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Is Hawaii still fun for kids? One family retraces its grandparents' steps and their toddler's adventures tell all.

Hawai'i, or the Big Island as it's fondly known, was destined to be our first long-distance family outing because my husband, John, had spent so many holidays with his own grandparents there when he was a child. As soon as Nathaniel's second birthday approached, we took the tried and true approach and booked a one-bedroom villa at the resort his Grandma and Grandpa had frequented for more than three decades.

We stayed at the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel and Bungalows ( 800/367-2323; 808/885-6622) in a condo villa which gave us added space and a kitchen, while allowing use of the hotel's beautiful facilities, all for the same rate as a room in the main hotel. The kitchen came in very handy because our son awoke hungry at the oddest hours from jet lag. The Mauna Lani is famous for its much larger, super-deluxe bungalows -- the hotel likes to say that Steven Spielberg, Danny DeVito, Roseanne Arnold, Billy Crystal and other celebrity families have enjoyed them for years. 

The villa grounds were very pleasant, and it took just a few minutes to push the stroller to the private hotel beach. There, Nathaniel quickly fell in with the toddler set and was content to play in the sand all day with the toys that the hotel provided. We enjoyed the spot also because of the closeness of the beach bar/restaurant. There is even waiter service on the beach if your fantasy is to not move a muscle towards the gathering of food!

In the opposite direction of the hotel beach, but also in easy walking distance, we had access to another little cove where there was pure white sand, very gently surf and nice snorkeling. The beach attendants even had boogie boards with windows in them for the littlest snorkelers to take a peak! 

The main hotel is a little larger and more formal than what I imagined Hawai'i would be, but the rooms were very pretty with louvered doors and balconies looking out to the sea. We'll return one day when Nathaniel can join the kids' camp (for ages 5-12; open daily 9am-3:30pm; $50/D) because he loved visiting while older children were doing an arts 'n crafts project with coconut palm fronds.

Besides enjoy the beach, there is a lot to do as a family. At the Mauna Lani, we took a walk to see some petroglyphs on the property, which kids of any age will find interesting. The hotel also has several fish ponds, turtles and an eel pond on the grounds. Hapuna State Beach, a few miles up the road, has a much bigger beach and nice picnic facilities.