Kona Coast Resort II

We had the luxury of staying at the Kona Coast resort II in April 2008. The resort is fabulous! Great rooms with beautiful furniture carved with intricate designs. Great kitchen and lanai. There are great views all around the resort and the property is wonderfully maintained.

Driving down Ali'i Drive was wonderful - great restaurants and shopping within minutes of the resort. We also had a great time touring and shopping all over the island. I initially just came to the Big Island, figuring it would be a one time event. Now I know I will return to this fun/fantastic island and great Kona Coast Resort!

We love this resort and have been staying at it every year since 1993. We own 2 units here, we love it so much. We've never seen a non-hotel timeshare complex anywhere on the islands that is as luxuriously appointed as this one. High speed wireless internet (Wayport) is available in each unit.

Phase II is definitely the best as its units are the newest and are closest to the ocean (all were remodeled in 2006-2007). The 2nd floor end units in buildings 23 and 24 are the creme de la creme (with buildings 25 and 26 a close second). These are the units with huge cathedral ceilings that border on the golf course and look directly out to the ocean.

The complex has a small but adequate fitness room (treadmills, eliptical trainers, recumbent cycle, weight machine) and an on-site restaurant adjacent to one of the pools. A helpful activity center is on-site, and various classes are offered for a small fee, e.g., silk painting, lei making, etc.. They are lots of fun!

The resort is also very close to a shopping center that has a multi-screen movie theater, a grocery store, a drugstore, a post office, various other shops and a half-dozen restaurants (pizza/italian, hawaiian bbq, seafood/sushi, sports bar & grill, thai, mexican and Subway). Other restaurants are a short drive.

Because this resort is 7 miles south of Kailua Kona town, it is much quieter that being in town. Also, the main road along the ocean (Alii Drive) is great for jogging or cycling-- there's a large bike/jogger lane.

This resort is a great base for touring the island. The volcano is an easy day trip. And some great historical sites are nearby such as the City of Refuge. The town of Holualoa with many galleries and coffee plantations is close as well.

If you like snorkeling, the best local snorkel tour (Fairwinds) departs from minutes away and will take you to the ocean preserve in Kealakekua Bay where Captain Cook was killed. Or if you want to snorkel on your own, the best snorkeling beach in the area is nearby (it has a large sandy beach--rare for the Big Island), where you can see countless varieties of tropical fish and green sea turtles.

If you want to spend time on the Big Island in a large, beautiful and fully-appointed condo, this is the place to do it!

We just returned from this resort yesterday, and actually exchanged for two units as we were there with our son's family. Each unit had one bedroom and two baths. Overall this is a good resort, in a good location on the Big Island.

We found the units to be clean, but relatively in need of modernization. They are large, as others have posted here, but it would be tough to put two sets of adults in a one- bedroom with the fold-out couch converting to a bed. In such an arrangement, your luggage, clothes, and personal items end up taking over the living room/dining area space for all occupants of a unit.

Some items were very nice - including a washer-dryer within the unit. We also liked the pool, and the availability of a snack bar with drinks pool-side, as well as rental equipment for snorkeling, beach chairs, water toys, and so on. The pool was quite friendly to toddlers, adults, and senior citizens which was very nice.

As far as shortcomings, yes the plumbing fixtures have been painted and are cracked, there were water stains on the kitchen cabinets, the deck rail could have used a coat of paint, and so on. If you can overlook these weaknesses, then this is a resort for you.

We decided that we would return here, because it is a good value as a timeshare exchange. Keep in mind that you will be sharing this complex with resident-owners, and also renters who can book units as a hotel. It is not ocean-side, but has pretty views, and is close to good beaches. The location across from a mini-mall with grocery store, drug store, post office, and restaurants is nice, too.

We have stayed at Kona Coast II for the past five years and have always felt welcomed and comfortable in our 2 bedroom unit. The units are huge and include a very functional, large kitchen with full size appliances, washer/dryer and televisions in each room which is good for our kids. The Phase II units are newer and closer to the golf course and ocean than Phase I. They have all recently been remodelled and tastefully refurnished. There is a restaurant on site at the larger of the two pools and there are three jacuzzis spread across the very beautifully lanscaped grounds. The resort has scattered gas grills around the grounds for barbequeing and the grills are always clean and available for those who choose to cook their meals.

Across the street from the resort is a small shopping center with a grocery store, drug store, a few restaurants, a multiplex cinema and some light touristy shopping. The Big Island is less tourist driven that Maui or Kuaui and has more everyday shopping and resources including a Costco (where we stock up at the beginning of our stay) and a Safeway.

The staff are friendly and efficient although check-in can be a little slow. They will clean your room and replace your linens midweek or more frequently for an additional fee. They have on-site tourism booking and events by the main pool including crafts and informal receptions for the standard meet and greet. I have never been asked to attend a timeshare presentation at this resort which is probably because the resort sells itself.

The only negatives that I can think of is the small daily surcharge for air conditioning (if you want it) and the lack of a beach directly on site which is not uncommon for the Big Island. There are two public beaches that are within walking distance or a very short drive away with plentiful parking.

Our unit was a large 1 BR unit with 2 BA. It could easily hold 2 adults/2 children, but as the second bed was a convertible, it would not generally be suitable for any normal size adult with any degree of comfort. It was a week exchange (not a SVC point) unit. Its bath plumbing fixtures were white (repainted) finish which looked cheap in contrast with all the marble in each bath. Size of TV in large armour in bedroom was unusual (20"?) and the location of TV in LR was actually in the base of the kitchen cabinets near the sink area facing the LR. DR chair had broken finial. Lighting in the DR and kitchen was a bit dim due to use of regular CFLs in the high ceiling, but not CFL reflector bulbs, which would be closer to the original lights used in recessed fixtures.

No midweek housekeeping or linen change provided, even though promised in arrival packet. The limited towels were particularly scratchy although they were labeled as being soft. AC and wireless Internet would have been $10/da each.

Resort is beautiful and on the ocean, parking is easy. It is the last resort south on Alii Dr. Desk is 24/7 (though housekeeping does close about 11 PM). At the resort there are 4 levels of membership apparently: Kona Coast I (Shell Vacation Club and weeks) and KC II (SVC and weeks). The size of KC II units is > KC I units. They are not necessarily furnished or maintained the same way or by the same people.

We attended a sales presentation to save some money on island attractions and the SVC salesman was one of the most persistent and obnoxious that we have encountered recently.

Island orientation breakfast (powdered mini- donuts) was run at such a rapid pace we could barely keep up. No suggestions for independent travel were made (even though it was Ironman week and there are sights one should see on your own). The activity desk did have good information.

You can have a fine time at this resort, but it is still no Marriott type experience.