We had the loveliest staycation this past weekend staying on The Gold floor at the Fairmont Orchid, despite having to bring our sick daughter at the last moment. Very personable and accommodating check in by Julianna who has fabulous guest service skills. Our suite was very nicely appointed with champagne upon arrival. A delicious meal at Browns Beach House at sunset using fresh local ingredients artfully. Beds were divinely comfortable. Beach cabanas were a nice reprieve from the hot sun and the attendant was very attentive ! Such a nice weekend unwinding in the middle of a very busy time for my husband and I. Thanks to the Orchid for a very pleasant stay.
We booked 2 queen-queen rooms for 10 nights on a Garden View with Breakfast Buffet package. Without asking, the hotel upgraded our rooms ahead of arrival to a better category that overlooked the neighboring golf course. It also had a decent view of the ocean. The room location was very peaceful except for a limited amount of disruption due to 3 private evening events that were held on the lawn between the north building and the ocean. The events only lasted a few hours and ended before 10 PM. The rooms at this hotel do not have blackout drapes. They have sliding shutter doors and light definitely seeps through and around. In the summer, plan on waking up early every day unless you are not affected by light. Since our rooms faced the golf course, the light woke me up around 6 AM. But this was actually a good thing... I'll explain at the bottom of my review. Our rooms had standard furnishings: 2 queen beds, a nightstand with 2 electrical outlets and 2 USB charging ports, and a 3 drawer dresser combo unit (refrigerator and coffee compartments). The refrigerator didn't get very cold (it had electronic cooling instead of compressor w/ refrigerant) but I turned the cold to max and was able to cool my drinks to a reasonable temperature. The side of the dresser combo had HDMI ports but I noticed they hadn't been properly cabled to the TV. There's also a room safe in the closet. The bathrooms were pretty nice. They had marble tile floors, double sinks, a separate door for the toilet area, a bathtub, and a shower stall. There was also a nightlight in the bathroom which made it easy to find the way to the bathroom in the dark. The toiletries were plentiful and pretty good quality. The bath towels were big and absorbent and there were 2 robes hanging on the back of the main door to the bathroom. The Orchid Court breakfast buffet included in our packages was delicious. Plenty of fresh papaya, pineapple, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, and watermelon. There was an omelet station. They always had self serve scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage links, and either pancakes or french toast. The french toast was outstanding! The bread/pastry/bagel section had a mix of items but my favorite item by far were the malasadas - super fresh square shape sugared donuts! The Brown Deli food was mostly really good. We enjoyed the turkey sandwich, ham sandwich, and chinese chicken salad which were pricey but tasted great. The four cheese pizza was horrible and a waste of money. The Brown's Beach House was very good but some menu items were overcooked. For example, I had five spice duck breast on two different nights and the first night it was super tender and had great mango flavor but the second night it was a little overcooked and lacked flavor. One of the special of the day fish entrees we ordered was a bit overcooked. However, the purple yam bread and honey butter is delicious! The ahi poke is delicious! The big island ka'u coffee venison was great! And one of the two duck entrees was delicious! The hotel has its own beach. It's a small protected cove with good sand. There are plenty of chairs on the beach. They have a hut at the beach to rent snorkeling equipment. Each person is entitled to one hour of rental free per day (I don't think Costco mentions this anywhere). You can also rent paddleboards but you aren't allowed to leave the cove so it's pretty lame. When you snorkel you will see many beautiful varieties of fish as well and you may even encounter some endangered turtles. They have a shower station to rinse off the sand but the one on the far side of the pool by the towel hut is much better. The pool is fine for swimming. I think it's around 4 feet deep everywhere. It's oddly shaped so you cannot do lap swimming if that's your thing. The pool also has a roped off section for adults. The jacuzzi was very hot. The bubbles are normally always on but they didn't work for the first 5 days. The temperature in the jacuzzi was supposedly 105 degrees. The staff at this hotel is absolutely amazing! The front desk staff, the managers and night managers, everyone working at the Orchid Court restaurant, and the extensive housekeeping crew... they really went out of their way with friendliness and excellent service that made our trip awesome. Now, the final comment I want to make is that there are some very interesting places off the property that you can explore on foot. If you wake up at 6 AM, I highly suggest that you follow the beach path south towards and past the Mauna Lani Auberge Hotel. On the walk towards the Auberge you will most likely see a one or two turtles that crawled up onto the sandy beach areas to sleep. Most will slip back into the ocean by 