Zen Getaway at the Holualoa Inn

When my husband and I first embarked last month upon the Holualoa artist enclave above Kona, I noticed a sign for the Holualoa Inn. Do you want to take a look at that place, I asked? I’ve seen a few photos online and was curious to see it in person. But he had no interest in it, or maybe he was already exhausted from visiting art studios. However, when I went to Holualoa with my friend, Linda, because that’s where I do my Saturday yoga class, she was game for a visit.

As long as we don’t have to walk back up the winding road, she laughed. It was a bit steep but well worth the walk down and back. An employee met us in the lobby, wondering why we were snooping around, I suppose. If I had told him I would use my photos in a blog, he probably would have been more supportive than he was but he kind of seemed like he didn’t want us there.

I suppose I can understand his attitude, two women wander in lugging a yoga mat. But isn’t this lobby beautiful? There are ancient buddha statues and vintage hand-made furniture all over the place!

The room rates to stay at this bed and breakfast are slightly high ($400-$650) for having no beach access, LOL, but some people do not come to Kailua-Kona for the beach. They want to hike, explore, learn about the Hawaiian culture, meditate and be quiet with nature.

This is the entrance above. Fairly unassuming until you really take a good look around. It is a fruit-growing, orchid-loving paradise on 30 acres, nestled at an elevation of about 1,500 feet. We noticed avocados, maybe they were Sharwil avocados, lying around the ground, too.

We discovered all sorts of orchids growing under the shade of other trees and bushes on the grounds of the Holualoa Inn. My Plant Snap app identified this particular discovery as a Cooktown Orchid, a Dendrobium bigibbum.

The shells you see here are from sea urchin, with air plants dangling below them. I found these across the street from the Holualoa Inn at an art gallery behind a picture window in the back. Monstera grow in abundance here as well, which is where the coqui like to hide. Those noisy little frogs love a moist and shady environment.

It takes about 10 minutes to drive the 3-mile stretch up the winding road of Hualalai from our house in Hawaii. We are about a mile from the ocean and enjoy a fairly decent 180-degree view. But get a load of the expansive view from the Holualoa Inn. Magnificent and breathtaking.

No wonder so many people get married at the Holualoa Inn. What a great spot for honeymoon. If you get bored, you can choose from a list of entertainment and activity options. One of those is a private car to take you to Huggos for dinner, and that runs around $600 for two people, which seems excessive to me. An Uber and a hundred bucks would do it. But I guess if you’re in Hawaii on vacation, it’s something you would pay to do.

I once paid a driver $500 to take my husband and me from Death Valley to the Racetrack. A journey and experience well worth the money. So I am not knocking it.