Mauna Lani, Auberge Resorts Collection

What an amazing hotel. You travel from the airport & all there is all around is black rock! Then you enter paradise! Spacious does not begin to cover the design and ambience of the hotel. Superb in every way. Staff excellent and views are amazing.

We arrived on Thursday with huge expectations. This hotel has a large price tag with great ratings so we assumed we would be very satisfied. Check in went well so we were off to a great start. Unfortunately, celebrating our 50th anniversary here should be a treat but it’s not....

We arrived on Thursday with huge expectations. This hotel has a large price tag with great ratings so we assumed we would be very satisfied. Check in went well so we were off to a great start. Unfortunately, celebrating our 50th anniversary here should be a treat but it’s not. Waiting in a huge line for breakfast today is not our idea of luxury. The omelet chef told told me he had to go to the kitchen to get and chop more spinach ( bowl was empty) so I chose other items. The omelet I was handed was not the one I had ordered so unfortunately I gave up and took scrambled eggs from the buffet. Obviously these things should not cause upset but Mauna Lani prides itself on its amazing rating and we are not seeing that at all. The other issue is the amount of corporate groups. By lunchtime, those on expense account are hitting the booze and the volume and calm nature of the adult pool changes dramatically to the point that the kids pool is preferable. The staff is disengaged from the guests with few exceptions. We love Hawaii and the Big Island in particular. Our prior visits have all been at a lovely resort nearby that also hosts conference groups. We regret this decision to change hotels and wish we were back at the other property. Sadly ( and I did look) there is no option to change now. We’ve learned and would not recommend this hotel. Beware the price tag despite a lot of glowing reviews.

A beautiful hotel on a stunning landscape. Rooms are spacious and modern with nice lighting, comfortable beds and beautiful views. But the service is surprisingly cold and impersonal. After staying at another resort in the same premium luxury tier and feeling overwhelmed with Hawaiian hospitality, we were left consistently disappointed...

A beautiful hotel on a stunning landscape. Rooms are spacious and modern with nice lighting, comfortable beds and beautiful views. But the service is surprisingly cold and impersonal. After staying at another resort in the same premium luxury tier and feeling overwhelmed with Hawaiian hospitality, we were left consistently disappointed with the frequently unpleasant restaurant, concierge and desk staff. Of course this doesn’t apply to everyone—about a quarter of the staff members are perfectly friendly. But the sizable remainder left my wife and I feeling more like annoyances than guests. Some specific examples: 1. room not ready at check-in despite being past the 3PM time 2. needing to get our room re-cleaned after the bed wasn’t fully made and balcony wasn’t cleaned when we returned to our rooms in the evening 3. having to wait 35 minutes for a breakfast table before our flight home and being told we could not take buffet food to go… If you value service above all else, I’d suggest paying a small premium to stay at certain other resorts on the island (you know the ones). Auberge is a reasonable alternative to the (very) small handful of pricier Big Island options, but overall the pricing and branding is that of a five-star ultra-luxury resort and we don’t believe they meet this threshold.

This was our third visit to Mauna Lani and it was just as magical as the first! The property is absolutely breathtaking, always clean, and well maintained. We never feel crowded here, even during peak seasons. The ocean water is comfortable and calm. We love how many sea turtles choose...

This was our third visit to Mauna Lani and it was just as magical as the first! The property is absolutely breathtaking, always clean, and well maintained. We never feel crowded here, even during peak seasons. The ocean water is comfortable and calm. We love how many sea turtles choose to sun bathe nearby. The food has always been great and service excellent. We have stayed at many Hawaiian resorts, and Mauna Lani is definitely one of our favourites. Aloha!