Wyndham Kona Hawaiian Resort

Second time to the island, and first time to this resort. We stayed at the Hilton (fabulous) for a few days prior to our stay here. The Hilton is located north of Kona and is in a much newer area of the island. The Wynhdam Kona Hawaiian Resort is located in the old section of Kona, close to all the in town amenities, but subject to in town traffic congestion. The staff is exceptionally responsive and friendly. A few minor issues with the unit and they were resolved within minutes.

The complex is located on a sloped lot, with the first phase on the lower section. We were told that all the units were furnished the same. NOT. The upper sloped units had newer furnishings and are usually reserved for owners of the resort who can reserve a specific unit up to 13 months in advance. We did a rental through an exchange company and got it for $375 for the week. Just paid cash. No trade. Despite this, we did get a choice of several units in the lower section and picked a nice upper floor end unit adjacent to a large (maybe 15 acre) vacant parcel. We arrived early, checked in and then went off grocery shopping at "The KTA" a few miles away while the unit was getting ready. While shopping, the staff called and informed us that the unit was ready for occupancy. Again, great service!! We later hit Costco a few days later to get the big stuff.

All units, both old and new are set up the same way. Only difference is slightly newer furniture. All have huge lanai's and great floorplans. The grounds are immaculate, quiet, and very pleasing. The outdoor BBQ's work great.

As mentioned by others, beach chairs, boogie boards, and sand toys for the kids are available to use at no cost. These are left overs by previous guest.

The concierge desk is helpful, but they make most of their money setting up timeshare presentations. Some one else does the presentation. They originally offered us a $100 amex cash card or an excersion discount card good for 20-40% off activities. We turned them down, and a few days later on our door, they left a note upping the cash card to $150 to attend.

We caved in, did the presentation and held the sales person to the 60 minutes promised. I gave them a 5 minute warning, and the sales staff got irritated and said I was "time crunching" her. She went on for another 15 minutes before wraping it up and giving us the amex card. A few other guests told me later they had been sucked in for 2-3 hours!! FYI. They wanted around $22K for a points program membership through the developer. Also, the Worldmark next door is poor. Looks like a cheap motel.Don't go there. The guest below us went last year and confirmed that.

Graet time and we have already arranged a return visit, this time doing and exchange.

“Garden of Eden setting in Kailua/Kona” The Kona Wyndham Hawaiin Resort is a beautiful spot on the resort lined Alii Drive along the coast of Kailua/Kona. The grounds are magnificient! There are even are a number of apple banana trees with fruit on them. Three historical sites are encompassed within the grounds of the resort. One nice feature of the resort is that it is comprised of small double/triple/ two story buildings as opposed to some resorts that are structures like hotels with long indoor hallways. Makes it feel very private.

The unit we stayed in which I was able to obtain through RedWeek.com had been rennovated within the last five years. It was clean, well equiped and very comfortable. You can tell rennovated units by the fact they have metal roofs as opposed to ones with cedar shingle roofs. Appliances were new as well. The unit had two new large flat screen LED tv's with 80 channels. The 2nd bedroom did not have a tv. but then who comes to Hawaii to watch tv? The resort also offers free Wi-fi, a small business center and exercise room. The furniture all looked relaltively new. Rugs were clean. The private linai provided us with a view of the Ocean and the sunset and a beautiful spot for meals.

The resort provides a number of bbq areas relatively close to each unit. At first I was not impressed, being more familiar with each unit having it's own bbq. However the bbq's that were provided were first rate, commercial type units that worked very well! Besides it gave an opportunity to visit with other guests while bbq your Ono or Mahi steaks.

Excluding the timeshare sales staff, the strength of the resort is it's people, The registration was done quickly and ably by people like Albert. We were able to select our unit from a number of choices given to us. Any requests by housekeeping and maintenace were dealt with quickly with a follow up by the front desk. There are a number of activities offered and most are related to Hawaiian cullture and traditions. These activities and the staff doing them were excellent! Thursday afternoon is "make your own sundae' activity.

Two swimming pools exist:a larger upper pool and a smaller lower pool. Both pools are appropriate for children. Both were very clean with clean change rooms. Pool towels are provided in the villas. The villas have centralized air conditioning, not ones stuck in a window.

