Now that I’m reading other reviews, it makes sense to me. I checked in last week. And boy was it a fiasco. I did all the requirements of traveling to Hawaii, COVID tests, government clearance, green checks across the board... the whole nine yards. And the staff were so rude and flat out racist and discriminatory to my face. Unacceptable treatment. I was with my young son, and they treated me like I was a criminal or a dog and I was told to wait outside the hotel before a staff member would speak to me. In the meantime, they checked in three other families that arrived in line after me, before me, one of whom were on my flight to Hawaii. I stood in line again and asked to be addressed. When I proved that I was cleared and I wanted the room that I had paid for in advanced, I also noticed that all of the staff were speaking to each other about me and laughing and staring like I was crazy to think I would get a room that I paid for to stay in for my trip. The staff at the front desk are insensitive and rude and not welcoming or warm at all. I was never so stressed or heart broken and mistreated by a hotel staff in my entire travel experience. For the rest of my trip, any time I requested some thing from room service (extra towels, soap, etc.) it would take at least an hour and constant reminders to the front desk that a request had been made. Mind you... my room was immediately next to the main lobby. In the end I only spent as minimal time in the hotel as possible because it was the worst part of the trip. The rest of Hawaii was incredible and magical. But this hotel is the absolute worst I’ve been to in the entire USA. There are so many others that are better and closer to the beach. This is not the one. Don’t let it tarnish your trip to paradise by booking here.
Spacious 2BR suites, walking distance to markets. Beach is a bit further away but also walking distance. Shuttle is available on request but limited to few drop offs.
Staffs are very friendly and helpful. Grounds are well kept, golf course is behind resort.
Not a whole lot to do without a car around the area, strongly suggest to get a car and book way in advance. There is shortage of rental car in the island. Car rental companies are totally taking advantage of high demand and shortage of supply, price was Ridiculously expensive. We paid over $200 a day and normally would have paid no more than $50. Local resident rents their car for $300, $400 a day, unheard of. I though Price gouging is illegal? Sadly, this is pandemic, hope the State of Hawaii is doing something about this to control outrageous price. We did a lot to get here for a nice relaxing vacation. Finding a car was quite stressful and paying the price made it even worse. Might not be worth it to go through all that hassle. Hindsight, we would not have come here.
We had a great stay at Kohala Suites by Hilton. The resort is beautiful. Our two bedroom suite was very nice and large. We had a nice view of the golf course. We could use the paddle boards at their other resort on property at no additional cost. Along with snorkeling in their lagoon.
We were traveling with a party of 8 and had two 2 bedroom suites. We are Hilton Honors diamond members and my other family members are silver. We arrived at the hotel around 1 PM. Our silver member family checked into their suite, no problem.
There was a mix up at the airport and one of our children’s screening didn’t get logged. The lady at the front desk could not have cared less and kept pointing at the sign on the desk with a 1-800 number on it. After being on hold for 15 minutes, we decided to drive 40 back to the airport and clear it up. I had taken a photo of my child getting Covid tested when we landed in Kona and showed the CDC official and he cleared her, so we headed back to the hotel. We arrived back around 3 PM, showed our documents and they said our room wasn’t ready. Our room was the same category as our silver travel party and just a few doors down. The front desk supervisor advised us that our Hilton Honors status does not matter there.
Other than that, the rooms were nice and clean. Great space for a family. There is no beach or lagoon like at the Hilton Waikoloa Village which treats their diamond members like royalty.
The Kohala suites are located in Waikoloa which is conveniently located to many wonderful beaches and some great shops and restaurants. We loved our room which was very clean on arrival and we thoroughly enjoyed the amenities which also were very clean throughout our stay. We felt like they were taking all the precautions necessary during the pandemic. They even went as far as to load and run the dishwasher with every piece of silverware and dish and left a note that that had been done to ensure all eating utensils were clean and safe to use. So thoughtful. We would happily return here and highly recommend to others.