My new wife and I stayed here for 6 nights during the 2nd leg of our honeymoon. We had a beautiful oceanfront suite with 2 private lanais from which we watched the sun set almost every evening. For those who have never seen a Kona sunset, they are among the most spectacular sunsets you will ever see.

The hotel grounds were beautiful. Large pool, gardens and a beach on a protected cove where the water was dead calm even when you could see 8 foot breakers just out beyond the reef. Perfect for kids if you have them. You can snorkel right there among the honu (green sea turtles) - the turtles also come up on to the beach to take naps during the day. At night they shine a light into the ocean which attracts beautiful manta rays. Really an idyllic setting.

The food is excellent and reasonably priced by resort standards. Norio's has the best sushi on the island. Brown's Beach House probably has the best location overlooking the water- though if you eat at the Ocean Bar which is right next door, you get the same view (with your feet in the sand), and the food comes out of the same kitchen for about 1/2 the price. For casual dining, the Ocean Bar is as good as it gets for a resort. If you are looking for a break from the hotel fare, there is a place called Sushi Rock in Hawi (~45 minute drive) that serves really creative sushi dishes. We loved it. Get the Mai Tai there as well.

Our only complaint is that if you happen to have one of the oceanfront rooms at the end of either wing of the hotel, the hot water is inconsistent. We spoke to a manager about it and they said the problem is those rooms are really far away from the source - understandable but you would think they could fix it. If you are paying for an oceanfront suite, it's really pretty unacceptable to not have consistent hot water for showers. A minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of things though.

We'll certainly be back.

The Fairmont Orchid is a top-notch resort. The service was great, the food was great and the resort itself is beautiful! Waterfalls adorn the property as well as flowers galore. Great beach on a cove to swim in and great pool to swim in (at anytime). You can even snorkel with Sea Turtles right next to the pool/beach! One of the best sunset views too!

It's not inexpensive but if you can afford it than this is THE place to stay.

ps- I don't play golf but the course looked great. Also, easy drive to Kona and Kona Airport.

We loved this resort. Before we went, we looked into the Four Seasons, the Mauna Kea, Mauna Lani, the Hilton, etc. We usually stay at Four Seasons resorts, but with the construction going on, decided against it, and booked the Fairmont.

We made it a point to visit all these hotels while we were there. The Four Seasons was first. Was glad we did not stay here. No beach whatsoever. Very quiet resort, which could be a good thing if that's what you are looking for.

The Mauna Kea had a nice large beach, but the hotel looked old and dated. We ate at the restaurant there (Manta). It was very good, but the service was very slow.

The Hilton was a large mega-resort. Also had no beach. It does have a large pool with waterslides, etc. Would be fun for kids. We ate at Kirin (chinese food). This was the worst food on the whole trip. The hotel also seemed empty. Everything was kind of cheap looking.

The Mauna Lani has a beach nearby (the boat house area). The hotel also looked empty and dated. We ate at their Conoe House restaurant one night. It was very good. We did snorkle at the boat house beach. It was great.

The Fairmont was perfect for us. We had booked an ocean front room, but upgraded to a suite (for an extra $150 per night). It was worth it. We had a great view from the 5th floor overlooking the beach.

They have a great beach (perfect for kids), a nice large pool. Bars, restaurants, great service, etc. It used to be a Ritz-Carlton, and you can see this from the way it looks similar to other Ritz's we've been to. It was a fairly busy place. The only issue I have is that they charge for everything (including beach/pool chairs w/ shade). We paid the $65 fee for the use of snorkle gear, kayaks, etc. for the whole stay. I recommend doing that. We never used their pool/beach shade chairs (ripoff). I can see charging for a cabana, but these were not cabanas.

The food was great. They have Brown's for a nice dinner. They have a bar next to Brown's that has great food also (more casual). They have a deli if you want to keep it simple. For breakfast, a great buffet. Also, a sushi bar.

I also recommend doing the Blue Hawaiin helicopter tour. We also did ATV rides and a sailboat snorkle cruise.

I highly recommend this hotel. I'm so glad I picked it.

We moved here after a distrous night in the hilton and we were delighted with this place. The private beach was lovely, as was the pool area and our room was lovely and quiet and we could see the beautiful sunset from our balcony. The concierge wasn't great and wasn't there all the time but we booked a lava tour and a night dive with manta rays through them and it was great.

The food in Brown's restaurant near the sea front was lovely and was some of the most reasonably priced that we had in our tour of Hawaii. The cabanas were also reasonably priced and you got food chucked in.