A neat feature at the resort is what is known as the "Green Patio" type storage unit filled wiith borrowable beach items such as chairs, mats, goggles, inflatable toys etc, donated by previous guests. These can be borrowed for the duration of the stay and then returned. No need to buy!

One drawback is that the resort does not have a convience store and if you don't have a car, supplies maybe a problem. Other wise the resort is centrally located to most attractions and other ammenities and there are a number of the ubiquitous Hawaiin ABC stores along Alli Drive. The resort is within walking distance to a number or smaller beaches.

Not-withstanding the timeshare presentation, this is an excellent to stay when in the Kailua/Kona area. It is very family friendly. It also has a number of specially equipped units for handicapped impaired.

We would stay again!

Upon our arrival we were greeted by a native playing a ukulele and serving Hawaiian bread and guava punch. Nice spacious unit perfect for 4 people with 2 large bathrooms with entire suite in the master including a wonderful jetted claw foot tub. Shower in each bathroom. Master has a door to the spacious veranda with lots of patio furniture including a giant table for outdoor dining. There is an eating bar for 4 in the kitchen area as well. The unit could easily sleep 6. Beautifully appointed in an authentic Hawaiian theme; the resort is modeled after an 1880 Hawaiian Village. Palm thatched roofs create a rustic island ambiance and lush fruit trees and flowering plants are prevalent throughout the village. We are in an upstairs unit which provides beautiful ventilation in the unit and peeks of the ocean. At night you can hear the ocean waves crashing since the resort is right across from the shoreline. This time of year seems to be a quiet time to visit and the weather has been wonderful. Wireless free internet in room. Exercise room was in excellent shape with towels, television etc. Upper pool has a kids pool and adult pool with a Jacuzzi including lots of picnic tables, umbrellas and lounge chairs. The main pool is wonderful and has a very unique hot tub amidst large lava boulders with a sandy bottom. This is an area that is used for many of the resorts activities including a nice party with entertainment one night a week. Any maintenance issues were dealt with immediately. If you like tropical waters, exotic foliage, extreme beauty and a serene atmosphere, you will love this resort.

I stayed here in August 2008 and LOVED it! The resort design and landscaping were lovely, great location close to town (although lots of traffic outside at times). Large grounds. There is a pool hidden in the middle of some of the bungalows that is much nicer than the one that is easy to find--the hidden one has waterfalls and a hot tub with a sand bottom. The bungalows are decorated old Hawaiian style (supposedly) and are very nice.

If you want to eat really cheap, go to any of the shopping centers and do takeout from either one of the Hawaiian Barbeque or Chinese restaurants. You can get two or three meals out of one of their takeout platters, all of which are under $10. Much much cheaper than buying groceries at island prices & going to the trouble of cooking.

They will try to hustle you into a sales presentation and dangle big tour discounts in front of you because they give you a Diamond Card. If you look on ebay I think you can buy one for yourself before you leave and you will save $$$ and can avoid the presentation. They wouldn't talk to me because my husband wasn't along, which was just fine, although I did feel ike a second class citizen.

They have several FREE activities that are worth doing, especially the lei making--they give you piles of dendrobium orchids to make your lei with. Imagine how much they would cost at home!

If you want to go to the beach there are lots around. I found the nicest one was a bit of a drive, but it was well worth it--it's near the Veterans' Cemetery and absolutely amazing. The closer by beaches are not bad, it's just that this one is beyond beautiful.

Be sure to do the Mauna Kea trip if you can, it's another amazing experience. And be sure to see the Place of Refuge. I found the Circle Island Tour by bus well worth the cost, if you can handle a 14 hour bus tour.

Stayed there in April 2007. The resort itself was very very nice. We had a 2nd floor unit (also nice). Balcony was great (overlooked the pool) so it was great to have breakfast out there. The only issues: The "hot tub" isn't heated, so it's a bit cool. The ants in the kitchen were not welcome. The furniture seems a bit dated (like the couch in the living room should've been steam cleaned as you could see it had been used a bit). Bathrooms were nice, but someone needs to rethink the bamboo "screens" on the showers as they're all black with mold/mildew. Oh, the jacuzzi tub in the bathroom was great. Until we turned on the bubbles and out came a bunch of black floaty things. (someone needs to actually use some bleach in the system to clean it).