Out of my Element

Thanks for the heads up on the invoice, we'll keep an eye out.

Out of my Element

Just back from our Hawaii trip, we stayed here 3/11-15. On check in we were upgraded to an Ocean Front room instead of an Ocean View, and it was the room at the very front of the building (2224), overlooking the rocks. I don't think any room in the property is closer to the water. We were also offered as an amenity option (we're gold) free valet parking (instead of $7/day) for our stay, which we took. Valet was always quick and friendly except one AM we left before 7 when we had to use a phone at the valet stand to get someone to get our car.

Had 2 dinners at Rays -- one late (9PM) walk in, one with reservations and thought the meals were well worth the prices charged. Service was good both times, although we heard mutterings from folks we met on the property about service issues.

Enjoyed 2 meals nearby at Da Poke Shack, and 2 breakfasts at LavaJava up the road a few minutes.

Antonio8069

I am considering a 4-night stay next April on SPG points. After reading the reviews, I am wondering if its worth 10,000?
- no SPG lounge;
- marginal reviews;
- resort fees (are they waived for Plats?)
Also, as a member of SVO, I am curious if any FTs have booked a timeshare exchange at this property? Do they even have suites?

bocastephen

Totally depends what you plan to do during your stay. If you want a resort where you can spend your day at the pool, beach, dine-in and enjoy various resort style amenities, Keahou is not for you. Consider one of the Kohala area resorts like the Hilton Waikoloa.

If you want a comfortable, reasonably inexpensive and well located place to stay as a base point for jumping off to various other island locations to tour around during the day, and you're away from the hotel most of the day, then Keahou is perfect.

ktjan

Third time at this hotel. I usually got an oceanfront room as an upgrade. This time, I'm staying here for a short 2-day Labor Day weekend for a solo getaway trip. Booked a mountain view room with the lowest rate and got pre-upgraded to the deluxe oceanfront suite 3 days before my arrival. OMG, the private terrace (with a cabana) in my suite alone is bigger than my living room at home. I can seriously throw a party for 20-30 people in it. And the other balcony in the bedroom is right above the ocean and I can see manta rays swimming at night right below me. The people here are so nice and very courteous just like my previous visits and I wish I could stay longer here. No complaint here except the slow wifi and you still have to pay the full resort fee even as a platinum member!

centrifuge41

Looks like they are adding a lounge on 4/1/16. Details.

I guess that I should sign up for the SPG business card before going, so I can access the lounge

ORD-TGU

Nice addition, but hopefully it is better than Sheraton Maui. It was mediocre.
I expected hold back at Maui using SPG Business card, but no issues at checkin. Award stay and AU, not primary cardholder.

ilovelarry16

We just returned from a 6 night stay at the Kona Sheraton. I used points for two mountain view rooms and was upgraded to two ocean view suites in the Sheraton Club (red tower 2) wing. One suite over looked the lit bay where manta rays came each night and the other was overlooking the pool and ocean to the south. We were thrilled.

As a platinum, we were also given access to the Club lounge such offered an expanded continental breakfast (cereals, breads, pastries, scrambled eggs and sausage or bacon). Not a huge selection, but enough variety for our party of 5. There was also hot appetizers each evening with complimentary beer and wine. The evening choice was two appetizers that changed daily.

We enjoyed the property. The rooms are big, with nice balconies and we were treated very well.

sunnymorris

Has anyone stayed at both the Sheraton and the Courtyard Marriot in Kona? Which is better?

chimark

While I haven't stayed at the Courtyard, there's a very big difference between the hotels. The Courtyard is the King Kamehameha hotel, which was independent until recently remodeling and aligning with Marriott. It was built in the 1970's in the heart of Kailua-Kona, so is walkable to restaurants, shopping, etc. The rooms look nice and we've had a great time at the luau at the hotel even when not staying there. Don't expect a huge resort environment - there's a pool and small neighboring beach, but it is not a mega-resort like most of the Big Island hotels.

The Sheraton is also a renovation, but is in a development south of Kailua-Kona. While it is still somewhat similar to an urban hotel in design, they have much more of a resort environment, with well kept grounds and far larger pool areas, etc. for enjoyment. The downside here is that there is very limited dining, etc. close by, but it's not difficult to get into Kailua-Kona if you want something different.

I think it really comes down to what you're looking for in a vacation. If you're out exploring the island every day, I think either is fine, leaning to the Courtyard if you want convenience to non-hotel restaurants. If you're looking for a lounge by the pool type experience, the Sheraton is far better (and the cabanas are a great deal, especially if you're a Platinum)!

jpdx

We spent 4 nights here last week, and I wanted to provide an update about the club lounge and some benefit changes.

