This hotel was a pleasant surprise for us. Located at the edge of town, it was a very short walk to the area shops and restaurants. The rooms are definitely dated, and could use a little redecorating, but as a crash pad, and for the beautiful view of the Kona harbor from our lanai, it can't be beat. The lanais are not as private as we would like, but were private enough to sit and enjoy a cocktail and the sunset. We had a coffee maker and small refrigerator, so were able to make small meals for breakfast. The price was modest compared to most other area resorts, and for the amount we paid, it was a downright bargain. The 'Don, The Beachcomber' restaurant is a bit upscale for the hotel premises, but the food is good, if a little pricey. There were plenty of other restaurants to choose from within very easy walking distance- from coffee houses, to thai and seafood or burger joints and sandwich shops. . I would definitely go back again, and would not hesitate to recommend this resort-hotel to anyone who wants to visit Kona on a budget.

Don't get too excited...it's a very average hotel with no special amenities. The property is very dated and the room was down right depressing. The linens-towels, sheets were just as bad.
No extra towels were provided and we had to call twice to get a blanket delivered. The location is in downtown Kona - which itself is a bit data and somewhat seedy in my opinion. The upside, the hotel is close to shops and restaurants.
The positives: the bar had a lovely view, great servers and nice hefty pour.
If we didn't have an ocean view and were there for a full week of vacation - I would have switched hotels. But we had the ocean view and were there only 3 nights...trying to spend every moment possible away from the hotel.
If you are traveling on a tight budget and not looking for a romantic get-away, then the value is there. If not, I'd skip it.

This hotel was built in 1968 when there was no airport on the west side of the island. It's classic like the Ilikai in Oahu. The place is a little worn, but you can't beat the price and the location and the facilities. Walk down the street to Huggo's for good breakfasts. And the best prices on mac nuts and kona coffee, and I mean the best prices, are from an 83 year old woman in a van right in front of Huggo's. We'd certainly stay at the Royal Kona again!

We decided to splurge and get the corner king ocean view room. It was a great view and we could see the ocean and the lagoon but this was the best part of the stay.
Once we arrived the TV remote wouldn't work. We'd just had a long drive from Volcano and I just wanted to watch TV then have a shower. Maintenance came and replaced it. After I'd relaxed with the TV a bit I went to have a shower and the shower head broke when the water was turned on. Back down to reception asking to be moved as the room was clearly in need of repair and who knew what was going to break next. They advised they had no other corner kings available and would send maintenance again, they then offered to refund our parking cost for the inconvenience which was appreciated, (was $20.) From reading other reviews we were clearly in the "crappy" tower but paid the same rate as the others.
The luau is very, very loud if you aren't attending or trying to get an early night sleep. It was on both nights we stayed and I was grateful I hadn't booked an early flight out when we were leaving.
The bar area was really nice looking out over the ocean crashing over the rocks. Would have to get there early to secure an ocean front seat. The food at the bar was tasty and drinks strong (stronger out of happy hour) - was also well priced.
We stayed some amazing places in Hawaii, and this was the highest cost per night of all of them. In comparison to all the other resorts/hotels/B&B it offered the least value for money and I feel we overpaid for what we got.