Kona Bali Kai

We reserved a 2 bedroom suite for our week in Kailua Kona and were very happy with the place. A very nice, large balcony was available for the living room area and main bedroom. The unit appeared to have been recently refurbished and was clean. TV, DVD player, Washer, Dryer, Full Kitchen & Utinsels were all provided. The TV was a small picture tube one and a larger wall mounted LCD tv would be better for viewing. The bathrooms need ventilator fans. The building would be better served with 2 elevators as the one elevator had service problems during our stay. The Castle Kona Bali Kai was not within walking distance to anything, but the drives were short to Kona. As a final caution, the Oceanfront rooms, while scenic and well appointed, are NOT AIR-CONDITIONED. It was in the mid-upper 80's during our stay in December and the room felt uncomfortable at times even in the evenings with the ceiling fans on. Aside from lack of an AC, the place gets our enthusiastice approval.

Our room had agreat oceanfront views. Each rental unit had a spacious lanai and a great view. Our unit was very comfortable and spacious and had lots of staurage, plus a laundry, two TVs, DVD and CD players, and two bathrooms. The master bedroom can be left open to the living room or closed off. We cooked several meals during our stay and found the kitchen to be well appointed with a variety of cookware, serving dishes, and big and small appliances. Although the unit’s furnishings are not new, they have been well kept. We always renta car when we stay in Kona. I'm sure you coudl do public transport if youw anted to. Shopping , groceries and beaches are all jsut a few miles from the condo. Traffic can be slow and it takes extra time to arrive for scheduled tours. Our unit was far from the one central elevator but we took the stairs because its good for us. On Sunday mornings, you will hear recorded music coming from the church next door for about 30 minutes. The Hawaiian custom of removing shoes at the door is difficult to observe since the unit's entryway is a little tight. There are 3 BBQ grills available and one was broken, so people had to queue up to cook. Since the night lights are not adequate to grill in the dark, it's helpful to take a flashlight down to the grill area

Just up the road from the best snorkeling on the Big Island, we stayed in a 1 bed condo. The condo had a nice kitchen and a small living room which needed a couple more chairs. The view across the street to the ocean was nice. While the Castle Kona Reef is nicer and larger, this was fine for a family to stay in and price was very reasonable. Just a short drive to Walmart and Safeway for supplies and easy to go up or down the coast for snorkeling or diving.

I’ve noticed that most reviews aren’t that detailed and decided to provide as much detail as possible. This stay was our 3rd hotel of the island (Hilo first, Volcano second and now this one). With a month long 4 island vacation, this was the third island on the trip. We stayed here for 3 nights. We decided to book an ocean view unit and must say that the images on numerous websites really do not do justice to the place. The view alone from the ocean side is quite nice. The property is well maintained. We failed to realize that there was no early check-in and encountered a less than friendly desk clerk. No aloha for her. She did not offer to hold our bags in the security office till it was time to check in and flat out told us to come back at a later time. She must have had a bad day. Other than that one time, the staff was quite pleasant. So we headed off to the market for a few hours. We also failed to realize that the Bali Kai is quite a distance from town. Although the property is officially within walking distance to the edge of town, one still needs a car. The center of Kona town is exactly 3 miles away. If you decide to go for a walk, be aware that Alii drive is where some consider it to be the Hawaii version of the Indy 500. Even though the elevators are in the middle of the complex, the room was far from the elevator, almost to the edge of the building. Given that most units of this type are small, the unit was a nice size. The bedroom has a queen’s size bed and felt comfortable. Since we are near the end of the building, and although it’s an ocean view unit, the bedroom does face Alii Drive and may be a bit noisy for some, although being New Yorkers we have a higher tolerance for noise. The lanai is of average size, but has a very nice view of the incoming waves crashing onto the rocks as well as views up and down the coast. It has your typical patio table and chairs. Watching sunsets was a treat. The property’s pool is typically small but is stocked with your usual pool accessories. There is also a snorkel establishment on premises for those that are into that sport. With the new non-smoking laws taken into effect, there is no smoking anywhere on the property. So if you are a smoker you have to smoke downstairs on Alii drive. Do not even attempt to smoke in the rooms or the lanai. They make you sign a form informing you of the penalty and will throw you out if caught by the eagle eyed security guards. We kept the doors open and had the sound of the waves crashing onto the rocks below to put us to sleep. Between the hotels we stayed in both Hilo, Volcano, and Kauai this unit was the most nicely equipped one. Only the Oahu hotel with its views of the ocean, zoo and Diamond Head has a better view. And even then this unit was visually more stunning.

Condos were centrally located to attractions and shopping. This was a very nice room for the value. Bedrooms were a good size and nicely furnished. The view couldn have been better - ocean view approximately 100 feet from the water. We watched the sea turtles in the tidal pools, the dolphins a little further out, and surfers all day long. This isn't a good location for swimming or snorkeling at the condo however there is a nice pool and hot tub on the grounds. My only small complaint about the rooms are that the housekeeping could use some improvement.