Kona Reef

#Kreefd37 The view from Kona Reef D37 is picture perfect. We saw dolphins and whales from the lanai. The condo is clean and comfortable but could use an update. You can’t beat the location. Downtown Kona is right next door. The complex is comfortable, private with security. Looking forward to returning next year. Book your visit with
#carlsonteamhawaii #kona coast vacations

We rented a ground level condo from a private owner and I must say this place is the BOMB! We walked out about 50 feet from our Lanai straight to the ocean and next door to the Condo is a beach access for swimming, boarding etc. The location is central to everything. The airport is 8 miles away or 20 minutes or so. You can walk to town or a 2 hour drive to Hilo. The pool was cool and refreshing, while the hot tub was HOT like it is supposed to be. They provide grills next to the pool if you want to grill your dinner, which was a treat. It had security walking around periodically which made me feel secure in knowing the place is being monitored. Over all I give it a big thumbs up and encourage you to stay here if you go to the BIG Island.

I would rate my stay higher if it wasn’t for the remodeling that was being done in the unit next to mine. It started Tuesday morning at 8:30 am. It sounded like someone was using a pick axe to rip the the tile floor. It was so loud you could not talk to the other person in the room. After they spent the day ripping up the tile, they proceeded to use a sander that was also VERY LOUD. To the point where the persistent drone started to make you feel like you’re going to go insane and throwing yourself off the balcony to the sharp lava rocks below was the only relief. It would hurt yes, but that LOUD noise would be gone. I have several recordings of this noise. It’s too bad I can’t share this wonderful sound.
My mother and father our older and like to rest during the day but the noise has made that impossible. No one should be subjected to this noise.
How we were not told of this prior to renting the unit is bothersome to me. I know for a fact that remodeling of any kind needs to be cleared and the affected homeowners notified. Shame on Kona Reef for ruining my families vacation.

Our favourite place we go every year for 2 weeks at Christmas. We love bring on the ocean and close to town. I love it so much I bought a 2 week timeshare!

We have traveled the world and unit A5 is one of the nicest we have stayed in it is ocean front and a beautifully remodeled place. We came to Kona to purchase a place and we did purchase one. Having seen how lovely this unit is we are having our unit gutted and remodeled in a similar motif.

Stayed here for 10 days and had a great time. However, do not stay near the street. We were in B-​21 and the noise all night from the traffic and the adjacent trash and recycling area was difficult. The room was okay but needs updating. Staff including Imi were very friendly and accommodating.
We will be back but definitely not staying near the front of the property.

So far the trip has been interesting.
Don’t let them have your card. They will charge the crap out of it! I have 3 holds on my card when they were suppose to do 1. The ladies don’t know too much about anything and they have horrible tour recommendations. They helped me book a bite me fishing trip and it was complete crap. The only thing I like is the property, but my room was not clean when we checked it.
If this wasn’t a friend’s timeshare I’d raise more hell with them. Don’t buy a timeshare here! They don’t deserve your business.
Such a disappointment.

Affordable condo right on beach walking distance to restaurants and shopping. Can’t swim in beach but property has tide pool with lots of tropical fish in sight. Nice sized pool and outdoor eating area with 4 large grills. Free wifi. Stayed in unit B27 and you walk out to balcony and can hear waves and see sunset. Unit is dated but very clean and well stocked with full sized washer/​dryer, boogie boards, beach chairs, cooler and kitchen with full pantry of essentials like spices, rice cooker, lots of pots, pans, utensils etc. Knives need to be replaced. Would stay here again. Good location close to nice beaches.

Very nice place one mile from downtown beach city center easy to walk. Room is a condo or timeshare that is fully equipped with all utensils and appliances and washer-​dryer in our case. They hold a deposit in case you mess it up, which is refunded later automatically. Our unit had a really great ocean view (but I was not guaranteed this when I booked, so your mileage may vary). Nice pool and beach access with lava/​coral structures. Office only open during the day, so plan ahead if checking out early. Very satisfied with price, room and service.

Our ocean front has great view but is very dirty and greasy. nice stay after all but our unit was not good except for the view. Very dirty and unmaintained. Our unit b13… get another besides this one. we feel ripped off.

I stayed 5 nights in A33 and really enjoyed the condo and complex. Great location on the ocean plus a 5 minute walk to downtown Kona. Easy parking, great pool and spa, plus grassy area along the ocean. I’d rent here again in a minute!

Is this a joke, brah? No one at the front desk in the evening?
You gotta call to get the combo to a lock to get the key to get into your room?
WTF…
No mahalo for you.

Beautiful place!!! Love the fact that it’s right on the beach and such a fantastic view. Swimming pool is great if you don’t want to deal with rocks and sand.
Highlight of our stay here was being able to view two turtles swimming in the tide pools right in front of the hotel!!! My kids were able to see sea turtles up close and personal — something that they’ve never been able to do before despite us going to beach every week!
The only drawback is that they strictly enforce no splashing, playing, yelling, etc during pool time and the entire building is on «quiet time» at all times. I was a bit surprised by that since I do have 2 kids who love to play in the water and splash around and yes sometimes kids do talk loudly!
I would love to go back with adults… but I’m not sure if this is the best place for a family with kids.

