TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

There are pros and cons on this resort you should know before booking! PROS: 1. Staff are very friendly, and check-in was a breeze. We were automatically upgraded to a premium room and housekeeping was lovely everyday. 2. Food at every restaurant was great. Meridia was a standout. (Skip breakfast, more on that in Cons!) 3. Daily cocktail specials were $10 and were always great 4. We have a food allergy and when we reached out about reservations, the concierge was amazing and so helpful. 5. The beach is a dream. On the big island it is so hard to find a beautiful beach and this one if the best on the island. Swimming was easy, no real waves to speak of and you can snorkel in the little reef. 6. Cocktail/Restaurant servers: So nice, so helpful. There was not one person who was not outstanding. CONS: 1. The very first night we were awoken to a slew of cockroaches in our room. YIKES! I have stayed in MANY tropical locations and have never had cockroaches in my room. We were on the 9th floor, so it felt very unnerving. They did move us to another room, but there was no real apology or remedy offered. 2. The beach staff is not dying to help. There was a ton of broken umbrellas and the snorkel equipment leaked badly. They were not in a hurry to repair or help. 3. Meridia - great food, but when you upsell me the fish special, tell me it is $80 when the risotto I was going to get is $40. Just tell me, I would have probably ordered it anyway. 4. The pool is SMALL. There are not a lot of chairs and that can leave you with no real options for the pool. They do allow people to reserve early in the morning, so get your chairs early if you want to be at the pool. The adult pool is way less crowded, so if you don't have kiddos, that is a great options. 5. Pool lighting. We went to the pool later in the evening (around 8:30pm-ish) most nights and it is completely empty, but very poorly lit, so it didn't feel super safe. 6. Breakfast buffet: skip it. I found it super overpriced for the quality. No really good fruit, and the eggs were runny and no good. Trust me, not worth it at all. We just went to the little coffee shop and there are better options that were not spendy. Overall I would stay here again, but I would also say that it is not quite as nice as the other Westins we have stayed in. If it is pools you are into, pick somewhere else. If it is beach...go forth and book, WORTH IT!

Our experience at the Westin Hapuna was refreshing and bright. We arrived and experienced our first glimpse of the expansive view of the Pacific Ocean. The breathtaking view sets the stage for the experience of tranquility the Westin delivers. Check-in was prompt, and we reached room 578 to settle in. Here are the highlights: Room 578: Double Queen Room with private patio. Very clean Comfortable bed Quiet Bidet toilet with a seat warmer Separate showers and tubs make bathing a family of four efficient french blind doors lead to a private patio with a dining table and lounge seat, plus an AMAZING ocean view. Pool: Two pools - 1 kid friendly and one adult-only Hot tubs The pool is 4.5 feet all around Plenty of loungers Beach: Massive waves when surfs up, but on calm days, swimming is a treat. Clear blue water perfectly warmed. Dining: We dined at the poolside restaurant breakfast buffet and ordered room service. The food is excellent and superior to any meals we ate at a nearby 5-star hotel. My favorite amenity - the laundry room. ?? If we return to the Big Island, we will stay at the Westin.

Wonderful hotel in the Big Island. Rooms were clean and nice. Grounds are beautiful. Full views of the ocean at all restaurants, lobby, and swimming pools. Nice hike to the Mauna Kea hotel. Night shuttles to Mauna Kea hotel for more restaurants and night time views of Manta Rays off the beach. Staff friendly and very helpful. Wonderful Beach, soft sand and snorkeling.

I’ve never written a bad review for any establishment in my life because frankly I want people to succeed. But this hotel felt like we were being scammed the entire time. We spent 9k+ to come here and have an ocean front room. We initially were put in a tired room with old showers and dirty grout and stained outdoor furniture. We had to hastle our way into a better room. Since then every dinner has been $200 or more, including $98 room service with burgers that were cold without melted cheese and old fries and just all around gross inedible food. I’m shocked at the way that this whole hotel is run. The lattes are $11 and made from a touch machine that may as well be in an airport. I’m so disappointed in the way this very expensive vacation has turned out. Don’t waste your money, these photos and these reviews are completely inaccurate

The hotel itself is amazing - on the best beach in the island, stunning open air lobby. Our 1 bedroom oceanfront room was lovely, and included two large patios. However, our check in experience was awful and the opposite of welcoming. We checked in at 9pm Pacific, which was 3am Eastern, as a family of four. The man at the front desk insisted we booked a special rate that was for HI residents. While we did book a promo on their website, it said NOTHING about being for residents only. The manager on duty, Florence, came out and berated us for 15 minutes. Despite me showing her that nothing on our reservation said anything about being a resident, she insisted there was a code on the back end that was visible on a computer. I tried showing her my reservation in the app and mobile browser, but again she insisted that I’d see a Hawaii ID was necessary if I logged into a COMPUTER browser. Our kids were laying down at this point on couches with our luggage until she finally agreed to give us our room (which I had paid a deposit on). I was shaking I was so upset at her rudeness and that she refused to discuss a solution and only wanted to educate us in proper hotel booking, and that we should’ve seen a code called “HawaiiD” that inferred we needed to be residents. Not once did she acknowledge that perhaps there was an issue in the booking process that was not our fault (eg, the wrong code being assigned on the backend, as there was nothing in the user experience that indicated the rate was for residents). She did acknowledge that multiple others had booked the rate, so we weren’t the only ones. Conversely, Amy, the concierge, was wonderful and had great recommendations.