philemer

Try www.vrbo.com and look in the Kohala Coast and the Kona Coast sections.

In the Kona Coast area check out the Keauhou and Kahaluu areas. Kahaluu has the best beach area (with life guard) for kids & adults in the Kona area if you like to see lots of fish & turtles, IMHO.

Some of the Kohala Coast condos/homes are right on, or by, great beaches.

tudorcity

There are definitely numerous condo complexes in Waikoloa that meet your requirements. We stay in the Fairway Villas, which would meet your requirements (full disclosure - we actually bought one, we loved it so much, but rented before we bought and had stayed in Waikoloa about 10 times prior to buying):

We stay in a 3 BR (King, Queen and 2 twin beds, with 2 additional full-size sofa beds - one upstairs and one downstairs

It has a fully stocked kitchen, granite countertops, dual sinks, etc.

A few minutes walking distance to maybe the best beach in all of Hawaii for young kids (A-Bay)

A few minutes walking distance (60 seconds driving) to a new grocery store in the Queens Marketplace, which also has numerous shops and restaurants (there is also the Kings Shops, a slighly more upscale shopping center, with a number of restaurants - Roys, Merrimans, etc.)

Very nice infiniti pool and jacuzzi on site - however, most condo complexes can't compare to the hotel pools for size and extras (slides, waterfalls, etc.). But you can also buy a day-pass to the Hilton for $80 for 4 people, to spend all day at the Hilton pools. Your 2 year old would be too young to enjoy the slides at the Hilton, but your 9 year old would have a great time.

Well within that price range - look at http://www.outriggerfairwayvillascon...brand+fvr+port

Full air-conditioning.

There are other condo complexes in Waikoloa that would also fit that bill - more upscale would be Kolea (closest to (A-Bay) and Halii Kai (best pool, but not walking distance to A-Bay or Queens Marketplace/Kings Shops).

Other complexes include Vista Waikoloa (considered an older crowd, better sans kids), Shores at Waikoloa (oldest complex, unless remodeled, may be tired on the inside), Colony Villas (comparable to Fairway Villas, but not within walking distance of beach/shops) and Beach Villas (comparable to the Fairway Villas, despite name, not on the beach (next to Fairway Villas, so about the same distance to beach), newest complext, within walking distance of beach and shops, however, closer to the road, so road noise may be a concern for some condos).

Look at the property managers (Outrigger, Abbey vacations, Resortquest, and a few others, as well as vrbo) to get a sense of the different complexes and choose one you feel comfortable with.

I think you can have a great vacation with your family in Waikoloa.

Feel free to PM me for more details.

trilinearmipmap

Thanks for the suggestion tudorcity that looks like a good place according to the TripAdvisor reviews.

auggie doggie

Hi folks.

I'm heading to Kona in mid October (after Ironman) and was wondering if anyone had any good condo recommendations? It will only be 2 of us...so we're not looking for something big...but we like the space of a condo and the kitchen.

Ideally, we would like something luxurious and ocean front. But while there are plenty of places out there that advertise that....I always like the first hand advice of FT'ers.

Thanks!

cblaisd

You might skim through this thread
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hawai...ns-thread.html

philemer

You'll also get some help at www.konaweb.com How many days/nights do you need? Price range?

auggie doggie

Thanks for the posts...

1. Thanks for the link to the "consolidated" thread...but honestly...consolidated threads are the bane of FT.

2. We're staying 4 nights. Price range of about $200/night.

DoggyDaddy

Off subject, but are you my long lost son?????


Doggy Daddy

jes999

Are you interested in something close to town or up in one of the resorts on the Kohala Coast?

auggie doggie

I'd prefer something on the Kohala Coast (from what I know!) Thanks.

jes999

Hali'i Kai in Waikoloa has nice 2 and 3 BR units that can be rented very inexpensively in this environment. There are 3 building (13, 14 and 15) that are actually oceanfront and buildings 8 through 12 have very nice golf/ocean views. Please note that this development has a very nice oceanfront pool and exercise facilty but it has no beach access. I would stay away from units managed by Castle Resorts which is the on site management company. (PM me if you want details.) You can find lots of units on VRBO and should be able to get an oceanfront unit for $300/night in October and an oceanview for $250 or so.

http://www.haliikai.com/index.html

We prefer satying in Mauna Lani and you can get good deals on units in the Villages and Fairways but they are not ocean front. Some of the the Mauna Lani Point units have direct ocean views across a golf fairway & green.

OverThereTooMuch

I've tried to track down my "dream condo" on vrbo.com, but they only let you filter by city/neighborhood. Knowing nothing about the area, that really doesn't help me

Anyone have any suggestions on a better way to search?

If anyone that works at vrbo is reading this, here are some of the things off the top of my head that I'd definitely want:
1) Filter out units that aren't available during my dates.
2) Filter out units that only rent on a monthly basis
3) Set a max price limit (probably should be separate for daily/weekly/monthly)
4) Add filters for some of the features that you already track for each of the units (pool, oceanfront/oceanview, A/C, etc.)

nishimark

You've got some good ideas there. However, more than once I've found open dates at condos I was looking at by contacting the owners directly, even though their calendar on VRBO showed booked. I've also seen the opposite.

philemer

You're ideas are good but I don't think they will materialize. Just ask here about different neighborhoods & areas. You'll get lots of help. Tell us what you like to do & you'll get good suggestions.

nyc325

Try cyberrentals.com, which has many of these filters. It's just another owner rental site like vrbo and has some good places. When you're going at a busy time of year the filter for dates can cut down a lot of unnecessary emailing. You'll still find that some people don't update their calendars, but it's worth a shot.