Fruits and Produce of the Big Island

When you think of Hawaiian fruits and produce, popular favorites like pineapple, papaya, mango, guava and bananas come to mind. But did you know that the Big Island is a cornucopia of many other edible delights — everything from avocado, tomatoes, mushrooms and mountain apples, to starfruit, figs, oranges, lemons and more?

Avocados grow at Holualoa Inn

For example, here in Kona, there are dozens of varieties of avocado that grow well because of the shallow, rocky soil. The rich, buttery qualities of these gargantuan varieties are far superior to the typical avocado grown in California. Many local avocados are named after hard-working Kona farmers such as Yamagata and Ota.

Another product you'll see in great supply on the Big Island are island-grown tomatoes. Most of the area's fanciest resort restaurants serve succulent, sweet tomatoes grown in Waimea by Honda Farms and other renowned producers. In Laupahoehoe near Hilo, Hamakua Mushrooms Company cultivates many species of mushrooms that feature exceptional taste and quality. Exotic fruits grown on the Big Island are also very popular, including lychee, rambutan, longan and jaboticaba.

Arugula in our nursery

Here at Holualoa Inn, our guests enjoy farm-to-plate breakfasts served with produce harvested on our 30-acre property. We have mangoes for every season, plus 14 different varieties of avocado on site. There's also a bounty of figs, plentiful Kabocha squash and bok choy, lilikoi, guava, pineapples, bananas, and even delicious Healani tomatoes which are now thriving in the nursery. Chef Brian Conway finds a way to utilize everything we harvest, preparing gourmet selections such as omelettes made with our fresh arugula, or  fresh preserves made with our very own figs. We've also recently planted a new fruit orchard and our trees are already producing oranges, grapefruit, tangerines. In the near future, we expect to harvest abundant starfruit, mangosteen, Brazilian plum and loquat, to name a few.

Holualoa Inn's newly planted orchard

When you stay at our romantic Hawai‘i bed and breakfast, you can stroll the grounds and see the amazing variety of products grown on site, including thousands of coffee trees that produce our 100-percent Kona coffee. Our Holualoa Inn ohana will be delighted to take you on a tour of the entire property, which features botanical walkways, ancient trails, and our new orchard and nursery.

Innkeeper Holualoa Inn

Remembering Hula Legend Iolani Luahine

Considered the "high priestess" of hula, she became the most esteemed hula dancer in the state of Hawai‘i. The legendary Iolani Luahine (1915-1978) was instrumental in perpetuating the traditional hula kahiko, the ancient style of dance passed on through generations of native Hawaiians. Born in Kona, she learned the art of hula from her aunt Keahi, who was one of the royal dancers in the courts of King Kalakaua and Queen Lili‘uokalani.

When Iolani danced and chanted, she conveyed a mystical connection to the spiritual world. There are countless stories about her psychic powers in which she'd ask the wind to stop, the rain to cease and animals to do her bidding. Named a "Living Treasure" in 1972, she was invited on three occasions to perform at the National Folk Festival at Wolf Trap in Virginia. After she passed away in 1978, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin called her "easily one of Hawaii's greatest dancers, if not the greatest."

To honor this great artist, the annual Iolani Luahine Hula Festival will take place this January 26 - 28 at Keauhou Beach Resort. Attracting those who knew her and those who are inspired by her, the event will feature hula workshops and presentations, musical entertainment and a visit to Iolani's birthplace in Napo‘opo‘o Village at Kealakekua Bay.

As you plan your 2012 romantic Hawaiian vacation, your Holualoa Inn ohana invite you to enjoy our Kona bed and breakfast, savor delicious foods grown on the property, and experience the many activities and adventures available here on the Big Island. You may even connect with the ancient spirits that inspired Iolani Luahine in her enchanted song and dance.






 Innkeeper Holualoa Inn

Places to Surf in Kona

Okay, it's not the North Shore of O‘ahu, or even Waikiki for that matter. But Kona does offer a few nice surf spots for beginners and advanced wave riders. What's more, most of the destinations are just a short drive down the hill from Holualoa Inn.

