Help deciding on which resort to book on the Big Island

[PrairieGirl]

Hello all, I need some help please from my TUG friends! We have decided to bite the bullet and jump through the hoops to spend 2 weeks this December on the Big Island. Haven’t been there since a three day visit when I was going to university on Oahu in 1975!

I’ve already booked our first week through II at the Marriott Wailolo Ocean Club and am looking at options in RCI for the second week. There are quite a few to choose from and I’m looking for your opinions on which you would choose and why. I’ve read the TUG reviews (some are quite dated) and the Trip Advisor reviews too (I put less stock in those!) and there seem to be pros and cons to all of them with nothing just jumping out and saying “book ME!”.

I’ve narrowed it down to the following options:

Kona Coast both phase I and phase II either in the Shell Vacation Club group or not (a total of 4 different resort identifiers – 2326/DS14 for phase I and 4861/DS15 for phase II)

Shell VC at Holua Resort at Mauna Loa Village (DS11)

Raintree @ Kona Reef Hawaii (6979)

Club Wyndham Kona Hawaiian Resort 5971 (the reviews for this resort seem somewhat better, but this will mean flying home a day early on Christmas Day – also not a deal breaker, but I need to know if it is worth that).

It would be nice if we were able to walk to a restaurant occasionally in the evening (half mile or so) but it’s not a deal breaker, we will have a car. A good portion of both of these weeks is going to be spent exploring the island. There will be just my husband and I going on this trip. Active, healthy, adventuresome, mid-60s.

Thanks in advance for any all of your helpful thoughts on this decision!

Mahalo,

LeAnn

 

[slip]

I’d probably go with Kona Hawaiian. The walk to restaurants is a little further than a half mile. Google maps shows it .8 of a mile to Hugo’s. It’s a pretty flat and easy walk though. The resort is nice though. I never stayed there but I have been there.

I’m sure more people will chime in.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

I have stayed at Kona Coast 2 twice and enjoyed it. They have an outdoor restaurant on site that was decent. It was a friendly place. We had a washer/dryer and dishwasher in the unit. It was a first floor unit. We had the option of paying for air conditioning (about $10 a night) and it made my wife happy. There is a golf course between the units and the ocean, but except for an occasional golfer that allows for a horizon view of the ocean should you have a unit directly on the west side. Kona Coast 1 is the original section and is further from the ocean. There is a shopping center for groceries and pharmacy across the street (walking distance) plus a couple of restaurants.

 

[SmithOp]

Shell Holua and Kona Coast are a few miles south of Kailua-Kona town so your only walking option there is the Keahou shopping center, and its uphill. We do enjoy Sam Choys above the shopping center, great for lunch, a little pricey for dinner with drinks. We have stayed at Shell Holua twice, the units are nice with big lanai but no real ocean view or beach access. There is a tennis club with pickleball courts on site if you enjoy racquet sports.

The other places closer to town give you a lot of options for shopping and dining, its really nice walking around in town.

Splitting a week in Waikoloa and a week in Kailua-Kona is a good idea for exploring the BI.


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[Luanne]

We also like splitting a stay on the Big Island with one week in Waikoloa and one week in Kona. We also stay a night or two in Volcano Village.

We have stayed at both Kona Coast and Wyndham and enjoyed both of them.

 

[PrairieGirl]

Thanks everyone for your quick replies. I did go ahead and book Kona Coast II. For some reason the Shell Vacations Club identifier was a few points less. It seemed odd that they listed their one bedroom unit as 4/2 and the other identifier listed the one bedroom as 4/4 so I called the resort directly to inquire if there was any difference. I was told that ALL of the one bedrooms in phase II are the same, one bedroom with 2 bathrooms. (sounds like 4/4 to me). It really doesn't matter anyway, there are only the 2 of us going.

I was impressed already with their service attitude. The young woman on the phone was extremely helpful and friendly and told me what was open and not at the resort, made sure I understood the newest travel requirements (starting today your negative covid test must be in hand BEFORE you board your flight) how far it was to stores and restaurants, what to expect for view (not much, but that's OK) and what their covid procedures were for checking in.

I'm feeling very comfortable going - everyone on the flight will have had a recent negative covid test and the case rate for the big island is very low. We will still be sticking with all the same standard precautions of course, no need to be careless just because you are in paradise!

 

[SeeMe]

Thanks everyone for your quick replies. I did go ahead and book Kona Coast II. For some reason the Shell Vacations Club identifier was a few points less. It seemed odd that they listed their one bedroom unit as 4/2 and the other identifier listed the one bedroom as 4/4 so I called the resort directly to inquire if there was any difference. I was told that ALL of the one bedrooms in phase II are the same, one bedroom with 2 bathrooms. (sounds like 4/4 to me). It really doesn't matter anyway, there are only the 2 of us going.

I was impressed already with their service attitude. The young woman on the phone was extremely helpful and friendly and told me what was open and not at the resort, made sure I understood the newest travel requirements (starting today your negative covid test must be in hand BEFORE you board your flight) how far it was to stores and restaurants, what to expect for view (not much, but that's OK) and what their covid procedures were for checking in.

I'm feeling very comfortable going - everyone on the flight will have had a recent negative covid test and the case rate for the big island is very low. We will still be sticking with all the same standard precautions of course, no need to be careless just because you are in paradise!

We have stayed at the Kona Coast II and very much enjoyed the resort. The 1 bedroom units are very spacious and the 2nd bathroom was really great. We will be returning there for sure. We also stayed at the Holua Resort 2 years ago. It was decent and spacious but the rooms need updating and rather than a single large pool they have a number of much smaller pools that just didn‘t do it for us.
the Kona Coast II Resort is in our opinion the better of the 2. Great pool, very nice restaurant, and nice views. The only thing lacking is beach access.