In our search to find some of the most exotic destinations to travel to in 2006, we started with Hawaii's largest island, the Big Island and the City of Kona. We decided to feature two properties the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel and the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel. Both resorts qualify for our "Places To Stay In 2006 Award. If you are looking for a paradise escape, these resort hotels offer a vacation that you will only find in Hawaii.

Part one of our feature will be on the Mauna Kea Hotel and the second part will be on its sister property the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel. Both hotels share restaurants and facilities privileges and together form the best that paradise has to offer

Once we arrived on the Big Island from Oahu, we began to experience what a quaint island this is even though it is the largest of all of the islands in Hawaii. The airport is a throwback in aviation times with open air arrivals and departures stairs to greet the opening of the aircraft door rather than a jet way. It is nothing like the major airports that our staff spends many of hours getting through each year.

While the Mauna Kea and the Hapuna Beach Hotels are a short 25 minute drive from the airport and 35 minutes from downtown Kona, we highly recommend renting a car if possible to explore all this island has to offer. Use the hotel as the place to relax and experience the island like no other. During your spare time see why the active and inactive volcanoes have made this one of the best island to learn the history of one of our most unique states.

As we pulled into the Mauna Kea Resort we could sense this was the place for travelers that wanted to escape from all of the hustle and bustle of city life as the driveway to the hotel winds through some of the most scenic spots on the island. From the views of the golf course surrounding the road to the view of the beach, it is paradise even before you check into the hotel. Inside of the lobby area, guests will find the open air feel with views of the beach nothing less than stunning. This hotel will make it hard to leave.

The eight story Mauna Kea Hotel has a lot of history behind it. Opening its doors in 1965 and undergoing major renovations in 1995, the hotel boasts 310 rooms including 10 excellent suites some of which open to the most amazing views found anywhere on the island of Hawaii. The hotel exceeds a five star experience and this review will explain why it has achieved such high marks over the years.

One of the first features we liked about this hotel and the reason we coined it "award winning" was the service they offer guests. Our staff has never seen an entire hotel full of employees that love their job more than the Mauna Kea employees do. A nice "Aloha and Mehalo" are to be expected at least 5 to 6 times a day. The sense of belonging is real. Guests are greeted warmly by staff and other guests as returning family. And no other resort on the Big Island has a beach setting like this. We overheard several guests called by their first name on many occasions in the front lobby. One guest informed our staff that it was their 8th time back to the resort... reason for return, excellent views and excellent service.Before you settle into your room overlooking the vast beach area, we suggest taking a look at the Japanese Sculptures and more than 1600 works of art that surround the hotel. There is not one place that you can walk around the hotel and see some of the treasures that this hotel has acquired over the years.

Stop by some of the Mauna Kea's high end shops on the lower level and see the vast gardens that surround the hotel. A complete fish pond with Koi Fish is situated in the middle of the hotel. The feeling is all Japanese gardens with the winding sidewalk the Mauna Kea has created for you to enjoy walking the property.

If you are amazed by the artwork, the rooms are even better. With huge balconies that offer the soothing sounds of waves at night to put you to sleep to the teak furnishings in each room, this is truly Hawaii at its best.

Each room has an oversized bathroom with a shower that delivers some of the purest water found anywhere. It leaves you with a feeling of being under a Hawaiian waterfall. With this type of space, the hotel caters to individuals, honeymooners and families alike. Robes and flip-flops can be found in each room to add another personal touch to your stay.

In our room on the 8th Floor Premiere Level overlooking the beach we found a king bed, lanai, a small refrigerator which they restocked with bottled water daily, and a welcome fruit plate was in the room when we arrived. If you mention a special occasion while booking your travel at the Mauna Kea, they will often include a bottle of champagne for honeymooners and people celebrating occasions such as an anniversary.

If you are looking for amazing food and are not concerned about a budget, then we highly recommend the Saturday Night Clam Bake and b Sunday Brunch Buffet. Neither are to be missed. While the Clam Bake is expensive ($82 each) you will not find to many places that offer all you can eat lobster! Need we say more!

The Sunday Brunch Buffet truly has that something extra that is hard to put into words and keeps people coming back weekend after weekend. You can expect the freshest fruit, omelet station, waffles, home fries, sausages, bacon, so many types of bread we could not begin to list them. Cereals, a variety of juices, a traditional Japanese breakfast that included a delicious miso soup, granola, dried fruits, yogurt, baked goodies and more.. If you wake up hungry, this resort has enough food to feed Paul Bunyan. This is one of the best values at the resort for $40.

For those guests looking for more of a fine dining experience, we highly recommend Batik, which has an excellent assortment of menu items, some even better than some of the resort restaurants we have featured in the past. It features creative Euro-Asian dishes, traditional and spicy Thai curries, local-grown cold water lobster and fresh specialty produce from Island gardens. What guests will really be craving is their dessert menu, which includes the Grand Marnier Soufflé, Warm Valrhona Chocolate Cake and Green Apple Fritters with Apple Ice.

Just when you thought the hotel could not get any better, wait until you hit the beach. Whether you are taking one of their provided lawn chairs and colorful orange towels to soak up the sun, this beach is amazing. What you will see in the water snorkeling is like no other place we have been. While we snorkeled, we saw numerous sea turtles and some fish that were so colorful, it looked like someone had turned on "Finding Nemo" in the water for us.

While most people will come to the Mauna Kea for vacation, the hotel offers a way to get business done as well. Since both hotels share meeting space the combined space is more than enough to suit any group.

At the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel, guests can utilize the shared property assets and their ballroom. which is three times the size of an average house at 8,428 square foot main ballroom will accommodate up to 1,300 guests for theatre style seating or 850 for receptions and 650 for banquets. Imagine your next meeting or conference in paradise, the Mauna Kea can make it happen for sure. If you think that is amazing, how about planning a wedding here and using their more than 43,000 square feet of lawn and garden area. It appears that the Mauna Kea does not worry about space, in fact they might just rename it Grand Mauna Kea if they had more space for guests.

If you need to stay on the property, the Mauna Kea offers the Lloyd Sexton Gallery, which seats 180 guests in theatre style or reception style seating and 100 for banquet.

Our most enjoyable moment came when we played the golf course the Mauna Kea has to offer. For anyone who has played courses like Pebble Beach, then you will know what the feeling of looking over the ocean on many of the holes is like.... same look here, only not as expensive. The $135 for resort guests is cheaper than some public courses in the lower 48 states that are not as rewarding.

The Robert Trent Jones designed course at Mauna Kea is a 7,165 yard Par 72 course that is as challenging as any course in the United States. It has won numerous awards and in 2000 was the Number 2 course in 100 Greatest Golf Courses. It also took Golf Digest's Silver Medal Award for 2001-02.

What golfers will find on this course is a very challenging back nine. While the views may take away from the increased scores, we found this to be a course that is going to be suitable for both the low and high handicappers. On hole number three, you will find the biggest distraction where the Pacific Ocean water races into the inlet of the rocks that surround the hole and crashes to the side of the hole creating one of the best holes of golf that any golfer can dream of.

After relaxing on the beach, feasting on one of the best buffets found anywhere and enjoying amazing views on the golf course, we just decided to quit our jobs and move here.. well not quite, but this hotel will tempt many travelers to think about it and it will also tempt them to come back more than once, which after talking to some guests, they already have several times.

For more information about making a reservation at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel and all of the specials they offer year round, contact the hotel directly at (808)882-7222 or please visit their website at www.maunakeabeachhotel.com