OneWorldTraveller

But, self-parking is sometimes faster than valet.. Parking lot is just 1min walking..

BTW, I realized one more thing as a plat amenity, if I remember correctly.. 15% discount card on all dining except room service. Whenever you show the card upon dining, we got appropriate discount..

mahasamatman

And if you're the typical tourist, they get more money that way from tips, too...

RetiredRoadWarrior

HAH! I forgot to consider that (and I'm a notorious over-tipper). I think I'll just park the darn car myself.

And thanks, OTW, on the discount. We seldom eat at the hotel where we stay, but it might come in handy.

SP03

Planning on going to the Big Island in early December. The rates for Keauhou is only $119 per night. Most of the reviews here and Trip Advisors seem to suggest that the rooms and facility are outdated.

I was looking at the pictures on the hotel website. The rooms actually look pretty nice. Has the hotel had a renovation recently? Any updates from people who have stayed there lately?

bocastephen

The hotel and rooms were renovated recently - but the renovation was nothing special - and was probably a waste of money. Having said that, it's the best property south of the Kohala coast and your only real major chain option if you want to be near Kona.

The rooms at similar priced Kohala resorts are not that much better...

SP03

Thanks for the response. Does that mean that the pics on Sheraton's website are pretty accurate? They seem pretty nice. http://www.sheratonkeauhou.com/roomsandsuites/roomtour

After reading some reviews, it seems that the moutain view and partial view rooms are all unrenovated and in Wing 4. Is that correct? What's the difference between an ocean view and ocean front room?

I'm not too familar with the Big Island. Is there any particular reason I would want to stay south of the Kohala or close to Kona? It seems like most resorts are further north. Thanks

bocastephen

The pics are nice - but the video is a little more telling and accurate. There is nothing "wrong" with the rooms per se, but they are fairly tired looking and the furniture is a cheap 'tropical motif' that is almost as bad as the junk still being used at the Moana Surfrider.

Ocean view looks straight out onto the water - partial ocean rooms generally get a mixed bay/ocean view depending on the wing.

If you want to do day trips to the southbound sites (green/black sand beaches) and be close to town, then this is your best option - but the Kohala resorts are generally nicer, some of them have actual beaches, there are more planned activities (albeit touristy stuff), nice spas and you're closer to Saddle Rd for quick hops to Hilo/Volcano and Waimea for trips north.

badpelican

I was there with my wife and two girls in July. We were there for three days on points.

I think if you are paying in dollars it would be just fine. I think a ocean front vs the partial ocean view/bay view we had would have been better but we weren't exactly hanging out in the room all day long. The pool was really enjoyable and if you hit the happy hour in the restaurant/lounge you can get drinks and food for a decent price (for Hawaii anyway).

I would suggest that you confirm that the location works for whatever sight seeing you plan on enjoying.

All in all a decent value in my opinion.

iceman77_7

Wouldn't getting to Volcano be quicker from Keahou than Kohala?

bocastephen

No, because the Saddle Rd re-alignment project allows you to cross the island relatively quickly and swing down to Volcano from Hilo.

SFO 1K

I swear that was my room in the Ocean View room tour (Wing 3, 3rd Floor). However, it looks like they used Vaseline on the lens and made the walls look smooth and modern. The buildings are OLD, TIRED and DIRTY on the outside. The room is exactly as shown, with cheap laminate furniture. The bathroom (not shown) has no fan, and an industrial toilet (think of the old handle style from an airport bathroom from the 70s). The amenities in the room are all Sheraton, but the building itself needs A LOT of work to make it not feel so dated.

Oh, and how hard would it be to replace all the halogen bulbs in the elevators with LED? The elevators are so hot from having 6 halogen lights on all the time. LEDs are so much cooler, and energy efficient.

The SERVICE was very good from everyone we dealt with and we enjoyed the pool. But I would not stay at that hotel again.

Beavertails

Staying here in Feb for a week and upgraded to an Ocean Front room. Was told by the hotel concierge that they hand out room assignments about 3 days before arrival and I should call then to ensure I'm not given a room in front of the pool. Any advice on where / what floor of Ocean Front Room I should request?

todd-r

While it's personal preference, we found the ocean front rooms to be quite noisy(at night) from the waves crashing against the rocks. We were on the 3rd floor right above the restaurant/bar. As others have said, this property is old and tired. Once was enough for us!

pdx1M

FYI - they seem to have started a serious renovation on the property. I was there last week and the main entrance area and front desk is close for demolition and redo (there is a temporary setup at the parking lot level). Also, rooms on the parking lot side seem to be closed and under work. I saw a claim that the work was costing $60M - don't know if that is accurate. Work supposed to take through early summer at least. Hotel operating normally at the moment otherwise (no closed services). I got a suite upgrade on the ocean - a first in multiple visit as I usually just get an ocean view. You do have to like the sound of crashing waves to enjoy those rooms though (I do). Hotel really needs the upgrade so hopefully it will be a good one.

Beavertails

Thankfully I find that white noise soothing. I love the sound of the ocean. I know it isn't the 4 or 5 star propery like others on the island, but location, affordability and potential manta ray viewings from the rooms excite me (for when we're there and not out travelling around).

pdx1M: Did you find the renos got in the way of enjoyment of the property at all? Any suggestions on how to mitigate that?

Also, how did you score the sweet suite upgrade? I'm not Platinum at all. This will be my first opportunity to collect SPG points (but triple! - which is nice)