8 AM. Just past the Auberge, there is a narrow walkway between the ocean and a fish pond. From there you will see quite a few different types of fish including pufferfish. And if you keep on walking another couple tenths of a mile towards the dock where they launch scuba boats, you can see many more fun sea creatures like eels. The eels often hide under concrete ledges but stick their snouts out. Wander slowly around the fish ponds and you just might see fish that jump out of the water. Another interesting walk from the Fairmont Orchid is to see the petroglyphs. Walk north by the ocean along the edge of the golf course until you reach the neighboring park. In the parking lot area there is a short paved path that leads you to the petroglyph area. Use your imagination to guess what the carvings represent. There's not much else to do here so it'll be a quick visit. Hope you enjoy your stay at Fairmont Orchid. We loved ours!…
The grounds were beautiful as were the nearby trail (saw a whale and lovely rainbow on an early morning stroll )and Hawaiian wildlife sightings (an endangered monk seal lounged on beach during my stay and a sea turtle swam pretty close to us, that was 5 star :-)) at a hotel of this caliber I was off put by the nickel and diming. 50 dollars for an average breakfast buffet and 75 to rent a little shade on the beach seemed like a ripoff. The shower pressure was very weak. I was surprised a resort this size only had one 8 person hot tub also. The baseboards and lamps In my room had a visible film of dust on them and there was black mold in the drink chiller in my room . Would give this place another shot in the future but would temper my expectations . Staff were A+ very friendly and good service especially the fellows at the bar and grill near pool and Bryan at reception desk . Fresh catch sandwich was delicious . Some of the walkways near the koi pond are entirely too dark for public use at night and I would think a liability. Forgot to mention apparently ALL of the adult bicycles were out for service during my 4 night stay and staff were clueless as to when they’d be back in action . For a place this luxurious you’d think they’d purchase more to support their advertised experiences…
We checked into the fairmont orchid over spring break for part of our trip. We have two kids aged 8 and 12. The hotel when you come in looks nice. The check in was lackluster- they didn’t point out restaurants or amenities. They gave you a map and said have a great day. Room was okay but is looking a bit dated. Housekeeping was on top of their game and checked in to make sure we had everything. The fridge was a nice plus for snacks. Breakfast was good but pricey if not included. The pool was good for kids but I was disappointed at the small beach there were NO umbrellas. It’s too sunny to not offer them. The food at browns was okay but the service at the entire resort is sooooo slow. Dinner took like 2 hours which is way too long. I thought it maybe was an “island time” thing but when we went to next hotel they were on their game 100%. For the price paid pay a little extra and stay next door at Manua Lani, you will find it’s a world better. …
Loved the lagoon! Definitely worth staying for that alone. Our daughter spent hours snorkeling in it each day, there were so many fish. Even drink service at the lagoon! Everyone was so kind that works here. Beautiful grounds too, not crowded feeling. Spend time walking around, lots of little paths meandering through the gorgeous gardens. Wish we could have stayed longer.
It is a wonderful resort. Especially clean. Very friendly staff. Beautiful grounds and facilities. The Fairmont Gold is an especially nice option. The food was terrific and it was nice to have access to any drink you might want - day or night.
My husband and I came for a wedding with our two kids. The wedding was gorgeous, set on the lawn against the sunset, and we all enjoyed the 24 hour pool and hot tub. The property is sprawling, clean and surprisingly intimate and private despite the hotel being almost fully booked.
Hotel itself is absolutely gorgeous, but staff is fantastic. Mary at the front desk has charming personality and she also made our stay unforgettable - she upgraded our room to suite!!! Keisha at “Gold level” is someone who deserves accolades! No questions we are coming back
We had a wonderful time at the Fairmont Orchid. Our executive suite was beautiful, and staff is kind and very helpful. The grounds are perfect, with highlights that include the snorkeling lagoon that was perfect for our daughter, who is a beginner snorkeled. The beach trails are great for a stroll or run, and we love the gardens.
Had a great stay at this top class property as part of a two week trip to Hawaii. The hotel has a perfect location on the west coast of Big Island, the beach and coast areas offer a great setting for a memorable stay. Our room was a premium, ocean view and offered all the usual comforts you’d expected from such a property. The only downside was a lack of the latest technology such as links to the TV from decides or bedside USB ports etc. The range of food is excellent, always prepared and served to the highest standards. The pool and grounds were perfect for our stay, always able to access sunbeds and plenty of towels. Hoping to head back here again one day!
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