“Brew Your Best Cup”- Coffee Brewing Workshop
Heavenly Hawaiian Coffee Farm • Farm • Holualoa, Island of Hawaii • Hawaii
Where Ancient Culture Meets Contemporary Comfort
While steeped in history, Keauhou is also a vibrant modern resort community with all the amenities needed for a perfect Hawaiian getaway. This is where ancient culture meets contemporary comfort, where you can honor the past while enjoying the present.
The beauty of Keauhou lies in this balance. You can spend your morning exploring sacred sites and your afternoon lounging by a resort pool. You can learn traditional lei making in a cultural class and then enjoy world-class dining as the sun sets. It's a place where respect for heritage enhances rather than limits your vacation experience.
Modern Keauhou represents tourism done right. Where development respects cultural heritage, where visitors can learn authentic traditions, and where the community benefits from responsible tourism that preserves rather than exploits.
The Center of it All: Keauhou Shopping Center
The Keauhou Shopping Center serves as the commercial and social heart of the area. It's a convenient, open-air hub where you can find everything from vacation essentials to unique local treasures. But this isn't just another tourist mall. It's a genuine community gathering place where locals shop, eat, and socialize.
Anchor Stores & Local Favorites
🛒 KTA Super Stores
A must-visit for stocking your condo with local produce, snacks, and some of the best fresh poke bowls on the island.
This local chain has been serving Hawaiʻi families for generations. Their poke selection is legendary among locals.
💊 Longs Drugs
All the vacation necessities you might have forgotten, from reef-safe sunscreen to beach toys for the keiki.
Your one-stop shop for anything you might need during your stay.
Keauhou Farmer's Market: 100% Local
A highlight is the Keauhou Farmer's Market, held every Saturday from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM in the shopping center parking lot. It prides itself on offering 100% Hawaiʻi-grown and produced items, from exotic fruits and fresh vegetables to Kona coffee, macadamia nuts, local honey, and handmade jams and breads.
This isn't a tourist market selling imported goods labeled as "local." Every vendor must prove their products are grown or made in Hawaiʻi. You'll find rare tropical fruits like rambutan and dragon fruit, vegetables you've never heard of, and coffee beans roasted just hours before the market opened. With live music often filling the air, it's a wonderful way to experience authentic local life.
Local Tip: The market is also where I do my weekly shopping. Malia and Nalu love helping me pick out fresh fruit and chatting with the vendors who've watched them grow up. It's where community happens, where visitors become temporary locals, where the spirit of aloha is lived rather than performed.
Keauhou Kahaluʻu Heritage Center
The center also houses the Keauhou Kahaluʻu Heritage Center, a small but important museum with displays on local Hawaiian history. One of the most fascinating exhibits covers heʻe holua, the ancient sport of lava rock sledding. Warriors would ride narrow wooden sleds down steep lava rock courses at terrifying speeds. The track they used is still visible on the mountain slopes above the shopping center, a reminder that adventure sports in Hawaiʻi have ancient roots.
A Taste of Keauhou: Local Dining Picks
Keauhou offers a surprisingly diverse range of dining options, from casual tap houses to elegant sunset dinners. Food here reflects the area's multicultural heritage, blending Hawaiian, Asian, and American influences into something uniquely local. Here are a few of my go-to spots, places where I bring visiting friends and family:
🌅 Sunset Kai Lanai
Location: Outrigger Kona Resort & Spa
This oceanfront restaurant serves Pacific Rim cuisine with stunning sunset views. Chef Ippy Aiona creates dishes that honor both local ingredients and international techniques.
Must Try: Opakapaka with liliko'i butter sauce
🍣 Kenichi Pacific
Location: Keauhou Shopping Center
This sushi restaurant offers creative rolls and the freshest fish in a casual atmosphere. Chef Kenichi sources directly from local fishermen.
Must Try: Daily catch specials and spicy ahi roll
🍽️ PIKO Restaurant
Location: Keauhou Shopping Center
PIKO serves Hawaiian comfort food with a modern twist. Their loco moco uses grass-fed local beef and farm-fresh eggs.
Must Try: Daily fresh fish plates and modern loco moco
🍺 Tropics Tap House
Location: Keauhou Shopping Center
Perfect for a casual meal with keiki, this brewpub offers burgers, pizza, and local beers in a family-friendly setting.
Must Try: Fresh fish and chips with local catch
🥙 KTA Super Stores Deli
Location: Keauhou Shopping Center
Don't overlook this local chain's prepared foods. Their poke bowls are some of the best on the island, made fresh daily.
Must Try: Fresh poke bowls - same food locals eat at unbeatable prices
💡 Local Dining Tip:
For the perfect budget-friendly meal, grab a poke bowl from KTA and find a picnic table by the ocean. You'll be eating the same high-quality food that locals enjoy while watching the sunset over the Pacific.
Stay in the Heart of History: The Outrigger Kona Resort & Spa
Perched on 22 acres of dramatic lava-rock cliffs where Hawaiian royalty once vacationed, the Outrigger Kona Resort & Spa is more than just a place to stay. It's an active cultural center that's embraced its location's rich history, offering an impressive array of activities that are often open to the public.
What I love about the Outrigger is their commitment to authenticity. This isn't plastic luau culture. It's real Hawaiian traditions shared by people who grew up with them. The resort employs local cultural practitioners who bring genuine knowledge and respect to their programs.
Authentic Cultural Programs
🌺 Lei-Making Classes
Using flowers from the resort's gardens, instructors teach traditional techniques passed down through generations. Learn different lei types and the cultural significance of each flower.
🎵 ʻUkulele Lessons
Learn to play Hawaii's signature instrument from local musicians who share the instrument's history and cultural importance.
💃 Hula Lessons
Beginner-friendly hula instruction that teaches basic movements while explaining the deeper meanings behind this sacred dance form.
🏛️ Cultural Tours
Free 90-minute guided walks exploring the historic village of Kaukulaelae and sacred sites, including King Kamehameha III's birthplace.
Resort Amenities & Experiences
The resort's physical amenities are equally impressive. Multiple oceanfront pools offer different experiences, from the adults-only serenity pool to the family-friendly pool with a waterslide that kids love. The spa incorporates traditional Hawaiian healing practices with modern techniques. Multiple dining venues range from casual poolside service to elegant fine dining.
Evening Highlight: Feast & Fire Lūʻau
The lawn comes alive with a spectacular show of Polynesian music, dance, and food set against the backdrop of the setting sun. While designed for visitors, the resort employs local performers and uses traditional foods and preparation methods. It's tourism done right, with respect for culture and community.
With its combination of cultural authenticity, historical significance, and modern comfort, the Outrigger serves as a perfect home base for exploring all that Keauhou has to offer. You're not just staying at a resort. You're immersing yourself in a place where past and present coexist in harmony.
🗺️ Explore Keauhou
🛍️ Shopping & Dining
- Shopping Center: Open daily
- Farmer's Market: Saturdays 8AM-12PM
- KTA Poke: Made fresh daily
- Best Sunset Dining: Sunset Kai Lanai
🌺 Cultural Activities
- Lei-making classes
- ʻUkulele lessons
- Hula instruction
- Cultural site tours
- Evening lūʻau shows
💡 Local Tips
Best Poke: KTA deli counter - same quality locals eat at great prices
Farmer's Market: Arrive early for best selection of rare tropical fruits
Cultural Programs: Many Outrigger activities are free and open to public
🏝️ Authentic Experience
Modern Keauhou offers the perfect balance of cultural authenticity and contemporary comfort.
Where respect for heritage enhances rather than limits your vacation experience.
