I recently enjoyed a staycation at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel. I had not stayed in a hotel in the state of Hawaii since well before the pandemic began. I did travel out of state prior to the Delta variant surge and have stayed in hotels in other cities but not anywhere in Hawaii. My friends and I had the opportunity to go to the west side one weekend and decided to stay at the Mauna Kea Beach hotel. I didn’t realize how much I missed relaxing on the west side until I stayed there. I drove out after work on a Friday afternoon and enjoyed a Mai Tai welcome cocktail in the room as I watched the colors change as the sun began to set.

Later in the evening, we go together with some friends at the bar outside of Manta and enjoyed amazing pupu and delicious cocktails. The next morning, I woke up early, enjoyed some tea on my balcony with an amazing ocean view and waited for my family to get up. My daughter and I went down to the beach around 7 a.m. took some photos and enjoyed some pleasant conversation. I had seared ahi for lunch at the Copper Bar where seating was outside and again, overlooked the ocean. And that evening, we had the most amazing dinner at Mana. The dinner was amazing not just because of the food but because of the time that we shared with friends during the meal. I’ll write a separate blog post about the dinner.

Despite an overindulgence of food and wine the evening prior, I was still able to wake up and head to breakfast where in addition to all the other food I ordered, a bowl of miso soup hit the spot! I can’t wait to visit the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel again soon. It was amazingly relaxing and rejuvenating. Living Hilo Style on the west side.