My friends and I visited the Marriott’s Waikoloa Ocean Club. This property is co-located with the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa. The Ocean Club offers rentals of suites which is perfect for families and small groups–like our group. The suites include free Wi-Fi, flat-screen TVs, washer, dryers, and kitchenettes.  You also get access to the hotel swimming pools, gym, spa, and other facilities.  (Unfortunately, since we were there for only one night, we did not have enough time to take advantage of the hotel facilities.)

We rented a two-room suite for one night for a quick getaway with a bunch of girlfriends.We drove out from Hilo on a Saturday morning.  We stopped for lunch at Mai Grille by Chef Allen Hess before checking in. Not only was the food delicious (BACON!!!) but the service was great.  Chef Hess even came out and greeted our table and took a few minutes to indulge us by taking a picture with us.

After lunch, we visited the Queen Shops and shopped a little. After walking around and seeing what the shops had to offer us, we headed to the hotel and checked in.Our room wasn’t quite ready so we went downstairs and hydrated a little. We soon got a call that our room was ready and so we went upstairs and got ready for a photo shoot by Blinnnk Photography the onsite photographer service. They offer free photo shoot sessions without obligation to purchase photos. We were hoping to get one or two great shots that would help us memorialize the weekend.  Greg, our photographer, was awesome. He walked us around the grounds and found some nice spots, despite the cloudy weather for some fun shots.

We were very happy with our photos. Seeing these photos will help us fondly relive our fun weekend. After the photo session, we freshened up and headed to Roy’s Waikoloa Bar and Grill for our wine-paired dinner coordinated by Ryan Kadota of Kadota Liquor.Dinner was delicious and so was the wine. After dinner, we walked back to our hotel (right across the street) and laughed and talked into the wee hours.

The next morning, some people had a goal of heading to reNEW yoga on the beach that is complimentary with a hotel reservation but we all decided that getting a few more minutes of sleep would serve us better than an early morning yoga session. We checked out and headed to brunch at Daylight Mind Coffee Company at the Queens Marketplace before heading home to Hilo.

What a wonderful getaway to celebrate our friendships.  Living Hilo Style in Waikoloa.