Wyndham Royal Sea Cliff

Wyndham Royal Sea Cliff is close to the last resort we were just coming from after 3 amazing nights at Wyndham Kona Hawaiian Resort.

Video by Active Tours

Royal Sea Cliff is really almost within walking distance. So, there is no travel mystery to share. We got in the rental and came over. If you were coming to the island and checking in you would find the resort easy to locate after your drive from the airport. This is helpful since if you are driving yourself, you are likely tired on arrival unless you sleep well on airplanes.

Take the 360 tours here to get a feeling for this amazing location on the water. Wyndham Royal Sea Cliff may be the best choice for those who want to feel they are truly on the ocean.

Day One: Check-in

When checking in, I liked the look of the resort. It was clean and well-maintained. It did have a different feeling from Kona, however. I felt that was more Polynesian, and this felt more like a very comfortable condo of a dear friend. I felt very at home when we entered the room and put our bags down.

Things at this resort felt simple and tasteful. Not overdone, or over the top.

IE: The kitchen had modern appliances and Formica countertops. Not expensive granite or Corian. Clean and nice, but not something that you worried about damaging if that makes sense.

The rooms were extensive, with the one-bedroom being almost 1,000 sq ft and the two-bedroom villas being closer to 1,100 sq ft.

Villa Amenities

Then the resort itself offers all of these options.

Resort Amenities

Since this was the second resort, we were staying at this week, I knew that I (packing light) would make use of the washer and dryer in the unit. I find that very convenient, especially when you come back with wet bathing suits from the beach or pool. Like the Kona resort we had just come from this resort also had two pools but here the first pool was my favorite and pool two was the one I liked most at the last resort. If you look at the 360 tours, you can see why. It is the view.

Some recent reviews for this resort so you can hear from other guests.

They really set you up for success, giving you the household amenities that you need to have a great week without wastefulness. The staff was super helpful and accommodating, very clean, with beautiful views, awesomely located, with two great pools, and beautiful gardens.

Everything about this resort was top-notch. I would recommend this place and will definitely return! Beautiful ocean views and sunsets were gorgeous 😍 Rooms were spacious with comfortable beds. Great kitchen, dining room, and living room with two balconies!

Absolutely amazing place to stay! Great views and comfortable beds! Loved every day there.

On the Big Island, most resorts do not have direct beach access. That is because of the rocky shoreline around the majority of the island. If that is a must, you likely want to think about resorts on the other islands. Here however you can access amazing beaches easily enough within a short drive. I think the draw of the big island is all the other things that you can do and enjoy on the island.

An alternative for the beach crazy is also a Wyndham resort. Waikiki Beach is an amazing beach if that is a must for you. For us this trip, our focus was more on the overall island experience than just staying right on the beach. Although right on the ocean, here is very nice for the Sunsets and amazing views of the ocean.

Today we were happy to focus on waterfalls. The Big Island has many waterfalls. With at least 5 everyone should see, and many more to check out.

We started by heading to Rainbow Falls it is the easiest to get to on the big island, and you can follow the flow of water and enjoy two more nearby waterfalls that are impressive as well. If you are up for a short hike, you can even visit the very tall Akaka Falls. The Rainbow Falls are impressive with an 80-foot drop for the water, but the Akaka falls have an unbelievable 422-foot drop. If you are in shape for the hike, it is worth the trip to see it in person. If not, never fear the next two are easier to get to.

Peʻepeʻe Falls are located about 1.5 miles upstream of the rainbow falls so after checking out Akaka and Rainbow that is where we chose to head next.

After seeing these it was time to go to Hiʻilawe waterfall, which is one of the tallest waterfalls in Hawaii. The total height of the falls is about 1,450 feet (442m), with the highest direct drop of 1,201 feet (366m). It is a little drive away and then you have to either rent a 4-wheel drive or go there on horseback.

Thinking they did not have a Clydesdale for me to ride, I had already rented a 4-wheel drive jeep for the week and was happy to have it. This made today with all the waterfall site-seeing possible. This Jeep was a model above the wrangler and it handled the off-road area with no issue.

Before taking the trip, you may want to ask a local if this waterfall is wet today. Because the waterway that feeds it is also used for agriculture and on some days it has barely a trickle of water visible. We got lucky, and some water was visible but it would not be fun to go down to the site to see it and not have any water, and evidently, that happens a good deal due to the needs of the farms the waterway supports.

