South Kohala’s Green Resort
Posted on Jan 27, 2010 under Kohala Coast Resorts |The beauty of Mauna Lani Resort’s rich tropical flora and wide ocean and mountain views is unmatched by any other resort. Spread out over a serene and culturally significant landscape of 3,200 acres, Mani Lani contains two premier hotels along with an abundance of shopping and dining attractions, activities, historical sites, secluded estates, and luxury condominium properties. Structures conform tastefully with their surroundings in tranquil enclaves set back from the main roads.
The open-air Shops at Mauna Lani complex includes boutiques, galleries and a gourmet grocery store in addition to popular restaurants like Tommy Bahama Tropical Cafe. Hula dancers and other forms of local entertainment are often featured at the central waterfall arena at night. Additional shops, restaurants and lounges are scattered throughout the resort and its Mauna Lani Bay & Bungalows and Fairmont Orchid hotels.
The resort encompasses a region called Kalahuipuaa, once the retreat home of alii and fishermen who created special ponds for raising fish. Several of these ponds remain in a delicate aquaculture system that is meticulously preserved and forms the piko, or spiritual center of the resort. Visitors are led through the fishponds and other sacred sites, along with the native plant life surrounding them, by way of the Kalahuipuaa Trail.
Such outstanding malama aina, or stewardship of the land, has earned Mauna Lani Resort numerous distinctions. Conde Nast Traveler magazine ranks it as a major Earth Friendly Getaway for its PowerLight solar energy program and other innovations. And the Francis H. Ii Brown Golf Course received the 2008 Golf Magazine Green Award for its efficient use of such resources as an environmentally friendly grass.
Mauna Lani Resort is distinguished among the top tennis resorts for its excellent Racquet Club facility. The adjacent Mauna Lani Spa has also gained worldwide recognition for its traditional Hawaiian massage and healing treatments offered in blissful tropical settings. Next door, the Mauna Lani Sports & Fitness Club features a three-lane lap pool, a huge selection of workout equipment, and an assortment of daily activities and classes.
A beautifully sheltered cove of white sand along Makaiwa Bay forms the primary beach for resort homeowners and guests. These pure, aqua blue waters display a vivid assortment of plant and fish life. Each year hundreds gather on the nearby Mauna Lani Bay Hotel beachfront for the legendary Turtle Independence Day. In yet another demonstration of the resort’s noble environmental protection efforts, this event celebrates the release of a group of Hawaiian green sea turtles who have been nurtured to maturity in the saltwater ponds.
