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Tennis

When tennis players plan a vacation, it will most likely be a tennis vacation. There are hundreds of tennis camps and resorts to try on the east coast, and more in the south.  Choosing a tennis destination in the west can be a bit more challenging, but, when the search continues into the mid-pacific, tennis players will find a nice selection of Hawaiian tennis resorts and clubs available with coaching programs and match making services.  These clubs not only warmly welcome visitors, but snowbirds and residents alike.

On the Big Island, tennis families should first consider the resort communities on the Kohala Coast.  The best resort destination for tennis is the Mauna Kea Resort.  Home to the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel and the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel, this resort offers tennis players an incomparable oceanfront facility, the Seaside Tennis Club.

Seaside Tennis Club

Next to the lu’au grounds at Manta Rey Point, the tennis pro shop is tucked away in a quiet garden of magenta bougainvillea.  Step through its doors and you are transported into an amazing world of oceanfront tennis.

Court 11 is a stones throw from waves breaking on black lava.  When whales breach just barely off shore, players stop the point to enjoy the spectacle.  Court 3 fronts a manicured lawn, sloping gently into white sand, black stones, and the blue Pacific.  Court 8, the teaching court, sits up high, surrounded by ocean on two sides.  The remaining eight courts have various ocean and garden views.

Such prime oceanfront real estate is very rarely graced by tennis courts.  But Lawrence Rockefeller was a tennis player, and we are his fortunate beneficiaries. Though now owned and managed by Prince Resorts Hawaii, the hotel was Laurence S. Rockefeller’s original foray into luxury resort development. In 1965 he looked at a black lava desert miles 25 miles north of Kailua-Kona, envisaged, and created, a luxury tennis and golf resort.  There are a half dozen hotels with tennis courts on the Kohala Coast, but none offers a more beautiful setting for tennis.

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“Excellent staff and facilities make this one of our favorite Tennis Resorts. The location is stunning – not stuck behind the parking lots or deep in the back of the property like many other 5 star resorts. The Seaside Tennis Club at Mauna Kea is just that…”SEASIDE.” What better way to enjoy tennis and Hawaii at the same time.”—M.S., Adv., April 2010

“Fantastic! Couldn’t be better. They fix you up with players at your level. They arrange useful clinics, give private lessons, have all sorts of round robins and of course have the most beautiful setting in the world! Very friendly and talented people-at all levels of the operation. This keeps us coming back to this resort – for 32 years!”

“The most spectacular facility set next to the crashing waves. Pros Dan and Hector outstanding, friendly and competent. Staff genuine. Can’t wait to go back next year.”—K.L., Int., November 2009

The Fairmont Orchid

Just south of the Mauna Kea Resort is the Mauna Lani Resort.  The Fairmont Orchid Hotel occupies the north end of that resort.  Immediately prior to arriving at the hotel lobby, the leafy, cool complex of 10 hard courts comes into view.

Beginning in the spring of 2009, Vic Braden’s Tennis College began offering its three day tennis camp. Featuring Braden instructional methodology, Dartfish digital video analysis, and twice weekly Cardio tennis, the camp and its pros are a hit with visitors and locals alike.  The Big Island college offers a 3½-hour morning session, or a 2-hour afternoon session, or both. Groups are offered four coaching plans: Social, Competitive, Instructional, or a combination.

Hilton Waikoloa’s Kohala Tennis

In a relaxing garden setting, players of all levels can enjoy a suitable daily clinics taught by expert professionals on one of eight PlexiCushion courts. Nestled in beautiful tropical foliage, the facility provides a pleasant setting for a family tennis day.

Recently home to the January mid-Pacific Challenger competition, the 432-seat stadium court 1 and the other five hard courts hosts special events and local tournaments.  After a day of unforgettable tennis, try one of the many treatments offered at neighboring Kohala Spa.

Hualalai Tennis

The Four Seasons Resort at Hualalai got the attention of the tennis world by becoming the first resort in the U.S. to install Rebound Ace surfacing through its entire court complex. Rebound Ace is the same rubbery surface the pros play on at the Australian Open.  The courts have been attractively surrounded with lava rock walls, tropical ferns and flowers. Teak lanai furniture await players in the shade under latticework draped in leaves and scented flowers. The facility is just steps away from full-service European spa with treatment rooms, an outdoor lap pool, and a fitness center open to tropical breezes.

The Gold Coin Kids Program awards plastic gold coins to kids when specific tennis skill goals are met.  The coins are redeemable for sweet treats, logo wear and equipment. Adult players enjoy chilled mint-scented towels, ice water and Gatorade.

In Kona town

If your looking for a second home in Kona, the top three clubs for local players are Holua, Island Slice, and Royal Kona Tennis.  The settings may not as glamorous as the northern resort facilities, but the competition is keen, friendly, and visitors are enthusiastically welcome to join by the day, week, or month.

The Holua Tennis Club is located near the Keauhou Sheraton Hotel, at the back of the blue roofed Mauna Loa Condominium complex.  The Island Slice courts on the quiet southern end of Ali’i Drive, are part of the Outrigger Keauhou, a small hotel favored by Hilo families.

The Royal Kona Tennis Club is in a busy Ali’i Drive location on the edge of the pedestrian heart of Kona town.  Know for consistently fielded scrappy league tennis teams, visiting players could not be more warmly welcomed.