1/5

Each hotel image sequence, including the selection and arrangement of its images, © 2026 PressBeyond. All rights reserved

PressBeyond Logo

Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, Autograph Collection

Kailua-Kona (Big Island aka Island of Hawai'i) • Mauna Kea • OVER THE TOP

avg. $807 / night

Includes $42 / night in cash back

Cash back is redeemable via Virtual Visa, Venmo, or bank transfer starting 24-48 hours after check-out

Marriott Bonvoy® property

Exclusive PressBeyond Benefits

Get to where you see yourself

Ultra-clean, global, hand-picked hotel curation & imagery designed to help you visualize enticing environments and the elevated social experiences they create

Cash back

5% cash back on all completed stays (redeemable via Virtual Visa, Venmo, or bank transfer starting 24-48 hours after check-out)

Credit card points

Credit and debit card charges are processed directly by the hotel (i.e. not PressBeyond), meaning that any travel-specific credit card points or incentives that you normally get as a cardholder for direct hotel bookings are preserved

Hotel loyalty points

Points accrual and status eligibility with major hotel loyalty programs: Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, World of Hyatt, and others

Free breakfast

Breakfast-included rate options available

Room upgrades

Complimentary room upgrades (subject to property availability)

Extend your stay

Early check-in and late check-out (subject to property availability)

Part of Autograph Collection

Location

Loading map...

At a glance

A 1965 SOM-designed resort with 1,600+ Asian artworks and passive cooling that frames Kauna'oa Bay.

Best for: Architecture enthusiasts and art collectors

Highlights:

  • 1965 SOM design by Laurance Rockefeller on Kauna'oa Bay
  • 1,600+ Asian and Pacific artworks integrated throughout grounds
  • Passive trade-wind cooling through open-air corridors, no AC needed
Mid-century-modernistvolcanic

PB hotel design editorial

When Laurance Rockefeller commissioned architect Skidmore, Owings & Merrill to build a resort on the Kohala Coast of Hawaii's Big Island in 1965, the brief was unlike anything the firm had tackled before: create a hotel that would feel inseparable from its volcanic landscape rather than imposed upon it. The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel opened that same year on a crescent of white sand at Kauna'oa Bay, its six-story concrete frame oriented to catch the prevailing trade winds through open-air corridors — a passive cooling strategy that made air conditioning unnecessary and kept the building in constant conversation with the Pacific. Rockefeller's personal involvement extended to acquiring one of the finest collections of Asian and Pacific art assembled within a hotel, with over 1,600 pieces woven into the public spaces and gardens rather than installed as afterthought decoration. The 252 rooms carry their mid-century bones gracefully into the present — warm koa-toned millwork wrapping the headboards and desk units, large-format pale tile underfoot, and sliding glass doors opening onto generous lanais that frame either the turquoise arc of the bay or the green sweep of the Robert Trent Jones Sr.-designed golf course climbing toward Mauna Kea's slopes. The color language throughout — terracotta orange in the monstera-printed bench upholstery and bolster cushions, lime-cushioned wicker at the clifftop restaurant terrace, flagstone paving weathered to the tone of the surrounding lava field — gives the property a coherence that most subsequent Hawaiian resorts have reached for without quite achieving.

Travel notes

No travel notes provided yet.

About

Experience a dreamy oceanfront setting at Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, Autograph Collection. Our hotel is located on Hawaii Island's Kohala Coast Kauna'oa Bay and offers on-site biking, kayaking, surfing, snorkeling, and more. Enjoy luxury resort amenities like an on-site championship golf course, a tennis club, five restaurants and bars, a spa, and a sparkling outdoor pool. Let us welcome you with Aloha to our iconic beach hotel at the Mauna Kea Resort.

Amenities

Room service

Restaurant

Tennis court

Kids Activities

Beachfront

Internet

Spa

Wifi

Golf course

Laundry Service

Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, Autograph Collection Reviews

1,934 reviews

"The hotel is beautiful and has had an incredible renovation. We had a great experience! My pros and improvements list from my stay: PROS/memorable: - Beautifully updated - LOVE the water stations in the room - Free rental of boogie boards, stand up boards on the beach - Golf course was an incredible experience - Shops - Westin sister resort for more dining options with a shuttle. Ventured over for a nice dinner. - Beach chairs and umbrellas availability was never an issue - Fitness center was great! - Water pressure in the shower. - Water bottles they provided are complimentary (also see improvements). - Beer Battered Fish tacos at the beach restaurant. Improvements and I caveat that these were NOT at all an issue and did not impact our experience in anyway. - The shower tub is very high to enter and exit. If you’re a short person or elderly, it probably isn’t easy and can be dangerous. - The water bottles they provided were complimentary, but they don’t state it directly. The note in the room says “to enjoy during your stay” which makes you think it’s only for use on site and you’ll get charged if you leave with it. We came with a group and had about 11 rooms at the resort and they all said the same thing. When I asked during check out, she told me it was complimentary and a souvenir, so I ran back to my room to get it. The others also went back and did the same. I saw the housekeeper already in the room turning it over and she said she was going to throw it out since I had already used it. So be sure to take it home if you want it. - Our room did have some condensation above the entry way from the air conditioning. When we’d walk in from returning at the beach, there was a puddle on the floor and I slipped a few times coming into the room. We put a towel down to remember and capture that water. - Not all the restaurants were open as listed. For instance, the paper they provided stated lunch was available in two locations, however lunch was only available at the beach restaurant. This was a beautiful hotel and would stay here again in the future."

A Tripadvisor traveler review

Aug 24, 2026

"I visited on August 23, 2026. The setting and the beach are as beautiful as everyone says. What I cannot get past is the macaw. He is kept alone in a small cage tucked under a staircase, away from where guests walk, open to the ocean breeze. There was a bare perch and nothing else in the cage. No toys, no companion bird, nothing to do. The cage looked too small for him to fly or fully spread his wings. He did not move the entire time I stood there and did not react when I came up to him. I understand a sanctuary on this island has offered to take him and that a public petition has been circulating since 2024. A resort of this caliber can do better, and I hope it will."

A Tripadvisor traveler review

Aug 23, 2026

"Make sure and have Cynthia take your photos !! The best memories. She is so wonderful with children."

A Tripadvisor traveler review

Aug 19, 2026

"Highly recommend! This was our first time staying at this area. We booked a home at the Mauna Kea Residences, but used the Mauna Kea resort. Everything was top notch. The main resort is incredible. All the staff our friendly and make you feel at home. We enjoyed all the restaurants. My wife loved the spa at the resort. The beach is great. We also took an excursion with the kids on the Moana boat through Hawaiian Sail, highly recommend, I did a separate post. The residences and house we booked was awesome, very clean, updated and the staff was superb. We will certainly come back."

A Tripadvisor traveler review

Aug 15, 2026

"thrilled with our experience. so great with kids and the pictures were beautiful. Highly recommend"

A Tripadvisor traveler review

Aug 12, 2026

Guest photos

Guest photo
Guest photo
Guest photo
Guest photo
Guest photo

+301

Reviews and certain descriptive content powered by

Policies