Kona Village Resort Wins the Luxist Award for Best Luxury Family Vacation
Kona Village Resort, on the Big Island of Hawaii, is the winner of the Luxist Awards' Readers' Choice Award for Best Luxury Family Vacation. The pristine resort features serene lagoons surrounded by lush, tropical landscaping as well as dramatic, surreal, black lava cliffs that plunge to meet the ocean.
Guests stay in thatched roof hales (Polynesian-inspired bungalows) on 82 oceanfront acres. No televisions, telephones, radios, air conditioners are there to distract. Coconuts supplant traditional "no disturb" signs,
Included in the guest rate are all daily meals, an award-winning, traditional Hawaiian luau and activities from snorkeling and tennis, to lei-making, stargazing and fishing the traditional way with bamboo poles.
Water-based activities include an Outrigger Canoe Program in which guests learn to paddle a canoe, Hawaiian-style. A Wiwo'ole Ribcraft Adventure is available for seasonal whale watching as well as cruises to hidden snorkeling sites with Scooters (dive propulsion vehicles). There's also standup paddleboarding, kayaking, windsurfing, sailing, and SCUBA diving (scuba dive instruction and certification programs are available as Kona Village is a PADI certified resort).
Kona Village offers a variety of kids programs. A program for kids ages 5 to 12 (except May and September) features fishing contests, Hawaiian net throwing, ama ama (crab) catching, coconut painting, net throwing, and Hawaiian crafts, mixed with pool visits and ball games.
A Junior Alaka'i nalu program is available and is exclusively tailored for ages 13 to 17. This three day program includes such daily activities as stand-up paddleboarding, windsurfing, free diving, zodiac boat captain, outrigger canoe paddling, sailing, scooter snorkeling, scuba diving and shoreline fishing. The program includes three, four-hour sessions and is available Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Kona Village guests may catch up-close glimpses of enormous Humpback Whales during winter months, or view endangered green sea turtles basking in the afternoon sun.
A wellness program offers yoga, tai chi, and pilates classes and there's a full-service spa featuring a large variety of island inspired therapeutic treatments from massages and facials to body treatments.
Guests of the Kona Village Resort have access to the private 18-hole Hualalai Golf Course, which is adjacent to the resort. This was the first Jack Nicklaus designed course on the Big Island of Hawaii and is home to the prestigious PGA Champions Tour "Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai" golf event. This private golf course is available to guests at Kona Village year round, and greens fees are $250 for the day instead of per 18 holes.
Daily rates at Kona Village Resort vary depending on the date. A reduced rate is offered to children ages 5 to 12.
