Freshly back from the Big Island of Hawaii, and here to give you the lowdown on my up-island birthday trip! 8 out of 10 on all fronts – with some definite highlights and cautions. Let’s dive in!

Flying into Kona Airport is a step back in time. It’s an open-air hub. Truly. It has very few walls. I asked what happens when it rains – like, sideways? LOL – the staff said it really never does.

We stayed at the Hilton Grand Vacations Club Kohala Suites Waikoloa – via my RCI timeshare exchange. It was a beautiful 2-bedroom condo with a full kitchen and laundry room, perfect for our weeklong stay. Located on the north side of the island in the Waikoloa resort area, the timeshare condos have free daily shuttle access to the main Hilton Waikoloa Resort. 62 acres of paradise, complete with an enormous saltwater lagoon (more on that later).

The shuttle also made stops at both the Queens and Kings Marketplace shops – which was convenient as both had small (ish) versions of the island’s famous ABC store. There I managed to stock bottled water, freshly made poke bowls, sushi, salad, pastries, coffee – and all manner of souvenirs and Hawaii-made products. I arrived late Saturday afternoon just as the final race of the Ironman Competition was wrapping up, so a bit delayed in transit from the airport – but not too bad.

Settled into our condo and found the service to be exceptional. Any housekeeping or room services requests could be made via text and were immediately responded to. Though I decided against the welcome lei at the airport, my traveling companions met me with an equally impressive bouquet of local flowers.

Upon waking Sunday morning, I made the first shuttle run (07:00) to the main resort to check out the grounds. I can say, it did not disappoint! I’ll include all of the resort photos in my next installment.