Fairmont Orchid, Hawaii

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

6294 reviews

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  Worth Staying for the Snorkeling Bay Alone!

  Worth Staying for the Snorkeling Bay Alone! Fairmont Orchid is a reasonably priced resort on the Big Island of Hawaii, offering good value overall. The rooms are fairly standard and nothing particularly memorable, while the breakfast is quite basic with a limited selection. The hotel has replaced complimentary bottled water with filtered water. While I appreciate the effort to reduce plastic waste, they only provide two tumblers in the room, which is quite inconvenient. They have essentially eliminated complimentary bottled water service without even offering reusable water bottles that guests can refill at the filtered water stations. This feels like a downgrade in service and falls short of what I would expect from a five-star resort. In this regard, the experience feels more in line with a four-star hotel. However, the resort has beautiful ocean views, and its biggest highlight is definitely the snorkeling experience at Pauoa Bay. The bay is absolutely full of marine life! We spotted a wonderful variety of tropical fish, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, crabs, and even several moray eels hiding among the rocks. The most delightful surprise was a resident sea turtle that seems to return to the rocky area regularly to feed. Watching a sea turtle forage in its natural habitat from the shallow water was such a special experience! What makes this bay particularly appealing is how accessible it is. It’s a fantastic spot for those who prefer not to take a boat excursion, aren’t particularly strong swimmers, or simply want to try snorkeling for the first time. On calm days, there’s plenty of marine life to discover without having to venture far from shore. Overall, while the rooms, breakfast, and certain aspects of the service may not be particularly impressive, the beautiful setting and exceptional snorkeling opportunities more than make up for it. For us, Pauoa Bay alone makes Fairmont Orchid worth a stay.

  Oct 28, 2026
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  Top Flight Service

  There are three beautiful hotels north of Kona and The Fairmont is no exception. We stayed here 20 years ago before we had kids and loved it when it was a Ritz, and now we visited with our four kids age 10-18. We arrived a bit stressed out by a delayed flight so weren’t excited when the desk told us at 1p we couldn’t check in until 7p despite being on AMEX fine hotel plan. Fortunately, when the desk saw our deflation, they offered us a suite to spend the day in and additional amenities to compensate for the inconvenience. This made all the difference to the start of a terrific week with Fairmont. At the front desk, restaurants and beach area we were met with helpful smiling attendees who were well trained in making us comfortable. The restaurants are solid and all three different. Breakfast buffets were amazingly varied, the Japanese sushi steakhouse was top notch cuisine, the beach deli and beach restaurant and bar were low wait, kind of expensive, but delicious. And on our final night we went to Browns and had some of the most amazing venison and wine under the stars and next to crashing waves. The beach was perfect for snorkeling and fun times... saw sea turtles four times outside the cove. Only thing missing for the older kids was boogie boarding. Also, great walking trails on the water nearby with a fun petroglyph historical park as well. I never played golf or tennis but the facilities were exceptional. And even better, the weather was gorgeous every day while friends of ours on Oahu, Kauai and Maui had 2-4 rainy days. Highly recommend reasonably policed cabanas on the beach for shade and the unlimited beach toy program. Also recommend North Tower ocean view rooms and if you have the $$$ the ocean front suite is spacious for a big family as one of your two rooms. All in all, this was a terrific hotel, but the staff and service made the difference.

  Oct 25, 2026
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  Pretentious and boring

  I was a bit surprised by how rude some of the staff are here. There were a few who were friendly but the majority don’t smile and act pretentious. If you’re uber rich and spend a lot of money, maybe they treat you nicer. I used my Amex hotel credit and points to book the room for 4 nights. It included free breakfast foe 2 every morning, but there was one staff who seated us in a very odd place that wasn’t covered. There are lots of birds and they could potential sit on or eat your food. The table was also for 6 people and it was just me and my husband. Also it was the day of our anniversary so wanted to sit in a cozy 2 person table. I asked the host to sit us at a 2 person table and she told me there weren’t any. I was one right in front of us in plain view. She also gave me the stink eye when I asked. It was so insane. I’ve never been treated like that at any hotel, let alone a Fairmont in Hawaii. The shocker came when we checked out. I got the bill and it was for $162. When I checked my credit card a few days later they had charged me $350. I called to ask what happened and they said the total after I left came out differently and that the math on my final bill was incorrect. She was so rude over the phone that I had to ask her to please let me talk. She wouldn’t. She also didn’t apologize even though it was clearly their mistake. We were looking forward to this anniversary trip for months, and were extremely disappointed by how we were treated. The Luau at this hotel is also very boring. We regretted not staying at the Hilton nearby.

  Oct 25, 2026
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  Where dream weddings can come true.

  Fairmont Orchid provided us with the perfect venue for our wedding. The ceremony location on the beach at Coconut Grove, an unforgettable sunset, a hospitable and caring staff, and an onsite hotel wedding planner who truly delivered (Aria—you’re amazing) and then a dinner reception in the Plaza Ballroom—we could not have asked for a more memorable day week. Meticulous grounds, friendly front desk and welcoming staff! Yes, leis are a gift. This was a once in a lifetime event and one we will cherish because it shows that hotel staff take pride in where they work, and for whom they genuinely for: they took care of us and our guests! They made us feel special. What more could you ask for? The plated wedding menu: incredible. The wedding cake: 3 tiers, 3 different flavors, Hawaiian florals, divine. Fairmont Orchid will forever be a special place for us.

  Oct 22, 2026
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  Management has lost focus on customer experience

  My wife and I have stayed at this hotel before and had a wonderful time. Because of that we choose to return, but sadly the management team seems to have lost focus. One of ways to see the true nature of a hotel management team is how they handle special events. On our last full day the hotel hosted a wedding. The hotel closed the only portion of beach with any shade to accommodate the wedding party. No attempt was made to mitigate the impact on all the other paid guests. No communication about it. Nothing. The mgmt team makes decisions like to not provide any shade on the main beach. That's fine usually with the shady beach area to the side, but when you close that for an event, your customers are the ones dis-enfranchised. The same goes for pool side service. On our last trip we could get a drink at the pool bar and watch the sunset. Now the pool bar closes at 5pm. Walked over to the beach bar at 5:15pm to get a drink. 30+ people and one bartender. Waited 25min and gave-up, then went to lobby bar. At breakfast service was seated at a table which turned broiling hot after 10min when the sun hit it. Plenty of other seats available but staff didn't seem to care. Also took 25min to get a coffee. Again, the restaurant was only 50% full at the time. So sadly we will not be returning to this hotel.

  Oct 20, 2026