TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

We just returned from 6 nights at the Royal Kona in a corner king room. It has a lot going for it. We enjoyed our stay and would stay here again. The room was large and well appointed. The corner balcony was silly large. Honestly, we never used the other half around the corner. It does get you 2 walls worth of windows which are gorgeous. The rooms are a bit dated and they appear to be remodeling parts of the hotel now. Everything was clean and functional. Hearing the surf break on the rocks while you sleep is awesome. Parking is $25/day but very convenient. You couldn't ask for a better location for walking to dining options and quick drives to most of the things you want to see in Kona. The hotel bar and grill was nice for a quick bite after a long day of travel getting there. The food was good, but not spectacular. The coupon for 2 free Mai Tais was a nice touch. Overall a very good experience. An ice machine on each floor would be nice, but the filtered water machine makes up for it.

We stayed at The Royal Kona for 2 nights. They have 2 things going for them, the staff and the outdoor dining/bar area. The rooms need to be updated but are very clean. The pool area is small but we had no problem getting loungers. We think this resort is middle of the road-not bad but not awesome either.

My husband and I stayed here for our honeymoon and had a great time! The location was perfect. It is near a lot of little beach shops and restaurants. It is also a close drive to many things as well. The atmosphere of the hotel is very open and airy. Our room in the Bay Tower was more up to date than anticipated! We had a great view of the ocean and enjoyed looking at the ocean. The only negative about the rooms were the balconies. They aren’t very private and you can hear the people staying next door to you if you’re both out on the balconies. The pools and lagoon were also great amenities. We never had any issues getting seats by pool or lagoon, but know that shaded seating by the lagoon goes fast. The lagoon is great for beginner snorklers, as it is shallow and there are little fish swimming in it(we even saw a turtle by the rocks!). Overall, I would stay here again and recommend this hotel to anyone visiting Kona!

The good: - Great location. Easily walkable to “downtown” Kona and lots of shops and restaurants. - Good breakfast. Waking up to eggs and bacon on the oceanfront is great. - Good ocean front bar. - Our room was clean and well kept by housekeeping. The bad: - When we went to our room we noticed we received two doubles instead of a single bed. It would have been nice for the check-in staff to have asked or mentioned. When we asked if we could change, we were told single bed rooms were sold out. Admittedly there is a disclaimer that “bedding configurations aren’t guaranteed” on the website, but it’s a little odd. I imagine it would be upsetting to book for your honey moon or something and receive two small beds. - Rooms are pretty dated. We stayed in the “Bay” tower, which is not yet renovated. Nothing extreme, but the rooms are definitely showing their age. The bathroom in particular was disappointing. - Staff/service were only ok. We had a pretty curt person at check in, but maybe it was a one-off. The bar/breakfast staff seemed short staffed which made service a little slow and not as friendly.

Great location, lobby and restaurant area was nice, staff was great. Our "updated" room was dumpy and if you looked closely, it was dirty and not maintained well. Pool area was very bad, years of pool side grunge and pool tile scum was a serious eyesore. The room was on par for an old Motel 6 in small town Montana. We expected much better from a "resort". Owners need to increase the maintenance budget. That said, we had a great visit to Kona.