Long Day’s Journey into Nice

Mauna Kea Beach Hotel

Okay, it’s a long flight. It’s about 13 hours plus to get to Hawaii from the East Coast. There’s no way around that. And that will put some people off. But remember my adage, the taxi, the TSA lines, the waits, the delays, the flying, the airport, are merely the Band-Aid you have to rip off. And post boo-boo, you may end up in paradise. (Although my son’s recent trek to Oslo required ripping off several Band-Aids.)

My favorite perch

I didn’t do much research before going to Hawaii. I just knew that I wanted to take a short side side trip from Honolulu where I had business. And I wanted the Big Island. And I wanted tennis. So I googled tennis resorts.  And I found myself choosing the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel. Now when people ask me where I stayed, they say “Oh, the Mauna Kea.”

Macadamia nut pancakes

My-pod

The Mauna Kea was a pet project of Lawrence Rockefeller who had the resources and the time to break up thousands of acres of desert-like volcanic rock terrain and groom it into an “ultra-luxury summer camp with the feel of an elegant private estate.” The Mauna Kea opened up smack in the middle of the sixties, a time when “double beds were thought inappropriate” and smoking was permitted.

Beach days

On the first morning I stepped outside I could not believe the wonderment of the place. The sound of the surf is constant, it’s 70-80 degrees with regular trade winds, there are beautifully lit mountains, house parrots, lush, lush vegetation, the hotel is grand and airy and the view is serene and spectacular. 

Sunset

An average day at the Mauna Kea: I slept as long as as I could, 4:26 a.m. was the latest. (Time zone issues.)  I never missed a sunrise. I took a yoga class at 7:30 a.m. on the lawn by the beach with the palm trees gently swinging overhead. I took a tennis clinic at 9. Then I had breakfast on a balcony overlooking the ocean. Then I went to the beach with a bag full of New Yorkers and a plan to tan. I skipped a massage.  It's not the kind of place where you want to close your eyes even for a minute.

Mauna Kea Seaside Tennis Club

The Mauna Kea Seaside Tennis Club is dazzling. Twelve tennis courts on a gentle hill overlooking the ocean. Amusing pros, happy guests, nice chairs, fluffy towels. 

Twelve courts with great views

The tennis club will schedule matches for you with local members who come in to play with guests. A lovely intermingling of communities. We get to hear about life on the Big Island, and they get to talk to guests visiting from all over the world. When I say I'm from Washington DC, there is always an exaggerated reaction, and a request for insider information.

Anchovies on the Caesar without asking!

  

The food at the Mauna Kea is outstanding. A side of bacon is seven pieces; the macadamia nut pancakes were otherworldly.  I had a calamari and California roll dinner. At the beach they served some of the best French fries I have ever had, and I have done deep research on fries across the world. Coffee--so so. A long time ago Kona coffee was considered exotic and very strong. Not so much now it’s just Kona. 

Shavasana -morning yoga

I felt perfectly comfortable staying alone at the Mauna Kea. Of course, the crowd was pretty well heeled despite the fact that they all wore sandals. One of my new friends plays tennis every day in Malibu, where her husband is an anesthesiologist. I met a couple who own a house in Hawaii, a house in Bar Harbor, a house in Palo Alto and they were just back from a Lindblad expedition to Antarctica.

Mauna Kea history

There is a display in the hotel with a quote from Lawrence Rockefeller, talking  to the director of golf “JD, we’re not for everybody. We’re for the fortunate few.”

My room

I must say I don’t much like the Hawaiian “culture.” I don’t like the music. I don’t like the hula.  I don’t like the language. It strikes me as a little gooey. The persistence of the banana leaf on every garment, towel, coffee cup, and refrigerator magnet is mind boggling. I don’t like the artwork. I don’t like the jewelry which is made of bones from marine life. Okay, I like the leis.

Morning run, nearby Westin

But man, I love Hawaii. The volcanic rock, the green mountains, the warm winds. The way it commands your attention to the important things in life. The way it aggressively melts away the chaff, the unimportant, the worries,  your petty bothers. They dry up as quickly as the salt water on your body after a quick dip in the ocean. 

Lobby--Westin Hapuna Beach Resort