Hawaii - Jeff Campbell [189]
Waikoloa Beach Marriott (886-6789, 888-924-5656; adult/child 6-12 $88/40; shows 5pm Sun & Wed) The open bar at this luau makes the Hawaiian-style dinner buffet seem even tastier and the show even more vibrant.
Queens’ Marketplace (886-8822; www.waikoloabeachresort.com/big-island-shopping) A hub of entertainment. In the mall’S central pavilion, hula and Hawaiian music performances occur daily (shows from 5pm Monday to Friday, 2pm to 4pm Saturday and Sunday), while Queens’ Outdoor Movies (Friday at dusk) shows free family-friendly, second-run Hollywood flicks on an outdoor screen; chairs provided. The marketplace also has a new outdoor stage, Queens’ Gardens, that books rock concerts and cultural events; for a schedule, check Waikoloa Nights (www.waikoloanights.com).
Kings’ Shops (886-8811; www.kingsshops.com; shows 6pm Mon-Fri, 4pm Sat & Sun) Has free performances of Hawaiian music and dance daily; try to catch excellent local slack key guitarist John Keawe, who’S a regular.
Shopping
Kings’ Shops (886-8811; www.kingsshops.com; 250 Waikoloa Beach Dr; 9:30am-9:30pm) Satisfy your inner clothes horse at the designer boutiques and cute shops – like Louis Vuitton, L’Occitane, Cinnamon Girl, Crazy Shirts – at this outdoor shopping mall.
Queens’ Marketplace (886-8822; www.waikoloabeachresort.com/big-island-shopping; 201 Waikoloa Beach Dr; 9:30am-9:30pm) This newer shopping complex offers more affordable island fashion and gifts, at stores like like Giggles and Reyn’S.
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MAUNA LANI RESORT AREA
The Mauna Lani resort area is home to two large hotels, 36 holes of golf, condo complexes, a shopping mall and nice beaches. But it deserves special attention for the significance of its historical sites, as well as for the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel’S refreshingly open attitude toward nonguests who wish to explore its beach, trails, ancient sites and petroglyph preserve.
Sights
BEACHES
The long and lovely beach fronting the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel is protected, but the gentle water is rather shallow; snorkelers might prefer exploring a coral reef beyond the inlet. Also, a 10-minute walk south of the hotel (take the trail past the fishponds), Makaiwa Bay protects a small placid cove in front of the Mauna Lani Beach Club condos.
If you keep walking south along the old coastal trail, after about a mile you reach Honoka′ope Bay. This salt-and-pepper beach has nice swimming and snorkeling when seas are calm. If you want to drive, take the road to the golf courses and turn left at Honoka′ope Rd.
At the Fairmont Orchid, the public access beach on Pauoa Bay is shunted to the side of the lovely, protected cove with the best snorkeling; nonguests can snorkel too, but have to pay.
Holoholokai Beach Park
North of the Fairmont Orchid, this beach is a rocky stretch of coral chunks and lava. It makes for great picnicking but lousy swimming, though snorkeling is fine during calm surf. Facilities include showers, drinking water, rest rooms, and picnic tables.
To get there, take Mauna Lani Dr and turn right at the rotary, then right again on the beach road immediately before the Fairmont Orchid. The park leads to the Puako petroglyphs.
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TOP PICKS – SUSHI FEASTS
Sushi Rock (Click here)
Sansei Seafood Restaurant & Sushi Bar (Click here)
Norio’S (opposite)
Sushi en Fuego (Click here)
Kenichi Pacific (Click here)
Sushi Bar Hime (Click here)
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KALAHUIPUA′A FISHPONDS
These ancient fishponds lie along the beach just south of the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel, partly shaded by a grove of coconut palms and milo (native hardwood) trees. They are among the few still-working fishponds in Hawai′i, and are stocked, as in ancient times, with awa (Hawaiian milk fish). Water circulates from the ocean through traditional makaha (sluice gates), which allow small fish to enter but keep mature, fattened catch from leaving. The rock walls of the sluice gates hide moray eels; drop in some poke and watch a dozen gape-jawed heads