Kona Palace in Captain Cook — Hotel in Hawaii

Don’t follow the directions on Google Maps. We did so and ended up down an extremely steep road that led to multiple private residences. We had to go back on the main road and drive a short distance south to find the small signs pointing to another road down to the bed and breakfast. Beware: the road is quite steep and you’ll likely bottom out at the top of the road.

We arrived early in the afternoon but was told by a gentleman named Keith to come back after 4pm for check in. We had a short stay. Rebecca gave us the room with a king bed because we were the only guests that evening. It’s a modest room with basic amenities. The AC is not available until the summer months, but fortunately the room stayed cool thanks to the ceiling fan. We ordered takeout from a nearby restaurant and had dinner on the patio with Rebecca playing some tunes in the background.

Expect the house to be very quiet at night except for the sound of coqui frogs. Rebecca made us a delicious breakfast in the morning and we had a pleasant conversation on the patio overlooking the valley and ocean below. The view was absolutely gorgeous!

A few notes: I didn’t notice any blinds in the bathroom which made it a bit awkward since I could see the neighbor’s house from the window. Also, there was no body soap in the shower. Apparently there’s even a hot tub somewhere in the house so that’s worth inquiring.

It’s also worth pointing out that after the trip, I realized that we didn’t not get the ocean view from our room which we paid for. Also- I’m actually quite upset by this- a lot of things listed on hotels.com turned out to be false

Here’s the description from hotels.com and our observations:

Near the beach (not close at all) Spa tub (Rebecca did not mention this) Air conditioning (not available until the summer months) Library (Rebecca did not mention this) Self-serve laundry (Rebecca did not mention this) Concierge services (nonexistent) Barbecue grills (Rebecca did not mention this) Free bottled water (Rebecca did not give us any upon arrival) Microwave and Refrigerator (Rebecca did not mention this and the kitchen is off limits) Bathrobe (did not find any)

In the military you get court-martialed for lying but as a customer I can only point out the facts and warn those coming after me. That said, I will be submitting a complaint to update the information available to customers on hotels.com and hopefully get...

Pros: The breakfast was filling and quite a variety. You get fresh, local fruits from the backyard, granola, sausage, quesadillas, yogurt, coffee, fresh juice, and bread. The neighbourhood is quiet, the king bed is comfortable as all get out. The space is clean. There was one flower kimono in our closet, not sure whose it was, but anyway. It’s a modest room with limited amenities.

Cons: The drive to the place is not an easy one: just so you're aware, it's an extremely steep decline down two separate driveways to the house. It’s worth the drive though!!!!!!

Your bathroom and private room are your own, but also simply separated and divided by a curtain that leads to the communal space. We were not told about the jacuzzi, but we were allowed to use the porch to eat our dinner. There's communal space, but you can't use the kitchen. There’s AC in your room, but you can’t use it unless it’s summer(the remotes not included during other months). There wasn’t body wash in the shower, I had to use my own!

All in all, it's a clean space with an incredible view from the back porch, but rather disappointing that we received so few of the hotels.com amenities listed- no bottled water, no ac, no robes, no microwave, no ocean view from our room, we were not “close” to the beach— yes, the communal terrace patio view was stunning, but Rebecca (owner) even told us that the beach was quite difficult to get to, and required driving of course— it’s not walkable at all, there was no mention of a library or laundry, like it says...

Save your time and money The place was pretty but we when we showed up, at 3:50 pm (check in is at 400 pm), to be told that we would have to leave and come back after 4:00 pm. Really?! Here’s some useful information..... First, no shoes in the house. If you plan to use the hot tub, you must notify the host 2 days prior because she doesn’t keep it heated. She stated that most people aren’t interested in it. I had to ask about it because it wasn’t shown to us. Maybe if it was kept hot more people would use it. Hmmm. The kitchen is off limits, there are locks on your room door but you aren’t given a key, “because it’s a safe neighborhood”. There is AC in the rooms, BUT the remote to use the AC is conveniently NOT there. There is 1 tv that everyone must share, so if you’d like to kick back and relax in your room, forget it. The bathroom is only separated by a curtain from your bedroom. We made sure that we stayed gone except for sleeping, which, by the way, make sure you’re not out late kids, you might disturb the other guests. On our last morning (we had to stay 4 nights) we had a later flight and decided to do the breakfast thing. The food was okay, however the pet birds flying around the dining area and balcony, where the food was served, was littered with bird feces! If I could have gotten my money back at the time we first got there I would have gladly done so! It’s not worth the aggravation! It’s your vacation so you deserve to relax, STAY...