The Westin Hapuna Beach Resort

December 18th, 2020

Enroute:

Our flight from Dallas landed almost a full hour ahead of schedule, which allowed us additional time to handle all the Covid-related arrival formalities. Be sure to check out what it’s like to fly domestically during Covid in this post. Even though Hawaii as a state required travelers to present negative Covid test results in order to be exempted from a mandatory 10-day quarantine, the Big Island of Hawaii actually tested inbound passengers again before they were released from the airport. The process was relatively smooth - passengers were separated into two groups: the ones that could produce a QR code generated on the Hawaii Safe Travel portal, and the ones who couldn’t. Fortunately we had done our research so we were directed to the queue for secondary screening.

Once we reached the temporary medical tents, we provided our contact info and had our nasal swabs. After that, we were free to go. Positive tests would get a phone call within the hour. From deplaning to reclaiming our checked bag, the process took exactly one hour, which I considered a small price to pay to ensure public safety.

We had previously reserved our rental car, which is absolutely vital should you be interested in seeing the natural beauty of the Big Island. Pulling out of the car lot and up the shoreline highway headed north, it was about a 35-minute drive from Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport to the Westin Hapuna Beach Resort located on the Kohala coast.

Check-in:

As soon as we pulled up under the porte-cochère, the ocean made for a stunning backsplash.

The property was renovated in 2018, and they did a phenomenal job with it. The façade gave away its age but the structure was nothing but grandiose, with high clearances and al fresco public space. The interior mostly stayed true to the island vibes, blending in ubiquitous use of different natural woods. The open design created a draft of ocean breeze recycling the lobby air constantly, immersing you into the beautiful surroundings. I’ve always been a fan of the “bringing the outdoor indoors” concept.

The lobby of the hotel was actually located on the 8th floor, which means most of the rooms were tucked down below. On the lower end of the grand staircase was the Piko Bar, which dubbed as a hotspot for sunset cocktails as well as morning grab & go fuel station.

On the edge was the panoramic view of the resort compound, which receded further from the lobby bar.

On the way to the guest rooms, there were different seating areas on each floor, allowing for some spectacular display of the not-so-distant ocean and mountains.

Unpack:

After an obligatory mai tai at the bar, we headed to our room located on the top floor (9th) of the hotel. We stayed a total of 7 nights with a Marriott certificate I had expiring by the end of this year, so we only needed to pay for the additional parking ($25/night) and resort charge of $30/night, which included the following:

Before the room tour, familiar readers know I’m going to deride the practice of resort fees. However, I do have to commend the Westin Hapuna for at least making it less insulting with some offerings we did end up taking advantage of. On the other side, there’s Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, which we stayed at in the later portion of our trip that we had to check out early. You can read about the horrendous experience here.

Back at the Westin, parking used to be included in the resort fee. However, since the reopening after Hawaii’s lockdown, parking was needed to make up for lost revenues and no longer part of the resort fee “benefits”. In our situation, we were able to utilize the 10% discount to pick up some golf merchandizes at the pro shop after our tee time, as they did have a rather decent selection of apparels and accessories. I would assume this discount was largely valueless to most, though. The housekeeping was pretty generous with bottled waters, which I can’t say it’s always the case at some other hotels. Though we didn’t need it with our late check-out, it was nice for the hotel to provide a hospitality lounge for guests arriving before check-in and/or departing after check-out times, so that they could still enjoy the beach and shower before getting on a plane. I have not seen this at any other hotels I’ve stayed at before.

Everything else was of no use to us: free wifi is basic amenity, pool and beach service has always been free, especially at a resort, cultural activities are nice in theory, eco shopping bag is unnecessary, non-motorized water sports gears are mostly complimentary for rental for the first hour or so, and phone calls are just utterly disparaging.

And that’s a wrap! Welcome to our premier ocean view room!

The first impression of the room was really positive. If you’re a US-based reader and the question “wow this looks really nice for a Westin?” comes to mind, it’s because this hotel is actually owned by the Prince Hotels group from Japan, which owns and operates many hotels along the Pacific rim either under its own brand or through franchise agreements with major hotel chains. This also explains the bidet you can see in the bathroom.

For a non-suite room, I reckon the size was beyond adequate. A dual-vanity is always a favorite feature of mine, as well as separate bath and shower. In this case the tub wasn’t a soaking one, but it surely wasn’t a deal-breaker for me either. The bathroom was large, well-lit and spotlessly clean.

