Which is the best hotel? Four Seasons Hualalai or Kona Village, A Rosewood Resort? The ultra-luxury hotel group Rosewood Hotels & Resorts® now manages the newest luxury resort on Hawaii’s big island, Kona Village, A Rosewood Resort, which reopened in 2022 after a complete renovation of the property.
Located on the Kona Coast of the Big Island of Hawai’i, luxury travelers will be curious to compare the newly refurbished ROsewood resort to the unique and highly rated Hualalai, a Four Seasons resort.
The nearly perfect Four Seasons Hualalai is hard to beat, but the Rosewood is newer and feels more boutique and has plenty of facilities to attract the luxury traveler, spread across 81 acres of stunning geologic landscape.
Location
Both resorts are located less than 10 miles north of the Kona International Airport. Kona Village, A Rosewood Resort, has 150 unique, standalone guest hales with locally inspired décor, spectacular views, and a privileged sense of seclusion. This iconic Hawaiian retreat offers another luxury option for guests who love the location of the Four Seasons Hualalai.
The Rosewood Resort is only a mile or so up the coast from the Four Seasons and just a 5-minute car drive away. In terms of location, there is little to choose between these resorts, although the setting is slightly different as Four Seasons Hualalai overlooks a golf course that provides spectacular vistas mingling the lush greens of the golf course with the blue of the sea, the black lava rocks and the blue and even blood red skies at sunset.
In fact, if you want to be within a short stroll of a spectacular golf course, Hualalai is probably the hotel to pick. But the Rosewood wins in many other aspects including its more personal service as this is a smaller resort, and also it’s more modern and brighter rooms.
Review: Kona Village, A Rosewood Resort
Kona Village, A Rosewood Resort, is located on the Kona Coast of the Big Island of Hawai'i, and this resort is the next major resort up the coast from the unique and highly rated Hualalai, a Four Seasons resort. The Rosewood has plenty of facilities to attract the luxury traveler beyond the black lava rocky outcrops and golden sand beaches. The resort extends across an enormous 81 acres of stunning geologic landscape. Kona Village, A Rosewood Resort, is one of the best Rosewood Hotels & Resorts in the world.
Style & Character
Kona Village, A Rosewood Resort, draws inspiration from the site’s history, local culture, and natural elements in a distinctive Hawaiian setting. Conceptualized and developed by intrepid explorer Johnno Jackson in the early 1960s, the original Kona Village Resort was best known for its free-standing, palm thatch roof hales and tranquil location. However, the history of the Kona Coast dates back long before it became a one-of-a-kind vacation destination.
Review: Four Seasons Hualalai, Hawaii
The primordial beauty of Four Seasons Hualalai is hard to put into words. The eruptions of black lava rock protruding out of crashing waves, golden sands, and green lawns contrast in a way that almost seems unreal. Four Seasons Hualalai is located on Big Island, Hawaii, the one with the big and active Kilauea volcano, which means that the whole resort is built on the dramatic black rock and that you can take a trip to the live volcano if you like. It's worth bearing in mind that this island is pretty big, so the drive to see the volcano is lengthy if worthwhile.
Inhabited nearly 1,000 years ago, the site was once home to migrating settlers from Polynesia. Navigators and sailors by nature, the village became a place of trade and commerce due to easy access to the coast. Memories of the destination’s renowned deep-sea fisherman are immortalized in the petroglyphs that can be found in and around the boundaries of Kona Village, A Rosewood Resort today.
The tranquil location is matched by the Four Seasons Hualalai, offering a laid-back, low-rise design with numerous pools and beaches. For families, I suspect the Four Seasons will maintain top position, not least because of the picture-perfect beaches and pool full of fish that you can snorkel in. But couples looking for privacy may prefer the free-standing, palm thatch roof hales at the Rosewood, which may offer more privacy.
The beaches at Hualalai are extensive and impressive and run along the edge of the resort in front of the pools, gardens and buildings. There are numerous pools here and the long beach gives guests plenty of options when choosing a spot to enjoy the sunshine.
Rooms
Spearheaded by Hawai’i-raised architect Greg Warner of Walker Warner Architects, each accommodation at the Rosewood offers a private lānai and outdoor shower.
This follows in the footsteps of the ground-floor rooms at Four Seasons Hualalai, which also offer outdoor showers. If you don’t like outdoor showers, the Four Seasons is the one to pick, as you can avoid showering outside if you pick a room on the upper level. Only ground floor rooms have outdoor showers.
Ground floor rooms at Four Seasons Hualalai are spacious but could be considered a little dingy when compared to the rooms at the Rosewood. The rooms feel older, with older furnishings, as the hotel was not as recently refurbished as the Rosewood, so for room quality alone, Rosewood usually comes out at the top.
Service & Facilities
Guests have access to new leisure facilities, including Sense, A Rosewood Spa, a state-of-the-art fitness center, as well as multiple pools and tennis courts. A diverse outdoor recreational program will include ocean sports and activities designed to inform, inspire, and excite travelers of all ages.
Four Seasons Hualalai offers many luxurious facilities, a fitness center, and multiple pools and tennis courts from the outset. Golf is also a major attraction at the Four Seasons but is not mentioned in the news releases about the Rosewood, so I think golfers are likely to prefer the Four Seasons resort.
Food & Drink
The Rosewood offers an array of distinct dining venues, including the original resort’s beloved Shipwreck Bar and Talk Story Bar, offering elevated yet relaxed food and beverage experiences.
The Four Seasons also offers excellent dining venues, so there is little to choose between the dining at these two hotels in this respect.
Breakfast at Kona Village, A Rosewood Resort, is pictured below, with delicious a la carte dishes. You get this superb breakfast for free, or a free breakfast for two at Four Seasons, if you book your stay via our luxury travel concierge.
Conclusion
Four Seasons Hualalai has a loyal base of regular guests. Just try to book a room over New Year’s, and you will see what I mean: it’s hard to book any room at all!
Rooms here are extremely hard to come by, particularly in the high season. This means that Kona Village, A Rosewood Resort, will offer a new crowd a New Year’s Eve venue and regulars to this area of the island, another hotel option, which will be particularly useful when Hualalai is fully booked.
Both of these hotels are exquisite and lucky guests will enjoy the highest level of luxury. There will most likely be little to choose between them. The stand-out service offered by the Four Seasons brand will continue to attract seasoned travelers but the romance of the free-standing, palm thatch roof units at the Rosewood may tickle those who are inquisitive about trying something new.
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