Journey to Hawaii 2015 - Days 8: Spas, Cabanas and Relaxation

The Kohala Spa - Hilton Waikoloa Village

When my husband and I went to the Big Island in 2014, we had really planned on having a day to just sit back and relax and head to the spa.  We booked our reservation for a couples massage as soon as we arrived.  The second day that we were on the Island, I came into contact with the sap from a mango tree.  Little did I know that it contains the same chemical in it that poison ivy does!  And yes since I am allergic to poison ivy I contracted a really nasty rash all over my legs and hands.  

Tip:  Don't touch the sap from a mango tree (or pet a dog that has come into contact with the mango tree - which is what happened in my case) or touch the skin of the mango fruit if you are allergic to poison ivy!

Needless to say, the rash wasn't gone by our spa day and there was no way that I could have gone there with this rash. So on our 2015 trip to the Big Island we were bound and determined that we were going to the Spa come Hell or High Water!

When we arrived for our stay on the Big Island, we made a stop at the spa to book our couples massage for the last day of our stay.  What better way to end our vacation and prepare for the long trip back home to frozen tundra that is Northeast Ohio in February? Now the day had finally arrived!

We booked our massage early in the morning so we could have the rest of the day to relax in the cabana that we had rented that had a wonderful ocean view.  That was the plan at least.  We headed to the spa and checked in.  The spa has separate facilities for men and women so we were shown where to go, given a locker and instructed to change into our robe and slippers that were provided and wait in the waiting room till they came to get us.  The spa area was large.  Many restrooms, very clean...separate dressing rooms within the sex specific areas so you didn't have to dress and undress in front of the rest of the spa clientele.  There was also a jacuzzi in both the men's and women's area.  Tip:  If you are a HHonors Diamond Member you can access the spa any time during your stay as often as you want to use the facilities.  This does not include any services...those you pay for as you book them.

My name was called and I was led to a very nice room where I met up with my husband and we had a very nice couples massage.  We had chosen the Lomi Lomi massage and boy was it amazing.  I was so relaxed afterward that my whole body felt like spaghetti!  They also had this wonderful "Respiratory Therapy" Aromatherapy that they used at the end of the massage.  I would highly recommend that you pick some up in the store after your service!  It is wonderful!  After our massages we got dressed and met again in the main lounge where we were given champagne and chocolate covered strawberries!  This doesn't happen all the time....it was a Valentine's Day special so we lucked out when we booked!

This was an amazing morning.  So relaxing.  They usually offer the couples massage by the ocean but due to the high winds a few weeks earlier the cabana had been damaged so we only had the indoor option.  It was actually fine with us but if you are thinking of booking at a later date and would like the outdoor option, please be sure to ask if it is available.  

After our morning massage, we headed back to our room to change into our bathing suits and pick up our sunscreen and various beach items to take to the cabana for the rest of the day.  So far so good.....unfortunately our luck was about to change.

Cabana - Hilton Waikoloa Village

View from the Roofless Cabana

Sometimes, even in paradise you just have one of those days!  I am sharing this only to point out that as much planning and forethought that goes into a vacation, there are just some things that are out of your control.  Just remember to be flexible!

We had rented the same cabana last year (#70) and it is in the perfect location by the pool and with an amazing view of the ocean.  You can watch the whales all day from this spot and just relax and enjoy the shade of the cabana or get some sun by the pool.  We were excited that the same cabana was available this year for the date that we wanted and booked it the day that we arrived to be sure we had everything well planned.

The cabana service is available 10 AM - 5 PM so we arrived shortly after 10 AM and were shown where our cabana was.  As the cabana personnel showed us to the cabana he said, "Well you might notice that the roof is off of the cabana.  We had to take it off due to the high winds last night.  We have to have an engineer come and replace it for you.  It should be done here soon."  Ok.....the main reason someone rents a cabana is to have a shaded area but ok....the winds were high and they were going to come and replace it so no problem we would just set up and wait.  

Well.....a couple hours went by....no sign of the person who was supposed to be providing our cabana service....(towels, water, fruit were all included in the $200.00 fee for the day that we paid).  We went and got our own lunch and took it back to the roofless cabana.  My son and I tried to go into the pool and it was FREEZING.  I don't mean a little cool....it was FREEZING.  Obviously they do not heat the pools in Hawaii.  So now we can't go in the pool because it is so cold. The cabana person hasn't been around to check on us...we still have no roof and the sun is beating down on us at high noon!    

