# Where to stay on the Big Island with kids Written 2026-10-10 by Play Day. Big Island hotels, resorts and condos for families, by side of the island: the Kohala Coast resorts, Waikoloa condos with kitchens, Kailua-Kona in town, Hilo and the volcano. The Big Island is Hawaii turned up to full size, and its two sides are nothing alike. We'd put most families on the Kohala Coast, for the swimming. Kona and the Kohala Coast are the dry, sunny side, with the resorts and the swimming beaches. Hilo is the green, rainy side, with the waterfalls and the volcano. A week splits well as five nights on the Kona side and two in Hilo or at Volcano House. Kohala has the calm water, sand-bottom keiki pools and lawns to run on. ## The Kohala Coast resorts Half an hour north of the airport, on the beaches the island is known for. ### [Mauna Lani, Auberge Collection](https://ourplayday.com/places/mauna-lani-auberge-collection-big-island) Area: Kohala Coast The rooms are big, and the lawns run down to the sea past fishponds. Kids walk into the keiki pool from the sand instead of climbing down a ladder, and it's shallow enough for the under-fives. - Cribs: Yes - Suites: Yes - Pool: Yes - Laundry: Yes - Kids' club: Yes ### [Four Seasons Resort Hualalai](https://ourplayday.com/places/four-seasons-resort-hualalai-big-island) Area: Kaupulehu, north of Kona The snorkel pond is stocked with fish, and the keiki pool has a sand bottom. It sits on its own stretch of lava coast, closer to the airport than the Kohala resorts, with several pools and suites for when one room won't do. - Cribs: Yes - Suites: Yes - Pool: Yes - Kids' club: Yes ### [Fairmont Orchid](https://ourplayday.com/places/fairmont-orchid-big-island) Area: Kohala Coast The lagoon beach is sheltered enough for toddlers, the suites are roomy and the big pool has a lawn beside it. There's an airport shuttle and a laundry on site, which matters more than it sounds once you're past the fourth day. - Cribs: Yes - Suites: Yes - Pool: Yes - Laundry: Yes - Airport shuttle: Yes ### [Mauna Kea Beach Hotel](https://ourplayday.com/places/mauna-kea-beach-hotel-big-island) Area: Kauna'oa Bay Kauna'oa is one of the island's best swimming beaches, a crescent of sand with gentle water most of the year and lawns running down to it. The pool has been renovated, and there's a kids' club and suites for a bigger family. - Cribs: Yes - Suites: Yes - Pool: Yes - Kids' club: Yes ### [The Westin Hapuna Beach Resort](https://ourplayday.com/places/the-westin-hapuna-beach-resort-big-island) Area: Hapuna Beach Hapuna is the island's longest white-sand beach, wide enough that there's room for everyone, and the rooms here are oversized. It's next to the Mauna Kea, with a big freeform family pool kept apart from the adults-only one, and there are suites too. - Cribs: Yes - Suites: Yes - Pool: Family pool and adults-only pool - Laundry: Yes ### [Hilton Waikoloa Village](https://ourplayday.com/places/hilton-waikoloa-village-big-island) Area: Waikoloa Beach A tram and a boat run between the buildings, and for kids that's the appeal of a resort this enormous: the tram doubles as a ride to dinner. There are big pools with junior waterslides, and a lagoon with a sandy beach. - Cribs: Yes - Suites: Yes - Pool: Yes ### [Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort and Spa](https://ourplayday.com/places/waikoloa-beach-marriott-resort-and-spa-big-island) Area: Waikoloa Beach Across the bay from the Hilton, and calmer, with a shallow pool for small kids and another with a waterslide. Anaeho'omalu Bay in front has a sandy beach with gentle water, and the Queens' and Kings' shops are a walk away for dinner without the car. - Cribs: No - Pool: Yes, heated - Heated pool: Yes ## Waikoloa condos with a kitchen Past a few nights, a kitchen and a second bedroom beat a resort room, and the beach is the same one. ### [Waikoloa Beach Villas](https://ourplayday.com/places/waikoloa-beach-villas-big-island) Area: Waikoloa Beach These are condos with full kitchens, across from the Queens' shops and a short walk to Anaeho'omalu Bay. Every unit has its own washer and dryer, and the two pools are quieter than the resorts'. Nothing