Big Island - Hawaii

Best Things Nearby:
Their were a few activites and features that were very close if not on the resort. The beach was right there, just one step from the pool! Within a short drive their were a few bays for fishing, snorkeling, diving, golfing, shopping, and much more.

Best Things About the Resort:
I think that the best feature of the Royal Sea Cliff was the location! It was right on the ocean. They had a fresh water and salt water pool which was a different experience that you don't get everywhere. They had a great activities program with information about Hawaii and a great waling tour hosted for FREE by the resort.

Resort Experience:
We checked in late the day we arrived from an exhausting plane ride and boy were we HAPPY! We walked right in about 10 minutes before the sun set! Everything you ever hear about the Hawaiian sunsets is all that and more! We were able to unwind right on our private balcony and watched as the sun set and our Hawaii vacation began. It was a great way to end a hard day of traveling. The resort offered an island orientation the next morning where they helped us plan ALL of our vacation. From the restaurants, snorkeling, even our plane trip of the island.

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

Best Things Nearby:
Nearby… shoot, right on the resort. They had a few historical sights right there. There were a few areas where volcano rocks were stacked up hundreds of years ago, possibly used as homes in the 1700's. They even had to employee a special Hawaiian Prince just in case a rock fell out of place, because a regular person wasn't allowed to touch anything in fear of upsetting Madame Pele.

Best Things About the Resort:
This resort is like no other that I have ever seen. As you check in its all open air, no doors, you just pull right up and there you are. It had a great theme thought the resort and you could tell you were in Hawaii. The one of the most impressive things was the buildings were only two stories tall, unlike the massive high-rises of other resorts on the islands. They had grass roofs and even old style design in and around the resort.

Resort Experience:
Wow – It’s hard to explain this resort with words. From the moment that you check in you are greeted warmly with a lai and shown directions to your room. The next morning go to the island orientation because it’s great! They had people from the local businesses come in a talk about what their companies did and would offer discounts to guest on the resort. They helped plan every day of our vacation as it was our first time there and didn't know much about the area or what to do. The theme like I said was great, it made you feel as if you were in a 1930's Hawaiian village. They even have a little convince shop on site that I'm sure looks just like they did in the 1930's. However, it was all BRAND NEW, as it was built recently, just designed to look older. All I can say, is even though it’s not beach front, its still a GREAT resort as no resort that I have seen there even has a beach to swim in, it’s all rock.

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

If you have never eaten at Bubba Gump’s Shrimp Company you have to put this on your list of must do’s while in Hawaii! That is assuming you like shrimp. If not they have other dishes to choose from. I have visited a few Bubba Gump’s around the country and this one is #1 all the way! We were warmly greeted walking up to the doors and then shown to our table, which happened to be RIGHT ON THE WATER. I could have put my arm out and dropped something and it would have landed in the ocean.

As far as the service, they have a great system worked out. They have license plates, yes license plates on the tables. One says "Run Forrest Run" the other "Stop Forrest Stop." If you have ever seen the movie you will know what I’m talking about. When everything is fine you leave the "Run Forrest Run" sign up and when you need a drink, have a question, want to order, have a problem, you flit it over to "Stop Forrest Stop" and who ever, even if it is not your waitress/waiter will stop and take care of ANYTHING you need. It’s VERY impressive to see the staff work as a team!

Not only is the atmosphere amazing and the staff friendly and efficient, the food is top notch. For OCEAN FRONT dining, you can’t beat $15-20 a plate. Especially with the type of service and all the fun they like to have. At one point we all stopped (EVERYONE literaly) eating and serving and watched the last few moments of the sun going beyond the horizon. Then the fun began. They started having trivia questions about the movie seeing who was the most knowledgeable in the restaurant. It made for a fun and relaxing evening with great food.

Most don't know this but Denny's is the largest full-service family restaurant chain in the United States. The Denny's restaurant in Kona offers a casual dining atmosphere and moderately priced meals served 24 hours a day. Denny's is well-known for its breakfasts served around the clock. Denny's menu also features a variety of appetizers, hamburgers, sandwiches, salads, chicken, steak and seafood entrees as well as desserts.

Specialty menus for health conscious guests feature low-carb and low-fat offerings. They also offer customers age 55 and over selections at special prices and children 10 and under a specially priced menu.

When you get hungry and start looking for a familiar place to eat, stop in here. So if you're hungry late at night, remember Denny’s, because it will save you the driving time looking around trying to find someplace to eat.

Also, for a Denny's, this location has some of the friendliest employees and some of the best food and fastest service out there, especially when you can eat for around $10. The restaurant is on a hill so make sure and ask for a window table as you can see the ocean or you can even sit outside on the deck. Take a few quarters or a crisp dollar bill in to try and win a stuffed animal/toy out of the "claw" machine.

They have two tours a day that leaves from Keauhou Bay Pier. The morning tour is 4 hours long and the afternoon tour is three hours long. We decided to do the morning tour because it has a greater chance of raining in the afternoon as it warms up thought the day the clouds form and then the sun is blocked by them. The less sunshine the less you can see underwater. I would highly recommend this company, as their boats are a little smaller and the maximum number of passengers is six, so it makes for a much more personalized tour.

We started out at Honaunau Bay at Place of Refuge and snorkeled for 45 minutes. In the bay we saw the famous Hawaiian green sea turtle. After snorkeling, they served us local fruit beverages and local tropical snacks. Then, we sailed on to Kealakekua Bay, visiting several spectacular sea caves and lava tubes. It was really amazing because the boats are small enough that they went inside the caves. I was really impressed! We then snorkeled at Kealakekua Bay for about 30 minutes. While in the bay we were visited by the resident spinner dolphins, which hang out there on a regular basis. They are neat to watch because they jump out of the water spinning. Also at the Bay is the Captain Cook Monument which you can see from the water, then we cruised back to Keauhou Bay along the Kona Coast looking at more sea caves and lava tubes. (The afternoon tour is the same, but with out snorkeling Honaunau Bay.)

Make sure to wear your swimsuit and take your own towel. Buy an underwater camera before you go, because they charge way too much on the boat. Also take your sunscreen with you because if you forget it like we did it can turn out very, very bad later that day. Its not that we didn’t apply any, but it wore off after the first hour and we didn’t think that we would need to reapply after getting out of the water before going to the second snorkel location.