Kona Hawaii Guest House — Hotel in Hawaii

My mother booked this place for a girls trip with her friends in mid February via American Airlines. I was going to stay with her the first night, but we ended up packing up our things an hour in.

The owner, John, is a very nice fellow, but the room we received was not as advertised. The photos on the website are misleading and not an accurate representation of what we saw. We were also told that our suite would have two beds and a full kitchen. There was a full bed and a pull-out couch set up right next to the bed, with not nearly enough room to extend said couch. There was a tiny sink with a cupboard and some utensils, but no cookware. Outside was a camping propane stovetop (and, inexplicably, rugs layered on the patio), a mini fridge, and a large wardrobe that could have served as a pantry. We asked for a pot so I could make dinner, but the one that was left on the hood of our car for us to take had something brown caked onto it.

My mother ultimately decided not to stay because a) the place was not as advertised, and she determined the room we had didn't have enough ventilation for her to sleep comfortably. We couldn't get the ceiling fan to turn on, and the only window we had was tiny. The property is open about having no AC - however, in my opinion, you at least have to have screen doors and more open air if you're going to do that in this climate.

The room we had was locked with a keypad. The code we were texted was incorrect, and when we returned to gather our things and couldn't get the code right, John called out from the dark of night, while he was working in the bushes, to tell us what the actual code was. We did not know he was there, and were startled to have that information shouted at us without any prompting (besides muttering between ourselves that we couldn't get the code to work).

I think this is a decent place to stay, especially if you're familiar with the realities of off-grid living and are comfortable with a more rustic stay. You do get a nice view of the ocean and the surrounding neighborhood. The price point is fair, and John texted after we left to offer to upgrade us to an upstairs suite (which seem to be what's pictured on the website) after we left, but we simply weren't comfortable staying there. I decided to post this review because I don't believe that the website is a full and fair portrayal...

This is where Expedia booked for us!! Wow we were not expecting to be booked in such a dive😳first started with owner John the inn keeper. We had a Keypads with owner knowing the code. The rooms were Cockroaches infested. I asked John for sticky pads for the roaches: was told nope. Room smelled like puke. Had to go to Walmart and buy cleaning Supplies. Towels provided were dirty, old and like sandpaper. Beds are old and hard. The owners were not open to buying traps for the insects and cockroaches. My daughter woke up with them all over the bed. I told the owners and they were not concerned. We were told there was a pool and a hot tub but those were not functioning. The cooking facilities were dirty. The owners are scammers running a rundown place as a hotel. They asked for 90$ us for cleaning what a joke. The view is a million dollar one. Love the replies from owner which is an amazing guy but terrible business man. Gaslighting on every reply. And yes we locked up all the food but the cockroaches kept...

Personally, when my family and I rented this place, we were pretty disappointed by this particular guest house. And the reason why it's not 1 star is because the owner of the place is really nice and helpful with suggestions about places we should visit. Coming from a fairly cool climated region to this island of Hawaii, it was difficult to acclimatize to the weather and it didn't help that there wasn't an air conditioning unit available. Only fans. For us to rent the top portion of the house, it was roughly $200 per night per person which equates to us paying $800 per day for 7 days. Unfortunately, the pictures and what is written on the website is basically candy coated to what you'll actually be receiving as wear and tear on the house, etc. is definitely present. I can only recommend the reader of this review to find another place because at the price and value of what you get... I just can't recommend it. Best to go for a hotel that's around this price and I guarantee you...