The best place to learn how to surf is Kahalu‘u Beach Park in Keauhou —there are several surf schools in the vicinity that offer private and group lessons, as well as board rentals. Kahalu‘u features easily manageable conditions on the inside, where beginners can get their first taste of standing up on a board or riding the white water. Right and left reef breaks can reach six feet, appealing to both shortboarders and longboarders.

Lymans, also known as Kamoa Point

Down the road on Ali‘i Drive, two popular surf spots attract intermediate and advanced surfers. A favorite of longboarders, Lymans needs a good-sized swell in order to break. In the winter, the best swells move westerly and hit Kona straight on. Overhead conditions are rare during the summer months anywhere in Kona, but there's always the exception.

Surfer enters the water at Banyans.

Just north of Lymans, Banyans offers fast waves for advanced surfers only. Showcasing right and left breaks over shallow reefs, Banyans is great for shortboard riding; catching a barrel is not out of the realm of possibility. Longboard surfing is also possible on small days.

From our vantage point above Kailua-Kona, Holualoa Inn offers sweeping vistas of the Kona coastline. You can even check out the surf breaks from our lanai. When you book a stay at our Kona Hawaii bed-and-breakfast inn, our friendly ohana can steer you in the right direction for your surfing safari.






Innkeeper Holualoa Inn

Day Trip to Ahualoa

It rhymes with Holualoa, but it's world's away from our artists' village here in Kona. Located on the Hamakua Coast 13 miles from Waimea, the rural area of Ahualoa offer visitors a unique destination that's decidedly off the beaten track.

With towering eucalyptus trees that shade the long, windy road mauka of Honoka‘a Town, Ahualoa was originally settled by Portuguese ranchers and Japanese farmers who served the old sugar plantations in the area. Today, Ahualoa has become a quiet haven for small farms and specialty operations that produce everything from rare white honey to beef jerky, coffee, eggs and goat cheese. Some farms even offer tours, like Richard Speigel's Volcano Island Honey Company, where he cultivates a prized honey that originates from the kiawe trees in coastal Puako. Richard's rare Hawaiian Organic White Honey features a delicate tropical flavor, buttery-smooth texture and pearlescent white color favored by resort chefs and foodies.

If you happen to make the trip to Ahualoa, you might also want to explore the neighboring area of Paauilo, home of Hawaiian Vanilla Company. The only commercial grower of vanilla in the United States, Hawaiian Vanilla Company is owned and operated by the Reddekopp family, who welcomes visitors to tour their farm for a behind-the-scenes look at the vanilla-growing process. They also serve up a great lunch and afternoon teas at their little cafe, with a gourmet menu that focuses on all things vanilla. Plus there's a gallery and gift shop where you can buy extract, salad dressings, spices, rubs and vanilla beans.

Here at Holualoa Inn, we grow our own coffee, citrus, fruits and more, serving our guests a bounty of tropical ingredients. We even gather our own eggs, fresh from the chicken coop. In the coming years, our new orchard will be producing even more fruits and produce. When you stay at our Kona bed-and-breakfast inn, you'll enjoy gourmet breakfasts that are truly "farm to plate."


Innkeeper Holualoa Inn

Holiday Traditions in Hawai‘i

"Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say on a bright, Hawaiian Christmas day." Those are the lyrics of a famous song heard throughout the Islands during the holidays. As the song proclaims, if you want to wish somebody a Merry Christmas in Hawaiian, just say: "Mele Kalikimaka!"

Christmas traditions in Kona are decidedly "island style." One of the ways kamaainas (residents) usher in the holidays is to make wreaths, leis and floral arrangements from natural flora that grows on the Big Island — everything from  lehua blossoms, coconut husk and orchids to norfolk pine, Christmas berry, hibiscus, palapalai ferns, protea, ti leaves and more. Last year at Holualoa Inn, our Christmas tree was decorated entirely in white orchids with elegant simplicity.

