My wife and I had a great romantic 3 night getaway in room 425 over new years. The room had everything we needed and more. The lanai was great and the view was hard to beat. We were at the north end of the building so did not have the best view of the surfing area but the waves came within 30 ft of the building at high tide. The view was palm trees and ocean. Fabulous sunsets.

Parking was convenient and free. We were a ways from the elevator so moving luggage in and out was a bit of a walk but with the available luggage cart it was not a problem. We used the stairs most of the time. Straight up from the car to the room.

It is a little far from town to walk unless you like long walks, but very close if you have a car.

We did not have much contact with the staff but helpful and pleasant was my experience.

The building is older but what I saw was well kept.

Our unit was privately owned so may not like the others. It was a very nice ocean front studio with full kitchen and everything we needed. We were hoping for a great getaway and it was better then we had hoped.

As to sleep, we had very high surf (10 to 15 ft.) and we are not used to it so the first night we did not sleep well but most of the time it would not be nearly as loud and we got used to it by the second night.

I was sooo disappointed with this condo! Each condo in this place has a different owner. We had number 216 on the second floor. You can't request, nor can you change places once you have reserved a room. The positive is the location. It is very near the town, almost walking distance. The rooms do have a lovely view of the ocean, a large balcony and parking is easily accessed beneath the building. So what's my complaint? The bed was truly like sleeping on a plank of plywood! I spent four nights trying to sleep on the couch. The shower was extremely tiny, so much so that I had to stand sideways. There was No Air Conditioning and we were there in December! The kitchen was extremely HOT. Some of the drawers were broken. The toaster didn't work. The electric stove was crooked. Minimal utensils and cookware were provided. The television was very OLD, small, out of date with a very poor quality picture. I'm not usually one to complain, in fact, this is my first negative report, but I really wanted to let you know what you might end up getting.

This property is truly a mixed bag. The partial ocean front which I booked was across the street to ocean, a fairly busy street at that. We decided that this was to be a very local experience. It was not a two star hotel stay. The condo was old and dated but very clean. Cleanliness is our priority. The bed was comfy. Room size adequate. Lots of make shift repairs to keep it functional. If you want a place to eat and sleep with close proximity to ocean. This is it.
It is not by any means luxurious. We did get a local feel though, which we appreciate in our travels.
The reception desk was not particularly friendly. She did her job efficiently, but there was no welcome involved. I'm not sure where the aloha spirit was... But it was not there at that moment.
Let's just simply say, we grew to like it. We were on vacation and the island is beautiful. It's not a place to stay and hang out.... Unless you get the ocean front condo... It was affordable and mostly utilitarian.

Originally, we were scheduled to stay at the Kona Reef. To find out that 'an owner wanted your room, and you are now at our sister hotel'. We found the Kona Bali Kai, and couldn't be happier. It was farther down from the 'main drag'. But the view was incredible! Couldn't ask for a nicer condo, and didn't want to leave the balcony! It was spacious, clean and would LOVE to go back!
Only down side, is you don't get greated with 'aloha and mahalo' as often on the Big Island, but can't wait to go back!
Mahalo to the owner who had to have our room at the Kona Reef. It ended up being a great vacation. Have to try Da Poke Shack....very good Poke...locals love it, so that says it all!