-Every great beach deserves a great hotel.- This was said by Laurance S. Rockefeller, who founded The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel in 1965. He knew the great beach at Kauna oa also deserved spectacular golf and exceptional dining to accompany the most exclusive and expensive resort of its day. Four decades later, following a USD150 million repair and renovation, The Mauna Kea once again stands as a landmark of luxury on the Big Island s golden Kohala Coast. Situated on 60-acres overlooking Kauna oa Bay, one of the finest natural white sand beaches in Hawaii the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel is known for its a remarkable sense of place that enhances without intruding on dramatic natural surroundings. In 2007 the American Institute of Architects recognized the hotel as one of the top 150 buildings of Americas Favorite Architecture. Just down Kohala s Lava coast the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel is the kind of place families return to year after year. Children of long-time guests bring their children wanting the same room and the same smiling staff. They may admit sheepishly that once in a while they try someplace else but for them nothing else quite measures up. And small wonder. This is the elegant world-class hotel that Laurance Rockefeller built over 30 years ago as the ultimate family retreat. Today the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel has been restored to its original splendor and continues to attract sophisticated clientele the world over. The world-renowned Mauna Kea Beach Hotel is located on beautiful Kauna oa Bay considered by many to be the islands single most picturesque beach. Crescent-shaped with pure white sands and shimmering aqua waters it is perfect for water sports including swimming snorkeling scuba diving sailing kayaking catamaran riding whale watching and deep-sea fishing. Even at night guests step onto a circular lava outcropping overlooking the Bay to watch the manta rays swim beneath. Designed by Robert Trent Jones SR. the Mauna Kea golf Course remains the standard by which all other island courses are judged. Eighteen holes of play sport panoramic ocean vistas prompting Golf Digest to proclaim it the number one golf course in Hawaii. One of the courses most dramatic features is the famous Third Hole where surging Pacific inlet waters race to meet the rocky shoreline creating one of the most photographed landscapes in golf today. In 1997 the U.S. Golf Association named Hapuna The Course of the Future. This Arnold Palmer/Ed Seay-designed 18-hole championship course is a links-style course featuring spectacular views of the Kohala Coast and Pacific with snow-capped Mauna Kea volcano as a backdrop. A testament to earlier times when his world-class resort paid tribute to the ancient Hawaiian spirit Laurance Rockefellers vast collection of Asian and Pacific art still graces the walls and lush tropical grounds. Over 1600 museum-quality pieces have been carefully preserved and displayed so that the unique culture of Mauna Kea Beach Hotel will live on for generations to come.