This is a great place to stay when staying in Kona. your not getting all the bells and whistles that you would find in a resort like daily cleaning of rooms our turn down service. but for me I’m a much bigger fan of feeling like being in my own home where i can leave a wad off cash on my night stand table and not worry that some shifty eyed worker takes off with it because there is no reason for any 1 to be in my room till i check out. The next great thing about staying here is being blocks form all the great bars and restaurants you can feel safe about having a few drinks with dinner and instead of driving drunk you just walk the few blocks to the Condo. Also i had a few mornings where on going on the lanai and watch as off in the distance as the whales breech the water and the cruise ship pulls into port. I had a great room on the fourth floor with a spectacular view. The pool was great, nicely designed and very clean

Nice hotel next to the ocean located about 5minutes away from Kona Town. These are timeshare units so each room may differ. The two bedroom unit we had was a complete room with two bathrooms and full kitchen. Awesome view of the ocean from the living room and lanai.
Secure swimming pool along with a jacuzzi available. Covered BBQ area near the pool.
Parking available on upper deck and covered garage below.

The location of the Castle Kona Reef was very good. The property is on the ocean and within walking distance of Kona for meals and shopping. Unfortunately the positives stopped there. The unit had been recently repainted, but there was a large brown stain on the ceiling in the kitchen most likely from a leaking sink in the unit above. The rug was also fairly new but not very clean. There was mould in the shower. The furniture was quite uncomfortable. The chair was passable, but the couch was very poor. The bed was also uncomfortable. The airconditioning unit was running but made no appreciable difference in the room temperature. When we closed the lanai doors at night, there was little ventilation and the unit became very stuffy. Reception was civil but little more. I could go on, but iin more than 20 trips to Hawaii of the 2 properties we have not enjoyed this was the worst. I would not stay at Castle Kona Reef again and would be unlikely to stay at any Castle property.

We exchanged via timeshare for two weeks. The place is in need of upgrading and timeshare exchanges get relegated to the poorest, non-​view locations. I would suggest you ask for a view room before committing. The location of fabulous and that makes up for the above. We found the personnel (Raintree) to be very helpful and accommodating. We would stay there again but only if we were guaranteed a view room. The maid service was spotty and the tile floors in the rooms were not as clean as they should have been. Facilities within each room varies so you might get a 12″ TV or a 24″ TV. Your room might have little furniture or adequate furniture. Its all the luck of the draw. WIFI free for exchangers but paid for renters. While there, visit Huggos on the Rocks during Happy Hour. Well worth it.

I didn’t like that we arrived by 9:30pm and there was already no one at the front desk. Checking in consisted of using a phone to call a number — the person would then tell us which unit we got and a code to open a lock on our door to obtain the key to our unit. Everything went smoothly with that, so that’s fine.
Similar to many other «hotels» managed by the Castle Resorts & Hotels, these units all are individually owned, but when the owners are not using their vacation homes, these serve as «hotels» that people can stay at for a sum of money. With that said, our last stay with another Castle hotel just down the road was very nice, mainly because the owners of that unit has made the unit very comfy and cozy with cute décor. This unit, however, was very barebones. We had everything we needed, so that’s okay, but what really bothered me was the fact that the floor probably hadn’t been cleaned/​mopped in God knows how long. Our feet became almost black after walking around the unit barefoot. As we walked in we were welcomed by two flies and a mosquito, all of which we eventually killed. So that’s the bad on management’s part.
The best part about our stay was the washer and dryer (you get a travel size pack of laundry detergent). It’s nice to schedule some nights at places with washer/​dryer during a long trip so you don’t have to pack so much clothes!
And, the ocean is literally right in the backyard of our hotel, so that’s a nice bonus. It’s also walkable to the downtown Kona area.

Stayed here for our honeymoon through a time share and really enjoyed our time! We were able to walk easily into town and our accommodations were very nice. Felt very much like a home away from home.

After passing many fine hotels along Ali’i we arrived at the dilapidated Kona Reef Apt/​hotel. We were greeted by a curt and cold receptionist who informed us there is no house keeping or fresh towels and directed us to our room. This was the last interaction with the staff. Our room was a one bedroom apt with a 70s motif. It felt like we were staying in someone’s home rather than staying at a hotel. The wall mounted a/​c was loud and largely ineffective, the bed was large and dented, and the kitchen had a collection of cookware straight from the dollar store. Our «ocean view» room was 200ft away and interrupted by the pool and rec room. The louvre windows and sizable gap below the front door were excellent avenues for our house guests (bugs and geckos) to invite themselves in.
Overall the hotel is a modest place to stay and if you are traveling on a tight budget or do not plan to spend much time in the hotel I would recommend it to you. I on the other hand will search elsewhere next time.