Did you know that the Big Island was once home to the most expensive hotel in the world? Looking to create the most luxurious hotel possible, Laurance Rockefeller built Mauna Kea Resort overlooking two of the most beautiful white sand beaches on the Big Island: Hapuna Beach and Kauna’oa Bay.
The beach frontage at Mauna Kea Resort is unmatched anywhere along the Kohala Coast, and enables Resort residents to enjoy a wide range of ocean activities.
When the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel opened to the public in 1965 it was the most expensive hotel not only in Hawaii or the U.S., but in the entire world! Celebrities from all walks of life attended the hotel’s glamorous opening.
Today, Mauna Kea Resort includes the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, Hapuna Prince Hotel, two championship golf courses, and eight different residential resort communities offering a variety of real estate options. It has the lowest density of any of the resorts along the Kohala Coast and is also the only resort that crosses Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway, extending up to an elevation of 1,000 feet. This means you can choose living close to the ocean or more upland (mauka), enabling you to take advantage of excellent mountain and ocean views, depending upon where you reside.
If you’re a golf enthusiast, you’ll love the two incredible 18-hole golf courses here: Hapuna Beach Golf Course designed by Arnold Palmer, and the Robert Trent Jones, Jr. designed Mauna Kea Golf Course. Each course offers something special. Starting at an elevation of 700 feet, the Hapuna course offers ocean views from almost every hole. The Mauna Kea Course is considered one of the best on island. Golf Magazine ranked it #12 of its Top 100 golf courses in the country!
The resort is home to a truly extraordinary art collection of more than 1,600 Asian and Oceanic pieces – some of them come from Mr. Rockefeller’s personal collection! If you’re interested in learning more about the Mauna Kea Resort’s fantastic art collection, a walking tour of the Laurance Rockefeller Asian & Pacific Art Collection is given every Saturday at 10am. The ADA compliant tour is guided by Patti Cook and begins in the lobby, and takes about 1.5 hours to complete.
The communities within this luxury resort are as varied as the activities you can pursue here. Each of the eight private communities within the Resort has a different feel. The Villas at Mauna Kea contain just 40 condos while the Fairways at Mauna Kea South and Mauna Kea North each have 33 lots, offering detached single-family homes in a variety of styles. The Bluffs at Mauna Kea is close enough to the ocean to hear the surf at night, while the townhomes at Wai’ula’ula are at the highest elevation within the resort, offering stunning views of rolling hills and the Kohala coastline.
VIEW AVAILABLE REAL ESTATE OPTIONS AT MAUNA KEA RESORT
Mauna Kea Resort communities include:
- The Villas at Mauna Kea
- Apa’apa’a at the Uplands
- Kumulani at The Uplands
- Wai’ula’ula
- Fairways at Mauna Kea South
- Fairways at Mauna Kea North
- The High Bluffs
- Kauna’oa
Mauna Kea Resort offers a range of luxury real estate opportunities at different price points – condos, single-family homes, townhomes, or vacant land. Get in touch if you’d like to learn more about living in beautiful Mauna Kea!