My wife, 1 year old daughter, and sister-in-law just returned from a week at the Waikoloa Colony Villas. First, I would like give my sincere apologies to my fellow passengers on Flight 257. The colony villas are located within the Waikoloa Beach Resort which is 18 miles north of the airport. It is a very easy drive on a two lane highway and the only two traffic lights you enounter are exiting the airport and turning into the Resort. A bit of warning...the initial right turn heading toward the Villas once inside the resort is not easy to see...especially at night (there are no street lights). The good thing is the entire resort is a circle and almost impossible to get lost. I had read an earlier review about problems getting into the gate. Im not sure if it was there before, but there are numbers to call at the gate to reach someone (Aston is listed). The villas themselves are well cared for and we did see landscapers there several times. They are a mix of private residences and vacation rentals. We did have maid service everyday and the service was excellent. Our unit was about 20 steps from the main pool and it was extremely quiet. Although the water was rather chilly (they dont heat most pools in Hawaii), but the hot tub was perfect.

As for the resort itself, it was nice and the Kings Shops were an excellet place to walk around and have a nice dinner. Restaurant selections are somewhat limited, but downtown Kona is about 25 miles down the road. Another warning...if you have reservations at a Kona restaurant, make sure you give yourself plenty of extra time. Traffic (especially going into Kona between 4-6pm) can back up for several miles on the two lane highway. I would definitely recommend the Kona Inn Restaurant at sunset. All open and the tables closest to the water are incredible (be prepared for people surrounding your table taking pictures).

A-bay is nice and the scenery incredible, but if you want a pure sand, boogie board beach...head to Hapuna. Its only a 15 minute drive and definitely worth it. Also if you like to snorkel, try Puako...great reef.

We golfed at the Waikoloa Beach Course and if you stay at the Villas you get a fairly decent discount. The course is nice and make sure you bring your camera for #12.

All in all it was a great homey place with friendly people and great scenery.

Our condo was modern and spacious. It was decorated in high style--very luxurious. We even had use of the attached garage.

The main problem was that our confirmation info did not tell us how to find the complex and get into the gated area. This proved to be a problem. First, we went to the wrong resort (directions were minimal). Once we found the right place, the office didn't answer the gate intercom, and we had to walk in. (Heaven knows what we would have done if it were after office hours.) Finally we got in and were given our keys.

All this could have been avoided if they'd follow the policy of the next place we stayed, which was a private townhouse:
--Provide a gate code in the confirmation email
--Put the front door key in a lockbox, and provide the lockbox code in the same email
--Provide a 24-hour number of a local contact person in case of problems.

By the way, this entire resort is a self-contained "city" amid barren lava beds--fine if you like the artificial resort atmosphere, but otherwise rather constricting. It was near a good beach, though. We just were glad we didn't stay more than one night since the whole resort atmosphere is rather claustrophic--and prices for groceries, etc. are sky-high.

If you're going to stay on the coast, a better option is Kailua-Kona to the south, which has more going on and multiple options for lodging and dining.

I was given the responsibility of booking for my husband & his brother & wife - I am so glad I picked Waikoloa Colony Villas! We were there for 4 nights - the condo was beautifully decorated and obviously almost brand new. Maid service came by each day to bring fresh towels & empty trash. There was a hot tub and barbeque area across the street for us to grill out. It was nice to have a full kitchen for meals & such. We played golf one day on the great course & even were given a guest discount.