The general décor of the room was on the bland side in my opinion, but it felt like a comfortable and livable space nonetheless. Being on the top floor, the best part about this room was the balcony. There were three different layers partitioning off the balcony from the rest of the room - a glass sliding door, a sliding mosquito screen and shutters. Combined with the screened front door by the foyer, weaving draft achieved the continuance of the “inviting the outdoor indoors” concept that was so prominent in the lobby design.

Food on the Big Island warrants a standalone post but it was amazing and liberally portioned, so we’d always have leftovers every time we went out to eat. On most evenings, we set our food on the table outside and had candlelit leftover dinners while the sun evanesced beneath the horizon.

Shortly after we checked in, the hotel treated us to a Hawaiian fruit plate and a bottle of Chardonnay, which was of course appreciated.

Unwind:

Hawaii is 5hrs behind ET, so we both woke up at around 5AM and decided to hit the gym before starting our first day. The gym was capped at 9 persons at a time, and one must reserve their slots through the QR code given at check-in. The interface looked like this:

Availability was mostly plentiful.

The gym and the spa shared the same complex named the wellness center, which was upscale and tranquil.

The gym itself was well-equipped for a resort hotel, and I didn’t have any trouble finding what I needed for my workout.

Not a bad place to get some gains, eh? The gym was shut down for 30 minutes of deep clean between each 1-hour appointment. On top of that, there was also this molecular air purifier, should you feel more at ease.

The locker room was consistent with the rest of the facility - elegant and serene.

Directly outside the wellness center was pool level. The first of the three pools was reserved for some other guests at the resort.

One level below were the adult pool and hot tub, which looked even more enticing when dimmed.

Closest to the ocean were the kids pool and the beach club.

The hotel beach was part of the public Hapuna beach, and it had the softest sands I had ever walked on. The water was gorgeous as well, however, there were surf warnings on most days so we only swam in the ocean once. The Pacific water was no Caribbean.

We did have a few rounds of cocktails by the pool, but mostly we spent our time exploring outside the hotel. The drinks were reasonably priced and potent, with most cocktails at $15. The 4.7ish-percent Hawaii sales tax couldn’t hurt either.

On our second last day, we played the 18-hole golf course that wound up and down the coast.

We were interrupted by these cute geese named Nēnē that were a protected species native to the Big Island, I think?

Depart:

On Christmas Eve, the hotel placed a gift bag on the door knob, and it turned out to be white mint chocolate covered macadamia nuts.

Our week at the Westin went by faster than we would’ve liked. The hotel sure was stunning, from the rooms to the amenities. The staff were genuinely friendly and helpful but not overly eager and intrusive, which I feel like is true to most Hawaiians - laid back but ready to help when you need it.

I’m sure the hotel had amazing food but we didn’t end up having a single meal there because there were so many great options outside. Hawaii is so culturally diverse, and it really reflects in its cuisine - we had delicious tonkotsu ramen in the creamiest broth in Hilo, heartiest loco moco and kalua hash for breakfast and the tenderest and juiciest huli huli chicken in Waimea, freshest ahi and brews in downtown Kona, teishoku from a 3rd generation Japanese family restaurant in Captain Cook and the crispiest and crunchiest lechon kawali in Waikoloa Village.

The real gem of the hotel lies outside of it. The Big Island is unlike anywhere we have ever been. It’s about the size of Connecticut but sometimes you feel like you’re in New Zealand, sometimes Bali, sometimes Jurassic Park and sometimes Mars. We happened to be there when the Kīlauea volcano erupted for the first time after two years, so we got up at 4am one morning to drive up there before dawn. Watching the smog emitting out of the active crater while being 4,000ft above sea and inhaling the sulfur in the air was one of the most surreal moments in my life.

The island also has so much wildlife. Scuba-diving with manta rays at night where their bellies were glazing off your forehead and spotting humpback whales blowing air are scenes normally from Planet Earth, but you get to watch them in real life on the Big Island (well, not far off the Big Island).

Mostly we just enjoyed driving on the winding roads that take you up and down the mountains. Every turn was a surprise. You could feel the temperature drop as you went uphill, and all of a sudden everything around you was green and lush.

Words can’t take you to see what we saw, neither can photos. But maybe this one will help you decide on your next vacation destination, whenever you’re ready to see the world again.