Kanaloa at Kona — Hotel in Hawaii

Castle Kanaloa deserves its mixed reviews and I probably would give it 3 to 4 stars. All the units are individually owned, so the condition of each unit is highly variable. We stayed in unit 1103 for a week in September 2024. It was a second floor 2-bed, 2-bath unit without air conditioning. ||On the plus side, the location is great in Keauhou on the south end of Kailua. You can avoid the heavy traffic in the main town. It's quick to go to Honaunau or Captain Cook for some of the island's best snorkeling. It was also a reasonable drive to the beaches around Waikoloa. There is a shopping center close by for groceries. Three pools and grounds are in excellent shape. We used the BBQs by the pools every day. Parking was easy with assigned spots. The community is gated.||Many units do not have air conditioning, which works great in Hawaii if your unit is oriented properly to get cross ventilation. Ours was not, so we moved the many supplied fans around to help. It would get rather warm in the afternoon, but sleeping temperatures were fine with the fans. Mostly we were out all day anyway.||The unit was in acceptable shape. It was not remodeled so there was definitely wear and tear, but it was pretty typical for a Hawaii condo at a reasonable price and it was clean. The beds were good and that's the most important part. The living room furniture sagged but was clean. The refrigerator, stove and dishwasher were new enough. The washer/dryer combo was prehistoric but worked to freshen up our towels.||Expect about $400 in cleaning fee, insurance and association fee to be charged on arrival. The Booking.com booking via Southwest Hotels only specified a $35 on-site fee, but after reading the reviews I wasn't surprised by the extra charges. It was odd, however, because our booking already included about $600 in taxes and fees on a room charge of about $1200. I tend to not get too stuck on individual charges and just look at the bottom line. So for about $2200 for the week all told, I was satisfied with the price. I also got a nice chunk of Southwest points that I would value around $300.||If you do get a unit with added air conditioning, expect a $30/day charge to use it. It might be worth it for a top-floor unit as they have steeply pitched, uninsulated roofs that really build up heat throughout the day. I believe you can elect to not use the air conditioning to...

Being in Hawaii it would seem one wouldnt have much to complain about. This condo complex is nice in a nice area close to a grocery store and a few restarunts. The grounds are well kept and the pools are nice. My gripe are the managment of this place.

There are a few 'hotel' websites that these condos are being marketed on. So you choose a two bed room or three bedroom and when you show up youd expect a consistant product. But each unit is owned by different owners and theres no standard of ammentiy (or the standard is vauge and way to flexible). For example we reserved a oceanfront two bedroom. We walked in and i felt like we stepped backnto 1972. The place hadnt been touched since the original construction Im sure. The fridge was rusty looked tired. The tile counters were olive green the art was faded. There was a small tv in the living room, but it was so small. There was a cassette tape boom box for pur using pleasure and a the 5th edition on "Maui Discovered" to read (Hello....we are on the Big Island). This unit was not luxurious nor was it 'nice'. There wasnt even a front doormat to wipe sandy feet. It was a slumlords attempt to keep tenants coming without sinking a penny into their investment. Luckly for us the stove didnt work so we were granted a new unit.

Again weird management style here: the front desk is open until 5 and they dont care about problems with your unit. They said call whoever you made your reservation with. I said you mean the website clearing house is going to send out a repairman...i dont think so. By chance I found a property managers number in our condo and was able to remedy our broken stove. They gave us another unit and it was well kept, and comfortable. It had ample serving settings and usable kitchen facilities. Its worked out good.

I wont stay here again because unless youre on vrbo or airbnb you wont know what youre going to get on check in. Theres plenty of other places to stay. Also I was surprised by a $200 mandatory cleaning fee, payable at checkin, but thats more of a documentation problem of the hotel website...

Unit 2001. The primary bath shower is amazing. The king bed in the primary suite was comfortable. The view is fantastic. ||We were a bit away from the rest of our family units but we had the better view without any hedge or grass between us and the rocks and surf. ||The kitchen could be better stocked. There was a coffee grinder. It didn’t work. Units don’t have any spices or anything left or available to use. ByoEverything. ||The units only have four beach towels and four bath towels, a couple hand towels and a couple hand towels in the kitchen. It comes with one dishwasher soap packet and one laundry packet, and the condo doesn’t do towel or maid service. Bring your own laundry and dish soap or pay for the service. ($2+tax per laundry packet). Hand washing dish soap was plentiful, dish towels were not. ||As others have said, the condo charges $30/day for AC ($25 for 1 br, $35 for 2br+loft). We made due without however this unit didn’t have any floor fans and the ceiling fans were a joke. They definitely need to be replaced. Many of the other units had floor fans that definitely helped to move air around. Without the floor fans it was unbearably hot until the middle of the night. ||The condo pools are nice. We used two of the three hot tubs which weren’t overly warm and the jets suck. Very very low, not even on your back. For those with mobility issues you may not be able to get in to the Ocean Pool hot tub. That first step is a doozy. ||The condo staff were great and very accommodating. Their level of service was excellent. Some of the units are just a bit run down from over use and not having maintenance performed. Living this close to the salt air EVERYTHING rusts and corrodes. Check power outlets before plugging anything important in. ||Would we stay here again? Probably, however I’d be up for looking elsewhere as well. Central between...