Royal Kona Resort

I absolutely love this hotel. I truly don’t think you can find a better location and ambiance in Kona. We stayed here for 6 nights and each day was perfect. The views from the hotel pool and from the rooms is unbeatable. You are right on the ocean and can see the waves crashing on the beautiful lava rocks. The rooms were comfortable with a mini fridge, hair dryer, and safe. The resort staff were all friendly and super helpful. They have reef safe sunscreen at the pool (included in the resort fee) so you don’t have to worry about bringing your own. Self service guest laundry is available, so if that’s something you’re looking for it’s a plus. It was $2.50/machine. The location is extremely walkable to Kailua-Kona shops & restaurants, tho you don’t even have to leave if you don’t want to. Th

Cons: Very run down property and rooms. Bathroom situation was bad. Toilet, shower and door are all crammed in with each other making it difficult to maneuver around shower or toilet. Shower head doesn’t move and was stuck in awkward position that sprayed water all over. Stingy with towels. And towels not absorbent. No hooks to hang towels etc. Sink was difficult to wash hands or face due to poor positioning. And it was very dated. No full length mirror. No blankets on bed. No bottom sheet - just a top sheet that kept coming untucked. No power outlets by bed. Wooden blinds let too much light in during morning. It didn’t matter that the construction was going on in an adjacent tower. It was still very loud. Machines in gym were not maintained well, were ergonomically incorrect and were ge

As a local, I have been staying at the Royal Kona since 1995 when the rooms where barely $200. They had a fabulous breakfast buffet and it was BOGO for the guests. Then, the prices went up, the lagoon though, was still not crowded and wild. The staff super friendly and fun. Last time I was there, during the pandemic they were "remodeling". |Fast forward to this week: nothing of what this hotel used to be...is there anymore. The pool attendant is super rude and yells at you if you try to move the beds. (years ago the towels were given inside the gift shop there was NO pool attendant) There is no priority for the hotel guests to get a sit at the bar, vs the outside guests (so what is the point of staying at the hotel?) and the staff is rude. Aestetically, the "event office" that once used

Positive: Perfect location. Walking distance to everything Kona. Great bar, restaurant right on water. Negative: Land is at a premium, so I understand the parking situation being not the best.

We had a wonderful experience staying here. We were set up in a corner room of the Bay Tower facing the ocean and downtown Kona. The room was huge, the corner balcony was great, and we could hear the ocean waves almost every night. We could also hear the nightly music at the downtown restaurants and some traffic noise, but we just popped in ear plugs and slept fine. We loved the salt water lagoon, pool, and bar/restaurant at the hotel. The location was perfect for walking downtown as well. 10/10 would stay here again.