TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

Upon check in, we were VERY briefly told about where our room was and very few other details. There is no bellman or carts available for use. The resort charges $25 for parking and $25 resort fee. The building is run down, the staff is incredibly rude and to be completely honest, extremely unhelpful, especially the host at the Mai Tai Bar with darker hair. The bartenders were ignoring us because we had our coupon for our complimentary mai tai’s out on the bar, so we waited 15+ minutes watching them do ANYTHING else but serve us. There wasn’t even a full bar and everyone else was taken care of. The rooms and building is run down. I called housekeeping twice asking for blankets and waited over 45 minutes. The laziness around this property is not worth a stay, and it was unpleasant. Please do your research because this being labeled a resort is a joke.

We had to cancel a VRBO that was not as advertised and booked a room at the Royal Kona last minute. Ann at the front desk gave us top notch customer service. We had a great ocean view room. The resort has a charming 1960s retro vibe with a Tiki bar with an ocean view. The resort has more character than places like the Marriott that looks like a shopping mall inside.

Our flight was cancelled and HIlton moved us into the Royal Kona Resort. It was perfect for what we needed. The best thing is the location. It's close to town and close to Huggos/On the Rocks! Staff was very nice and helpful. VERY friendly. We had a really good breakfast at the restuarant there. Prior to going there, we stayed at a much nicer hotel, but further from town. This room was dated a bit, but it was clean. But that didn't bother me. I would recommend it if you're know you're not getting luxurious accomodations. The hotel as a whole was very "Hawaiian" and very cute.

Traveling as solo, I approached a lack luster all business get it done person. No aloha and she stuck me in a “standard room” which was located in a very ugly setting. Room looked like it was 1968. The co worker agreed and said this is the second time she has done this. You are overlooking the building across from you with no greenery. So I go back and said this is not acceptable and they didn’t want to do anything so I start looking for a new place and that gets their attention. I get moved and the room is nice enough. 2 days later I come in my room a there is a pipe leaking water from the ceiling. Maintenance guy came and spoke no English so I guess I will never know if it was toilet water or sink water. No comp of anything no apologies no way I’m giving them anything but a motel 6 rating of 3.

The check in was very quick in an open air lobby. The room was in the Lagoon Tower which was under renovation at the time. This presented no problem for us at all. It was not noisy or bothersome. Our room was clean and serviced daily. The room was very quiet and comfortable. Although this facility is somewhat dated, it has been maintained and is quite pleasant. For Kona, this resort has one of the best locations. An exception was the pool that was dark and appeared to have a film on the still water. We chose not to use it due to the appearance. A young boy guest was helping the staff net something that was swimming in the pool. The 2nd evening of our stay we wanted to try the Don Beachcomber Restaurant. The tables were about 50% full but we were told it would be a 30 minute wait to be seated. We chose to walk to another location that was quite good. You can easily walk to restaurants, a farmers market and shops.