hawaii. Click on the numbered tab on the left of this blog to add your comment.

Click on this link for a list of our favorites:  Big Island Ono Grinz.

We have recently enjoyed the Macaroni Grill and Splasher’s.

The  newly opened Romano’s Macaroni Grill is located in the new Queens’ Marketplace at Waikoloa Beach Resort. We’ve been there twice already and the food’s great! They opened November 24th and have been very busy, catering to families as well as couples.

If you love a good burger (and, be honest, who doesn’t really?) be sure to try Splasher’s, located near the pier on Ali’i Drive in Kailua-Kona. It’s not fancy, but the food is really good and the service friendly. Be sure to go early during your stay here because I guarantee you’ll want to go back!

Send us your favorite picture of the Big Island and we’ll post it on our site. Preferred 640 x 480 px size but any size will do and we can adjust it. Click on the number link at the left to add your post. In consideration of copyright laws, please send us only those images that you have taken or know not to be copyrighted. We promise not to use the photos for commercial gain. You can e-mail the file to drkwiat@yahoo.com.

Thanks to Gary Orton and my co-worker, Joanne Lombardi, for the following great picture of Rainbow Falls:

Rainbow Falls courtesy of Gary Orton

Below is a photo from Karen and Dickie Huff, Kona residents and some of my BEST patients:

Kona Sunset courtesy of Karen and Dickie Huff

We are at a unique latitude in Kona where it is possible to see the Southern Cross and the Big Dipper–at the same time! Check out the picture I recently took of the Southern Cross from our home in North Kona:

Southern Cross viewed in Kona, Hawaii

This nice Honu pic at Makalawena Beach was taken by my trusty assistant, Katrina Sheehan:

Makalawena Resident

Everyone who comes to Hawaii has at least one cherished memory that is indelible. In this post, we would like your favorite memory of the Big Island. Click on the number to the left side of this post to enter your comment/memory. It can be short or long, a feeling, meal, or actual experience that you had. We would even like those thoughts of persons who have never visited here, but may have had memories shared with them by others, or dreams of coming to Hawaii in the future.

For example, my father, Paul Watts, was a marine stationed in Waimea (“Camp Tarawa”) for two years prior to and following the invasion of Iwo Jima. For the first forty years of my life, my Big Island “memories”, were those shared with me by my father. He loved to describe the wonderful, cool weather; the warm, friendly Hawaiians; the unbelievable scenery; and the preparations for the invasion.

One of the memories he related most often was hiking up to the top of Mauna Kea on Christmas Day, 1945. He and a group of fellow Marines, drove up Mauna Kea until their Jeep would no longer go (about 10,000 feet)–purportedly stopped by “the thin air at that altitude”. He spent the rest of the day hiking the final 3,000+ feet , and was the only one of the group who made it to the very top. Sixty-two years later we attempted the same feat. We discovered that our Jeep actually became bogged down due to a vapor lock in the fuel line. By untwisting the gas cap, we were able to continue to the top without any problem. We really got a chuckle realizing that my father could have done the same and avoided the strenuous (and dangerous!) hike up to the peak alone. Sadly, he passed away a three years ago. At least we didn’t ruin his memory by informing him of this fact!

Attached are a few images from the top of Mauna Kea:

Our stay in Villa 16B at Kolea Villas could not have been more perfect for our family of four! We were greeted with a canvas beach bag full of lovely gifts (Kona coffee, sun tan lotion, and other things Hawaii) that let us know that we were truly welcome. The condo was immaculately clean and well equipped — the Viking grill on the beautiful lanai was convenient and great to have for grilling local fish. The condo had more than enough room and was very comfortable. The 5 minute walk to the pool and A-bay beach was hard to beat. A-bay is a GREAT and beautiful beach for a family with young children.

This was a great place to stay and we would highly recommend it to anyone. It is convenient to many of the attractions and beaches on the western side of the Big Island. It is also situated in the heart of the resort area and close to some great shopping. Did we mention that it is just a 5 minute walk to the beach?! The view of the mountains from the lanai is spectacular. This condo is beautifully appointed and decorated and is comparable to staying in a luxury hotel but with much more room! Our return back will not be soon enough! Thank you to Carole for great service!

Harold and Sue V.
West Chester, PA

February 28th, 2009

Hi Carole,

Was texting you from the airplane on the runway, but never finished!

We had the most incredible time — thank you so very much for helping to make that possible!

We loved Kolea 16B.  It was comfortable and clean — I have chronic allergies to dust, dust mites, etc.  Not once did I feel bad — the place was very well maintained!  The kitchens, indoor and outdoor were very well equipped.  Who likes to cook while on vacation?  Well, if the kitchen is beautiful and well-equipped, I don’t mind at all!  I didn’t even mind doing laundry!   ;-)

The 2 bedrooms were tastefully furnished, and the baths were luxurious!  After day trips around the island, we looked forward to coming back to relax in a beautiful home.  We loved hanging out at the pool and having the A-bay beach so close by — the kids went snorkeling and saw sea turtles.  Sunsets were gorgeous at the beach.

A-bay beach had chairs, but we were able to make use of the cooler and beach chairs provided in the unit, to take with us to nearby Mauna Kea beach, a pristine beach.  There really wasn’t much that we were missing, to make our stay comfortable!

Being situated in Waikoloa was an ideal distance from Kona, Kings Shopping Center, Hilton, Mauna Loa Beach, Waimea, etc.   Having walking access to the beach from the unit was great.

The only comment from our family is that the pool was not heated — so the kids did not enjoy it as much as they’d like.  The ocean was much warmer!  We did go spend a day at the Hilton with a day pass to make use of their facilities.  It turned out their multiple pools were not heated either.

Overall, I would highly recommend renting this condo!  Great value in a beautiful home!

Mahalo to you and the owners!

Eileen & family