Things weren’t off to a particularly great start when at check-in, the agent informed us that (a) the valet parking benefit for Plats had been replaced by access to “VIP self-parking,” (b) there was no alternate amenity for the resort fee, and (c) the Platinum gift choice was between 500 points, a small bag of Kona coffee, and, wait for it, “premium internet.” She then proceeded to search for our welcome letter, and, coming up empty, cheerfully said, “looks like we didn’t print one for you,” and sent us on the way to our room. A letter did eventually show up, under our door the next morning, addressed to another Platinum guest, explaining the benefits – fairly meaningless with the exception of a new club lounge and a Platinum wristband we didn’t receive (and didn’t need, given that we were off-property all day long).

The lounge serves breakfast from 6.30 to 9, and has an evening happy hour from 5 to 7. I need to preface my comments by saying that most of my stays are in Asia and Europe, so most lounges in the US are unimpressive to me. However, this one easily wins the prize for worst lounge of the year. The breakfast consisted of scrambled eggs, sausages, fruit, toast and some pastries, and a pot with “Royal Kona” coffee. The sausages rotated daily, but unfortunately were either rock hard (breakfast links), or cold (Portuguese sausage). Eggs were made from powder, and served either lukewarm or cold. The coffee tasted like water most days, and the only type of tea available was “Calming Chamomile,” exactly what one needs for early morning caffeination. By day 3, we had given up on actually eating at the lounge, and only stopped by out of curiosity.

Evening options were equally dire on the two nights we swung by the club; one night featured chicken fingers in one container and stuffed mushrooms turned to mush in another; two nights later, the options were edamame and fried onion rings. Needless to say, lukewarm or cold. Redeeming features? The club lounge does have a nice view and outside terrace overlooking the sea, the staff are friendly, and there’s wine and beer on offer during the evening happy hour.

We didn’t get a suite upgrade this time, but instead were assigned a slightly mis-labeled “oceanfront” room that should probably be called pool-front instead. It’s adequately sized, and roughly in line with other Hawaiian hotels in terms of run-downness. Housekeeping was poor. The bed skirt was filthy, our floor kept accumulating dirt throughout our stay without being disturbed by a vacuum cleaner, and the bathroom was only given minimal cleaning. Most importantly, the walls are paper thin, and the connecting door ensured that we overheard the neighbor’s TV and late night and early morning conversations. We ended up turning the noisy air-conditioning way down to drown out the noise.

This was our 4th or 5th stay here in the past decade, and that’s plenty. We knew that it’s a poor hotel, and reading the reviews on SPG.com show that many guests feel the same way. In all likelihood, the hotel’s management knows about the many issues, but doesn’t feel a need to improve given that rates are generally in the $180-200 range for base rooms, plus a hefty $36 resort fee. Of course, no skilled BRGer will pay that much; what brought us here was an approved rate of $90, but even at that level, having met the Plat requalification criteria for the year, we were questioning the wisdom of staying here.

jaw20

I'm looking for opinions on whether I would be better off with a condo rental or an award booking for an Ohana Suite (1 BR oceanfront suite with lounge access). Travelers are two adults and two kids.

Currently, I have a five-night award stay booked for spring break time in 2018. So, given the choice between spending 80,000 SPG points + $45/night for resort fees and parking vs. $250 give or take for a condo, what would you do?

I understand this is a completely subjective question, but I'm trying to make sure I don't get sucked into the trap of thinking high redemption values (four cents per point in this case) equate to a good value overall.

tattikat2

Hi Jaw20, My wife and I stayed in that type of suite with lounge access and I would think with 2 kids, you will save a ton of money on food with breakfasts and evening snacks provided in the lounge daily.
The rooms are large with separate bathrooms in each room and 2 lanis (one for hanging out on and one for drying swim suits?)

Plus all the swimming pools , activities etc at the hotel would be much more fun for kids than a "condo"

Thats my 2 cents!

Sincerely,

Frindle

Looking at staying here in a few weeks. Anything more recent than the horrible review from two years ago? Is there anything similar to what there is on Oahu with all the restaurants and bars on the beach nearby?

bocastephen

First, you can't compare the activities and environment of Waikiki with the Kona area - when you say 'similar' are you asking about the availability of any restaurants, bars and shopping near the water, or some place just as busy and popular?