There is a lot to love about the Hawaiian Sanctuary. I traveled there (alone) from the California Bay Area for some much-needed self care. I chose the big island since I wanted to be away from the busier, and more touristy destinations. I chose the Hawaiian Sanctuary since it balanced the isolation I was looking for with amenities (like hot showers, yoga, and morning coffee).
One amenity (which I did not list as such and you’ll see why) I was really looking forward to was a hot tub. I love a good hot soak and have owned a few hot tubs over the years (all in different locations) and one thing I have learned (about myself) regarding hot tubs, is that the experience of a good soak is vastly improved with a good view. The Hawaiian Sanctuary certainly has a good view from their hot tub; it is indoors situated in front of floor-to-ceiling windows looking out onto a small maintained grassy area surrounded by plants. The view was stellar. So, you can imagine my disappointment when I made time to visit the hot tub on my first night (after traveling over an hour on BART, navigating SFO, taking two flights, then an uber to arrive) only to find the hot tub water brown. It was gross. I did not want to get in and risk a skin infection. I think if that hot tub had just been clean, I would have soaked in it every night with a novel in hand.
Before I get into more things I loved about my stay here, I want to quickly address the only other thing that did not go so well: the food. They advertise vegan meals but at my first breakfast the meal mostly old fruit and boiled eggs. Someone sitting at the table (not traveling with me - which I’ll get into in the next paragraph) warned me not to eat the fruit as it had maggots.
So my breakfast the first morning was two eggs. (The eggs were great. They keep chickens on the premise and fresh eggs are just so much better.)
It was probably just a fluke. Based on the reviews of others their food is probably regularly a lot better. (The granola with warm coconut milk was FANTASTIC.)
Okay the hot tub and the food are my only complaints. That said, I LOVE this place and I STILL want to stay here again. I can get food anywhere. I can soak in a hot tub else where. I can’t get their location, nor the friendly and communal environment they cultivate at other places.
So now all the fantastic things I loved about the Hawaiian Sanctuary starting with the environment created by those staying on the premises. This is not like staying at a hotel. I felt like a (very large) family was allowing me to stay in their home. When I arrived, the folks who greeted me knew me by name and answered my questions. When getting coffee I had a short chat with someone just popping in for the day and regular banter with, (I’m probably going to spell his name wrong but hopefully I’m not getting it wrong- I’m sorry) Dav-ah (pronounced Dave-uh). Others staying there (again, volunteers I think) would also say high and chat. That is how I got the warning about the maggots in the fruit.
Everyone staying there knew each other. They all chatted and were willing to say hello to me. (Before I forget, and since I can’t think of where to squeeze this in, like other reviewers said, it can get a bit loud when staying in the main building. The regulars there tend to have conversations in that space after dark. But I just asked nicely and most of them seemed really embarrassed to have been so loud. They are all really nice and welcoming and friendly and I really needed that during my stay.)
Okay so this is a great segue to the welcoming environment at their morning yoga class. The teacher of the class quickly made me feel like I belonged in the space and let me know where I could borrow a mat. The class itself was appropriately paced with a light warm-up and increasingly challenging strength and flexibility work. I wish I could have attended their yoga classes daily but since this was my first (but definitely not my last) visit to the big island, I wanted spend ample time swimming in their beautiful black-sand beaches and hiking around Kīlauea (because, come on, volcanoes!).
Finally, almost every thing I saw while staying at the Hawaiian sanctuary was something I wanted to share with my husband and kiddos. We all love the outdoors, beautiful plants, basically nature. I constantly kept texting them photos of the surroundings and wishing they had been there with me. We are making plans to visit as a family in 2023 and all of us are excited at this prospect.
Thank you to everyone there. Your love of each other, the environment, and even strangers is evident.