The too big Island

The pool was nice and the hottub was really huge, so it accommodated our whole family of 5 and others comfortably. The activity center was not opened all the time so the kids did not do anything there.

Given the island we were on with so many natural wonders to take in, we spent few daytime hours at the complex. The tennis courts were nice.

If you just want a home base to go to after you've done all of your sight seeing then it's a great place: the 2 bedroom was actually more like a 3 bedroom, it had a sitting room with a TV and a third bathroom. We have 2 15 year old girls and a 10 year old boy, so the sitting room was his room and he had his own bathroom, much to the girls delight. There were 4 TVs, 4 balconies, a full kitchen. We saved alot of money cooking a few meals there: microwave, stove, dishwasher, all the pots, pans and dishes we could ever need just like home.

• Unit Type: 2 Bedroom
• Activities: Fair
• Amenities: Fair
• Unit Satisfaction: Excellent
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Good

The tour guide, a non-native, stopped a few times to show us famous locations where important battles or ceremonies took place and we stopped at the place the original statue of King Kamaehameha was erected. (The second one is in Honolulu. The original was lost at sea, a second one was commissioned, and then the original was found.)

The ranch was huge, so we split up once there. I went on a horseback ride with one of the girls and the rest of them went shooting and cattle branding. We met back up at the lunch that was included in the fee to go on the tour. The horeback riding was an additional $35 per person. Lunch was burger and chilli, totally Mainland American fare, no Hawaiin food, thank god, yuk!! We returned to Paniolo via a lovely town called Waimea.