As I mentioned, for our visit in 2008, the Keauhou Beach Resort was the official host hotel for the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival. As such it was the location for many of the festival's biggest events.
There is no better place to host the festival than the Keauhou Beach Resort. Managed by Outrigger Enterprises, the resort underwent a total renovation in 2007-8.
I really like the ground level of the resort. Aside from the gift shop and meeting rooms, the entire area is open-air. With the mild climate of this part of the Kona Coast, it never seems too hot or too cool and there always seems to be a soft breeze blowing.
Situated about 10 minutes south of Kailua-Kona, the Keauhou Beach Resort is the perfect place to stay for exploration of Kailua Kona, the Kona Coffee Country and the South Kona Coast.
Events that were held at the resort during the 2008 festival included the Kona Coffee Culinary Invitational, a sumptuous evening of professional island chefs "brewing" up culinary cuisine ranging from appetizers and entrees to delicious desserts, all featuring 100% Kona coffee as an ingredient.
The resort also hosted both the Gevalia Kona Coffee Cupping Competition and the Gevalia Crown Competition, These were blind tastings of Kona's finest coffee with a lot of strong competitors all vying to claim the prestigious winner's title. Over 50 local farms submitted entries for the Gevalia Kona Coffee Cupping Competition. The Crown Competition is open to larger farms that are required to submit 3,000 pounds of Kona coffee to enter the contest!
The resort is also home to the annual Keauhou Resort Kona Coffee Label & Website Competition. In 2008 Aloha Kona Coffee was awarded best label while www.konarainforest.com took the top honors in the website category. A total of 150 entries competed in the two divisions for cash prizes and awards valued at over $3,000.