After more than half a day of looking at amazing waterfalls, it was time to stop and eat something.

What is it with great restaurants in Hawaii? None seem to have a single website; it is just weird to me as a web guy. Either this is the worst market to develop websites in or the best-untapped market. Not sure which.

Here is another great spot we found that does not have a website. Broke Da Mouth Grindz. The food here is great and the prices are so low that you will think the food can not be good. You would be wrong.

Given the prices were so affordable, we just ordered almost the entire dinner menu to just try as many things as we could. I think the Oxtail and the Chicken thighs are the only items we did not order. You could try a mini version of most things on the menu for $6 so we just went crazy and tried almost all of them.

It was an amazing experience to try so many things. All were good, and some you loved more than others based on your own taste.

This reminded me of a trip on a cruise when myself and my sister went in a few blocks from the strip to a local restaurant in Cabo man for like $30 they filled a table with food and beers. This was not that cheap, but for Hawaii, it was a bargain and the food was great. For less than the price of one ticket to a dinner show, we both ate anything we wanted or could think of.

Feeling full and fat, we headed back to the resort for Sunset. Wow, this resort had that amazing waterfront view for sunset it was amazing. I would think that is the reason to book this resort. That view was hard to beat. Also, after a long day of hiking to waterfalls, being in the pool to cool off and relax was amazing while looking at the sunset. Due to the natural rock walk around the pool, you did have to get out for the last 20 minutes or so to have the best view. But starting the sunset in the pool was sure a winner in my book.

Day Two at Wyndham Royal Sea Cliff

OK, so now I know that sunrise at this resort is not bad either. Sure, you are on the West of the island so sunset is best here but just being on the island for sunrise was still special.

For breakfast, we headed Papa Kona for some great breakfast items. I had the Crab Benedict, and she had the make-your-own omelet. Each was superb. The location was nice as well with a situation much like our resort on a cliff overlooking the water.

After breakfast, we headed towards the oceanside because we wanted to see the Kula Kai Caverns. While not the Luray Caverns of Virginia, these were still impressive and worth a visit if you have not toured underground caverns before.

If caverns are not your thing and you are a golfer, you may want to stay closer to the resort and try out the Kona Country Club. We drove back by and stopped just to check out the amazing course and scenery. I am not a golfer, but I could sure play here just for the views. Although many of these ocean courses must be hard when there is wind. The views here are something you will not forget and on a strong windy day, I am sure the game is not either.

The cost to play as a non-member guest starts at $180 per person here, so keep that in mind when measuring it against other options you might have on your trip.

We did a 12-hour guided tour for less than that the other day on our trip. For a little more you could do the helicopter tour we did as well.

After the caverns, we returned to relax by the pool and rest. Tonight, we were going to the Luau at the Voyages of the Pacific. A Luau with a buffet, how could you go wrong with that?

When you combine open bar included, buffet food, and live entertainment, these luaus are hard to beat. This one was as good as the National Hawaiian Luau I had been to before.

You can view a video created by a tourist here of the luau.

The Luau is a combination of good food, entertainment, and location. If you can afford to go to a luau, they are worth it. For families, they can be costly since almost all have a ticket price of over $100. For a family $500 for a meal with a tip is tough for many. Do not worry if it is there are many other great locations that have live entertainment and food on the big island.

There are more Polynesian Jimmy Buffett types than you can shake a stick at. Quite a few are really good at what they do as well.

But at these luau meals, you get fire dancing, hula dancers, and much more all along with the open bar options and great food.

Day Three: the changing mood of the trip

Well, let’s just say that more than a few days in this paradise can affect anyone. We were having the time of our lives together and I think even if we knew it was not going to last past the vacation, we would share some intimate moments too.

Hawaii should have a catchphrase about being for lovers. You know Virginia is for lovers is a catchphrase for marketing. While I enjoy my home state, it has nothing on Florida, and less on Hawaii.

A trip to the islands just makes you feel young. It offers a sense of adventure that you are hard-pressed to find anywhere else in the world.

As trips go given the flight costs, and the costs to do most things around the island, it is not a cheap vacation for most. But it is worthwhile. Truly a bucket list kind of adventure. Staying at the Wyndham Royal Sea Cliff added something special because of the amazing location and sunsets. I also really liked that the resort felt like home. It had a relaxed feeling of comfort that is rare to find. Today we would be transferred to our resort on Waikiki following the final days of our vacation here.