Hawaii: Travel+Leisure’s top family-friendly resorts

Recently, Travel+Leisure Family came out with a list of the Top 50 family-friendly resorts around the world, including 5 award-winning beachfront properties in Hawaii: the Four Seasons Hawaii Resort, Hualalai, Big Island; The Fairmont Kea Lani, Maui; the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea; the Four Seasons Resort Hawaii, Lana’i at Manele Bay, Lanai; and the Mauna Lani Resort at Kalahuipua’a, Big Island.

Deal or No Deal? Resorts across the Hawaiian Islands are offering fall promotional room rates, including the T+L Family winners. For example, the Mauna Lani Resort at Kalahuipua’a and all of the Four Seasons resorts that made the list are offering 5th-night-free packages for stays through December 19, 2007. The Fairmont Kea Lani, Maui is offering a fall “super saver” promotion through December 19 (black-out dates: November 17-24), with rates starting at $473.54/night, including taxes and fees.

When I investigated the fifth-night-free deals at the Mauna Lani Resort and the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea, the package rates were 20%-30% more expensive than the best room rates available online for the same dates. However, the promotional rates at the Four Seasons Resort Hawaii, Hualalai and the Four Seasons Resort Hawaii, Lana’i at Manele Bay were the same as the best available online rates (i.e., $695/night and $395/night respectively, excluding taxes and fees), which means that the fifth night really is free.

What are your favorite family-friendly resorts in Hawaii? Tell us in the Comments section below.

Caveat: Be sure to compare the best available online rates at each resort with the “special” promotional rates, because the package deals may not always be better.

Why Go: These all-inclusive resorts are enough to keep even the most active families occupied for days.

Why Not: Are your kids really going to appreciate a high-end luxury resort more than an affordable mid-range condo rental, which will feel like a home away from home while you’re on vacation in Hawaii?

Critique: The T+L survey was based on readers’ ratings, not a professional critique of each property. The list of resort properties to be evaluated was limited, so less-expensive resorts didn’t stand a chance.

Connect: All of these resorts offer high-speed Internet access for guests; daily surcharges vary.

Contact: Four Seasons Hawaii Resort, Hualalai, (808) 325-8000, (888) 236-3026
The Fairmont Kea Lani, Maui, (808) 875-4100, (800) 257-7544
Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea, (808) 874-8000, (888) 236-3026
Four Seasons Resort Hawaii, Lana’i at Manele Bay, (808) 565-2000, (800) 819-5053
Mauna Lani Bay Resort at Kalahuipua’a, (808) 885-6622, (800) 367-2323

Related Los Angeles Times links:
Travel + Leisure: Top 50 family resorts
Travel: Family & Kids
As a family vacation, NASA’s Space Camp is out there

– Sara Benson, L.A. Times Travel Deal Detective

[Photo credit: Courtesy of The Fairmont Kea Lani, Maui]

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 11, 2007 at 11:28 pm by Sara Benson and is filed under Family & Kids, Hawaii, Hawaii's Big Island, Islands & Beaches, Lanai, Maui. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.