Sheraton Keauhou Bay on The Big Island of Hawaii
Posted by Rick Saturday, December 24, 2011, No Comments
We hit the resort on the 13th and stayed through the 17th of December. Occupancy was about 30%. I love Hawaii before Christmas rush. No crowds.
The advertised rate was at $159 per night plus resort fee or 10,000 points per night. I paid the $$$ rate as I value my points considerably higher than 1.6 cents each. Valet parking was $6 per night plus the resort fee. As a Gold member of the Starwood program, high speed Internet was free (although NOT very high speed).
The views from the common areas were nice, the rooms were clean and spacious. We were upgraded to a partial ocean-view room (Gold Status and low occupancy) with a balcony. The room was a good size but nothing special.
Overall the hotel layout was the most confusing I have ever seen. I never got my bearings with our room on the third floor, lobby on second, and pool and restaurants on the first. Seems simple to say but wasn’t in practicality.
There were two large pools and slides and ample places to sit, sun, or enjoy the shade. I love the contrast of the blue water with the black volcanic rocky shoreline. There was no place for ocean swimming on site. In the evening several boats would pull up in front of the resort to view the manta rays feeding on plankton. The resort has two lights directed into the water until 11 p.m., which attracts the plankton and, behind them, the huge manta rays. There were kayaking and snorkeling with the rays excursions as well. The rays on the Big Island are much larger than the stingrays in the Caymans.
The food was resort expensive but good. The morning breakfast buffet was $23 and the lunch menu had sufficient choices at $17 each plus drinks. You are some distances from other eateries so a car is a must if you want to eat offsite. We laid by the pool day one (too cold for me), went to the Greenlawn Coffee Plantation tour, (10 minutes south) on the second day, and went deep sea fishing on day three for marlin, tuna, or whatever. NO fish. It was about $600 for the boat ride including tip for four of us, which included lunch, bait, and tackle for a three-quarter-day trip.
My overall impression of the resort was a B-, but at $159 per night, a good value, I think, and the weather was fantastic. I wonder what I could have gotten it for by using Priceline?
Citi Thank You Premier Card, 50,000 Thank You Points!