Holiday foods in Hawai‘i reflect the cultural and ethnic diversity of the Islands.  Festive Christmas pies can be made of red ohelo berries that grow in higher elevations like Volcano. Resembling cranberries, the slightly tart berries are favored by native Nene geese. For Christmas dinner in Hawai‘i, many residents serve up a plate of ahi sashimi for appetizers, followed by a turkey or kalua pig cooked in an underground oven (imu). With New Year's Eve around the corner, local folks get out the mochi pounder to make delicious rice cake, a Japanese tradition.

Holualoa Inn rings in the holidays in style. Our Kona bed-and-breakfast inn offers a cozy, elegant setting for experiencing the season. You can even hang your stockings on our fireplace!

Mele Kalikimaka!


Innkeeper Holualoa Inn

Christmas Comes to Holualoa

One of the most anticipated holiday events in Kona, the Holualoa Village Christmas and Light Festival is an annual tradition that attracts hundreds of residents and community members to the streets of our close-knit village. Now in its 15th year, the event is hosted by Holualoa Inn and Kona Blue Sky Coffee.

Festivities get underway from 5:30 to 8:30 pm on Saturday, December 3, with the lighting of the town Christmas tree at dusk. That's also when the village lights come on, transforming the town into a twinkling, Hawai‘i-style wonderland. Gallery owners open their doors and and serve up complimentary pupus and beverages, plus holiday treats, apple cider and 100-percent Kona coffee. There's also  live music, including performances this year by renowned slack-key musician, John Keawe. But the best part of the evening is the chance to run into friends and auld acquaintances, and to meet new friends or put names to familiar faces.

During the holidays, Holualoa Inn decks the halls with tropical flowers and amazing floral arrangements made of botanicals from our property. Last year, we decorated our Christmas tree with beautiful, white orchids. The wood-burning fireplace in our living area casts a warm holiday glow to the premises, and the scent of fresh-baked cookies wafts throughout the Inn during the day. When you book a stay at our Kona Hawaii bed and breakfast during the holiday season, you're sure to experience a Christmas to remember.


Innkeeper Holualoa Inn

Kona Coffee Festival

Coffee cupping competition

Here in Kona coffee country, the annual Kona Coffee Festival has been in full swing all week, featuring events, workshops, tours, competitions, and even a parade, to celebrate all things coffee. And at today's prestigious cupping competition, our own Brazen Hazen coffee was among the select finalists for the coveted award and industry recognition.

For 41 consecutive years, the Kona Coffee Festival has honored the cultural heritage and history of America's finest coffee. Thousands of residents, visitors, media and international coffee aficionados converge on Kailua-Kona to support the accomplishments of our local coffee industry. In Holualoa, the annual Village Coffee & Art Stroll is always one of the most popular events of the 10-day festival. Guests of Holualoa Inn got a front-row seat to the action, experiencing our town's close-knit ohana of artists, merchants and coffee farmers.  The street was overflowing with visitors who came to explore art galleries, sample some great local food and sip on 100-percent Kona coffee. More than two dozen estate Kona coffee farms provided endless samples of their best brew.

National Barista champion, Pete Licata, mentors a student.

Meanwhile, down the hill in Keauhou, 2011 National Barista Champion, Pete Licata, has been on hand to help aspiring competitors learn the fine points of making latte, espresso and more. In addition to his impressive first-place win in the nationals, he was also the runner-up at this year's World Barista Championships in Bogota, Colombia. His win and place showings were achieved using Kona coffee grown right here in Holualoa!!

Holualoa Inn's coffee was on display.

Holualoa Inn occupies a 30-acre coffee estate located in the heart of the Big Island's famous Kona coffee-growing region. We serve our own Holualoa Inn 100-percent Kona coffee at the Inn, and guests can tour our coffee farm, orchards, gardens and historic trails.

Innkeeper Holualoa Inn