At the ripe old age of 800,000, the Big Island of Hawaii is the youngest of all the Hawaiian isles, but it was not until a mere 2,000 years ago that Polynesian travelers first arrived at Ka Lae, the island’s southern tip. Today, the Big Island is larger than all the other islands combined—technically it’s even getting bigger—and offers an abundance of cultural experiences among a multitude of possible climates.
One can rattle off a laundry list of attractions: volcanoes, temples, fishing villages, botanical gardens, luaus, petroglyphs, yoga, astronomy, golf, hiking, black sand beaches, helicopter tours and Hawaiian cowboys. Kona, for example, will dazzle with more than just coffee and fishing. Hilo is the rainiest place in the U.S., but also stages one of the most famous hula competitions, the Merrie Monarch Festival. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park contains the only rainforest in the U.S. National Park system as well as the world’s most famous active volcano.
All in all, the 480 miles of roads that snake their way around and through the Big Island will submit any visitor to an entire spectrum of accommodations, activities and weather changes. For example, the western coast of the island has dry sunny weather almost all the time, while the east coast is much more tropical.
Debbie Hogan, senior director of sales for the Big Island Visitors Bureau, says the island offers plenty of opportunities to experience native culture.
"More properties are weaving authentic Hawaiian culture into their group programs now, such as Hawaiian music camps, ancient Hawaiian games, Hawaiian language sessions and more," she says. "It’s helping participants get to know and love the Big Island like ohana [family]."
Kohala Coast
Home to the Big Island’s most lavish resorts, the Kohala Coast straddles the island’s northwest corner. Also referred to as the Gold Coast, this is the sunniest coast on the entire island, making outdoor meetings the norm, even at nighttime.
Some of the world’s preeminent beaches and most renowned golf courses exist on the Kohala Coast, as do a wealth of seaside resorts, vacation rentals and seemingly endless real estate opportunities.
The Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows embodies just one example of the Kohala Coast’s high-end scene. The property features two 18-hole golf courses, the Mauna Lani North & South, carved from lava fields, plus several oceanfront bungalows with gated driveways. Each bungalow offers private access to the beach and a combined 4,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor living space. For planners, the resort offers a never-ending selection of themed ideas and green initiatives, plus an 800-seat, open-air pavilion.
It doesn’t stop there. Laurance S. Rockefeller originally built a flagship facility, the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, on the Kohala Coast back in the 1960s, and even today, his museum-quality art collection of 1,600 pieces is distributed throughout the landmark resort. Robert Trent Jones Sr.’s golf course on the property is celebrated throughout the globe and the resort also includes an 11-court seaside tennis club. Aside from all the amenities provided by the resort itself, planners can also take advantage of its sister property, the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel, reachable via inter-resort shuttle service. Combined, both facilities offer 100,000 square feet of meeting space.
All of the other opulent resorts in the immediate area can serve as jumping-off points for other activities. State parks lurk in the background. Petroglyphs, pastoral lands and historical monuments abound. The northwest Kohala Coast, for example, still contains many uncharted landscapes.
Kailua-Kona Area
The Kailua-Kona area unfolds along the western coast of the Big Island, imparting visitors with island nightlife, utterly miraculous sunsets, lava rock beaches, hundreds of coffee farms, rural fishing communities and several places to escape "off the grid." This month in particular, tourists will descend upon the area for the Ironman World Championship Triathlon, while tourists will undoubtedly visit the spot where Capt. James Cook was bumped off in 1779. With the Kona International Airport as its connector, the expansive area is easy to reach, although first time planners will have to get over the initial feeling of "lava shock."
"All the black rock desert surrounding the Kona International Airport has made some people wonder if they’re landing on the moon," Hogan says. "When you look at the lava, it’s pretty amazing to see the whorls and patterns caused when it was moving in a molten mass toward the ocean."
Positioned at the southern end of Kailua-Kona Village, the Royal Kona Resort offers many amenities, including the original Don the Beachcomber Mai Tai. Both Don the Beachcomber Restaurant and Don’s Mai Tai Bar overlook Kailua Bay. The Mai Tai plays so much of a role in the property’s mystique that the place staged its second annual Mai Tai Festival last August. For meetings and events business, the resort offers over 10,000 square feet of meeting space, including several rooms, terraces and outdoor event spaces.
For those desiring to escape, the Kona Village Resort sits in a native fishing village, offering a natural unspoiled habitat in which to effortlessly bail on the high-tech modern world. No towering hotel buildings exist anywhere on the 82-acre, oceanfront property along Kahuwai Bay. Instead, 125 private bungalows—with no radios, televisions or even telephones—comprise the accommodations. For groups who want to get as close as it gets to "going native"—a truly unplugged experience—the resort offers team-building activities focusing on ancient Hawaiian values of courage, fitness, responsibility, teamwork and much more.
Another standout is the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort, which has standard guest rooms averaging 450 square feet in size and an upscale spa. The property offers unique cultural programs such as tours of the ancient dwellings and shrines that dot the coast, as well as live Hawaiian musical performances.
The town of Kailua-Kona itself has a colorful history, as many kings once lived in the area. Visitors often take advantage of numerous activities, including historical walking tours, marine inspections, helicopter rides, forest walks, diving escapades and much more.
Hilo Area
While the west coast of the Big Island provides a plethora of monolithic, awe-inspiring experiences, the eastern side, perhaps by contrast, might suit those looking for a more intimate selection of low-key venues. Hilo proper is the largest city on the Big Island and receives about 128 inches of rain each year. Several antique shops, independent retailers, restaurants and farmers markets characterize its historic downtown, an area still kicking after surviving two major tsunamis.
Hilo is officially the rainiest city in the U.S. but still manages to pull off the country’s most famous Hula hoedown every Easter: the weeklong Merrie Monarch Festival. Originally a plantation town, the Hilo area today features a four-year accredited university and one of the Big Island’s two international airports.
Just two miles from Hilo Airport is the Castle Hilo Hawaiian Hotel on Hilo Bay. Positioned perfectly for trips to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, the property offers meeting rooms accommodating up to 600 people. The 5,600-square-foot Queen’s Court Restaurant is popular for events. The property also offers a nine-hole golf course and splendid views of the stars.
And speaking of the stars, if planners would rather congregate "where astronomy meets Hawaiian culture," no better venue exists than the Imiloa Astronomy Center. Located in the upper campus of the University of Hawaii-Hilo in its Science and Technology Park, the center offers a full-dome planetarium system with 120 seats and a 5.1 audio surround sound system, plus exhibits, garden tours and even Hawaiian language workshops—all of which can be integrated into any event. The center’s unique landscaping also provides attendees with a spectacular immersive environment of native plants.
Hogan says business on the Big Island as a whole appears to be picking up; leads with a two-year planning window are starting to emerge again.
"We are seeing more on-island site inspections, which tells us groups are now considering offshore programs and the economy is improving," she says.
Gary Singh is a newspaper columnist, travel writer and freelance journalist. He was born soon after Elvis’ comeback special in Hawaii.