Our location was close to the pool as well.

My husband went to the Ocean Sports rental hut and asked if someone would be by to put the roof on.  He was told that they were very busy because of the high winds and they weren't sure when they would be able to do it.  Next thing we know a security officer came over to talk to us to tell us that the engineer was tied up because of the high winds last evening and he might put it on tomorrow or the next day.  Really????  We couldn't even sit in the cabana (which was very disappointing because the view was just as beautiful as I had remembered and the whales were really active.)  We finally went back to the Ocean Sports hut and told them that we simply could not stay in the cabana without a roof and we still hadn't seen hide nor hair of our cabana person.  They refunded our money so we weren't out anything but we were badly sunburned and disappointed.  Don't be afraid to speak up if your experience isn't what was advertised.  

Just goes to show you that sometimes when you repeat a stay you can have a totally different experience. Our experience in 2014 was much better.  I don't know if they were just very short staffed or what has happened during that year but the service didn't come close to what it was the prior year.  

Everything Was Broken

After giving up on the cabana, we headed back to our room to change and relax for the rest of the afternoon.  It's a long walk across the resort grounds but we had fun walking around just looking at the sights.  When we made it back to the Ocean Tower we found that both elevators for the tower were now broken.  One had been broken all week but now both of them were out of service.  So we climbed up to our room on the 6th floor.  No harm but we were trying to figure out how we were going to get our luggage down all those flights of steps the next morning if the elevator was still out of service!

Our last sunset of the stay

Ruth's Chris to the Rescue

Since it was kind of mixed bag of a day, we booked dinner at the Ruth's Chris again this evening.  We figured that we might as well end the day and our vacation on a high note and you can always count on Ruth's Chris Steakhouse for a terrific meal!

Final Day

Big Island Breakfast

The final day of a Hawaiian vacation is always bittersweet.  While you have enjoyed your time away and have wonderful memories to take with you, it is always hard to pull yourself away from the sun and surf.  It is especially hard to pull yourself away when you know you are returning to temps that are below zero!  So as much as you try to be upbeat while packing your bags and ready for the long trip back....it is really hard!

We went to the Big Island Breakfast at the resort on our last day to start the day off right.  Then it was time to take a final walk around the grounds.  I just never get tired of views here!

When we went back to our room to make a final check and wait for bell services to come and get our bags. Tip:  If you stay at the Hilton Waikoloa Village plan on just paying for bell services to take your bags to your room.  The resort is huge and especially if you are in the ocean tower you will be dragging your bags for a long time!  It is worth the price of the tip.

Daily hula Lesson

As we waited we were able to watch the free hula lesson that the resort offers daily.  Wish I had been able to attend but from watching it looked like a lot of fun!

Bell Services arrived right on time and we headed to the hotel lobby for the last time.  This is another pet peeve of mine about this particular resort....it always seems to be understaffed in service areas that really affect the guests.  Let me explain this.....the valet parking is very convenient (especially because the self parking is quite a long walk from the resort and still costs you to park).  It is, however VERY slow.  No matter how early you call ahead for your vehicle it still takes a really long time for it to arrive.  (Now remember if you call from your room in the Ocean Tower and leave right away for the lobby you are a minimum of 15 minutes away from the valet).  If you wait and request the car from valet once you arrive in the lobby you have a VERY long wait.  When we stayed last year I thought the understaffed valet stemmed from the busy times when flights arrive Tip:  Definitely use bell services if your room is a long way from the parking area.  Definitely call them early and give yourself plenty of time to get your baggage and your vehicle from valet.  I would plan on this taking at least 45 min.
all at once.  However, it seems to just be a
staffing issue all the way around.  We also had a horrible time getting our bags once bell services

brought them to the valet area.  There was a long line and again no staffing.  So here is my

Once we got our bags and car we were on our way to the Tip:  Get to the airport well in advance of your departure time.  Add extra time if you plan on trying to grab a bite to eat. There is only one restaurant at the airport and it fills up quickly.
airport in Kona.  Again, this is an outdoor airport with very little cover.  It works well on most days but just pray there is no rain.  This year we were lucky and the weather was dry.  Staffing issues at the airport came into play also.  Security lines were extremely long and many flights were departing at the same time.  

All too quickly it was time to say good-bye to the Islands.....at least for the time being!

Coming Next:  Kauai and The Big Island - My Final Thoughts

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