Mauna Kea Resort Villa

Lovely location, surrounded by a beautiful golf course and close to two high-end hotels, allowing access to all resort amenities. (This was an extra charge of $95/day.) Having two 21-year-olds with us for the first week, it was lovely to shoo them down to the beach on the afternoons we had no planned activities. I found the view from the villa was much better than the photos illustrate. It was also very quiet, both day and night.

Villa was nicely appointed. Beds were very comfortable as were furnishings. It could to with another couple of loungers around pool (there are presently two). Kitchen seemed to be well kitted out, but we really only used it for morning toast and afternoon snacks. I did not cook a meal while we were there. All appliances were high end and in good condition. There are a number of very good restaurants in the area.

Glen, at Exotic Estates, was fabulous to deal with. He was very helpful and his responses were extremely timely. Would definitely use him for a future booking.

If you are traveling in the winter months, the pool MUST be heated. This was the only issue we had. Paid the extra charge for a pool that was not heated for most of the first week that we were there, nor for most of the last week we were there. (We did receive a $300 credit toward this.) They were very responsive when we called to complain, but after three service calls, we raised the white flag and just used the hot tub for the remainder of our third week. Next time I holiday in the winter, I will be bringing something to confirm the pool temp I'm paying for is actually being provided. Propane on the island is very expensive.

My family has stayed at two different condos here on three trips to the Big Island and we've been very happy all three times. The condos are spacious, clean, well-furnished, and have quick access to Mauna Kea beach, Hapuna Beach, and the resort hotels. We always enjoy having dinner out on the lanai, playing games in the living room, and just relaxing in a comfortable environment.

Tip, take a look at the photos on the Mauna Kea Resort website for more!

The unit is accessed by turning down the Hapuna Beach Prince access road, going through a guard shack, turning immediately left and upon arriving at Wai'ula'ula punching in a code which opens an electronic gate to enter the Wai'ula'ula group of condos and homes. So, a gate within a gate, very secure.

The condo has 3 bedrooms. Two of the bedrooms have ensuite bathrooms, the third bedroom has a large bathroom just down the hall but you have to go through the hall to get there. The two bedrooms with attached baths are quite large. The third bedroom is a bit smaller but still large enough to be comfortable. Each bedroom has its own television and lots of closet space. The third bedroom faces the driveway and the other two face the front of the condo with great ocean and golf course views. All bedrooms have comfortable sized beds. There is a fourth television in the living room.

The entrance opens into the kitchen/living room and the entrance and kitchen is tile and the rest of the condo, except for the bathrooms, is carpeted. The lanai is tiled as well. Ceilings look to be about 10 ft. and the doors look to be about 9 ft. All the woodwork is dark, the doors are dark and very heavy, and it all has an expensive, classic feel.

The lanai overlooks what I believe is the Hapuna Golf Course, with a 180+ degree view of the ocean. We sat there in the morning drinking Kona coffee and watched whales, cargo ships and what I assume were pleasure boats move about on the ocean and greens keepers attending to the golf course. In the evening the view is the lights of Kawaihae, a small port village about 3 miles north of Hapuna Beach.


We did buy the Hapuna Beach Prince and Mauna Kea package for access to the both hotel’s amenities. We visited Hapuna three times and Mauna Kea just once. It was nice to have the access available, whether it was worth the $400.00 (for 6 adults) we paid is another question, if you go to those resorts and hang out there every day all day it may well be worth it.

We really enjoyed our stay at Wai'ula'ula, bottom line, the condo was awesome, we would stay there again in a heartbeat!