happens on site, and that's fine by us. - Cribs: No - Suites: Yes - Kitchenette: Yes - Pool: Yes - Laundry: Yes ### [Kings' Land by Hilton Grand Vacations](https://ourplayday.com/places/kings-land-hilton-grand-vacations-club-big-island) Area: Waikoloa Beach The pool complex has slides and a lazy river, and school-age kids can spend a whole afternoon in it. The beach is a drive or shuttle from here, up the hill from the bay. - Cribs: Yes - Suites: Yes - Kitchenette: Yes - Pool: Yes ### [Kohala Suites by Hilton Grand Vacations](https://ourplayday.com/places/kohala-suites-hilton-grand-vacations-club-big-island) Area: Waikoloa Beach The low-key sister of Kings' Land has two-bedroom suites with kitchens and a quieter pool, and the slides are a short walk up the road. - Cribs: Yes - Suites: Yes - Kitchenette: Yes - Pool: Yes - Laundry: Yes ## Kailua-Kona, in town Kona town is walkable and cheaper, and the restaurants and the farmers market are on foot. ### [Courtyard King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel](https://ourplayday.com/places/courtyard-king-kamehamehas-kona-beach-hotel-big-island) Area: Kailua-Kona It's the only hotel in town with a beach, right at the pier. The pier wall protects the small beach, so the water is calm for wading. The pool is a decent size, but the walk to everything in Kona town is why you're here. - Cribs: Yes - Suites: Yes - Pool: Yes - Laundry: Yes ### [Royal Kona Resort](https://ourplayday.com/places/royal-kona-resort-big-island) Area: Kailua-Kona Oceanfront at the south end of the town strip, where Ali'i Drive's shops and restaurants start at the door. Kids can snorkel in the saltwater lagoon without any surf, and there's a pool too. - Cribs: No - Suites: Yes - Pool: Yes - Laundry: Yes ### [Outrigger Kona Resort and Spa](https://ourplayday.com/places/outrigger-kona-resort-and-spa-big-island) Area: Keauhou, south of Kona It's ten minutes south of town on Keauhou Bay, where manta rays come in at night. This is a pool resort: the lagoon-style pool has a wading area, and the long twisting waterslide is worth the drive. - Cribs: Yes - Suites: Yes - Pool: Yes - Laundry: Yes ### [Kona Coast Resort](https://ourplayday.com/places/kona-coast-resort-big-island) Area: Keauhou, south of Kona The villas are big and have kitchens, and they're good value for a longer stay. They sit on the Keauhou golf course, with the Keauhou shopping center close for groceries, and there's an outdoor pool and a separate kids' pool. - Cribs: No - Suites: Yes - Kitchenette: Yes - Pool: Yes - Laundry: Yes ## Hilo and the volcano ### [Grand Naniloa Hotel Hilo, a DoubleTree](https://ourplayday.com/places/grand-naniloa-hotel-hilo-doubletree-big-island) Area: Banyan Drive, Hilo On the Hilo side, close to the waterfalls and the volcano, with a heated pool. Liliuokalani Gardens and Coconut Island are a walk along the shore, and some rooms have kitchenettes. - Cribs: Yes - Kitchenette: Yes - Pool: Yes, heated - Heated pool: Yes ### [Hilo Hawaiian Hotel](https://ourplayday.com/places/hilo-hawaiian-hotel-big-island) Area: Banyan Drive, Hilo The older of the two Banyan Drive hotels, with bay views and a pool. Coconut Island is out the door, and downtown Hilo's farmers market is a short drive. - Cribs: No - Kitchenette: Yes - Pool: Yes ### [The Inn at Kulaniapia Falls](https://ourplayday.com/places/the-inn-at-kulaniapia-falls-big-island) Area: Above Hilo Cottages and suites off the grid in the rain forest above Hilo, some with kitchenettes. You can walk to the 120-foot waterfall and swim under it. It's dark and quiet at night (very much the jungle). - Cribs: No - Suites: Yes - Kitchenette: Yes - Pool: No ### [Volcano House](https://ourplayday.com/places/volcano-house-big-island) Area: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Volcano House has the only rooms inside the national park, right on the crater rim. You wake up looking at Kilauea's caldera, and the crater rim trail starts at the door. The rooms are historic, and one night here is how you see the glow after dark without the long drive back to Kona. - Cribs: No - Pool: No Page: https://ourplayday.com/guides/united-states/hawaii/big-island/family-hotels