Today , the coast west of Hualālai is a popular location for vacation resorts , since the rain shadow of the mountain causes many sunny days . The first , Kona Village resort , was built in 1961 . Since then the Four Seasons Resort and the Kūkio golf course and vacation home complex have also been built on the 1800 flow . Both the Kona Village Resort and the Four Seasons Resort were damaged by the tsunami generated by the 2011 Sendai earthquake . The Hawaii Belt Road traverses the western slopes with an upper route called the Mamalahoa Highway and lower route named for Queen Kaahumanu
2011 Sendai earthquake
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
Hualālai