To sum up my time at the Courtyard King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel, it was frustrating, rewarding, and frustrating. My family stayed 5 nights on points at this hotel. While it is beach front with an almost private beach it is not the most functioning hotel.
Marriot Status: 10/10
Services: 6/10
Amenities: 6/10
Location: 9/10
Prior to My Arrival
I used points to stay at this hotel. On average the hotel was going for $300-400 USD a night given its location which is right down town Kona and a convenient walk to the shops, restaurants, etc. This hotel is a Category 5 hotel and at 30K points a night (with 5th night free) I spent 120K points. That works to be around 1.5 cents per point for this stay. Not the greatest redemption but alright. I also requested my suite night rewards to be used.
About 10 days before my arrival I was confirmed that I was upgraded to their Ocean View Room which is essentially a suite with a separate living and sleeping area.
Check-in Process
The check-in process was smooth and pleasant. We arrived late and they welcomed me with open arms. They had already upgraded me to the suite based on my SNA and during the check-in process they gave me, chocolate covered macadamia nuts, a sand bucket for my child, free parking, welcome drinks, and $20/day to use at the restaurant. In addition, as my welcome gift I asked for the breakfast which they gave to me as well. It was quite a bit of stuff but welcomed none the less.
Room
The room was as good as I could have expected from a Courtyard. The suite that I was upgraded to had, 2 full bathrooms, a walk in closet in the bedroom, king bed, a full living area with a sofa, chairs and coffee table, a nook that had the mini-bar and its essentials (water, coffee, etc.) and two balconies. There was one balcony from the bedroom and another from the living room. It was very spacious and relaxing.
The room overlooked the ocean. While we were on the end of the building but on the 2nd from the top floor, we had a nice view of the beach and ocean.
Service and Staff
Cleaning Staff
During check-in they let us know that they were doing scheduled cleaning but if we needed anything to just let them know. I personally don’t like my room cleaned everyday with fresh towels because I find its a waste and simply not needed. So I hang my Do Not Disturb sign and just let the staff know if I need a full cleaning services or just some things here and there.
This was where our first hurdle was. On the days I requested a full clean, the staff did a wonderful job, replenished everything and the room was spotless. However, on the days I asked for coffee and water with some fresh towels I would get half the stuff. It was very frustrating as this happened several times during our stay where I only received half the things I requested (I promise it wasn’t a long list).
Restaurant Service
The restaurant staff were absolutely horrible. It was almost the blind leading the blind. We went down for breakfast everyday, had a few dinners and drinks by the pool and it was consistently horrible. During our breakfast at Billfish Poolside Bar & Grille it took over an hour for the food to come out every single day regardless if we were there early, late, in the middle of it, it was just constantly slow. We tried to call down our order and pick it up and that only made things worst with items missing from our order. While the staff was apologetic it was extremely frustrating.
The restaurant had a Thanksgiving Day special dinner which we thought would be nice as it was in the main Honu’s on the Beach Restaurant. It was a prix fixe menu that had a steak and a fish option. Making a reservation was horrible. The front desk staff couldn’t make the reservation, the people at the restaurant couldn’t make a reservation, when calling I was passed back to the restaurant… it was a total mess. Eventually we talked to the “restaurant manager” that was able to make a reservation for us. This was only the start! When we arrived and selected our options we both got the steak option. While the meat was okay and a little over cooked based on what I asked for, the baked potato was half raw and they forgot a whole side dish. You couldn’t make this up. To top it all off, because it was also a special occasion I tried to have the restaurant have a cake for us but they couldn’t do it so I was asked to bring my cake. Well I did, but they forgot about it and when they eventually brought it, they brought it in the original container from the baker (they didn’t serve it). Their ability to run a restaurant didn’t exist.
My advise, is to stay away from the restaurants unless you have a lot of patience.
General Management
I am not typically a complainer and my reviews are generally positive in nature, however this hotel will frustrate you to no end. I talked to the General Manager of the Hotel and provided him this constructive feedback. They have a great location that could be really enjoyable but you spend half your day waiting for food, drinks and talking to hotel staff to move things along or get them fixed that it makes it unpleasant. I will say that he took it quite well and gave me the speech about COVID and new staff, etc. but he understood.
Amenities
The hotel had quite a few amenities and things to do on the property.
The hotel pool is nice and has a hot tub. It is good for kids and the bar is pretty close to the pool so you can hang out there and catch the sunset as well. Its a decent size pool.
They have the restaurants as I described above and I would just stick to drinks. They also have a coffee house within the hotel and several shops/stores. One store that is useful is the ABC store.
The beach is great for little ones. While small, it is in a bay protected by a dock that makes it calm. Its peaceful but the view isn’t that great and is blocked by the dock. Its good for a morning swim and then move on. Remember that all beaches are public in Hawaii so there is no “beach service”. If you want that there is a section in the grass area behind it that in theory you can use (but remember that your drinks may take a few hours :)).
They do have a luau (picture on the right). I didn’t got this time but in the past I have and it was really good. I would recommend going to their luau as it still has great reviews.
Location
The location of this hotel is right “downtown Kona”. It is walking distance from a lot shops and restaurants. It is a quick drive to the airport and you are central. They don’t call it the Big Island for nothing. It will take you time to drive to the volcano and other beaches depending on where you go but given the fact that you can walk to a lot of different things is a great bonus!