Hotel Stay Well

What People are saying

Large refurbished two bedroom unit that fully met our needs.

theWebbster on 28/12/2017 18:35

This was our second visit to this resort. We had been to the Wyndham side of this resort in our previous visit about 10 years ago, which was a rental. This visit was an exchange through Interval International. One advantage of exchanging into this resort is that the units are so similar that the persons exchanging into this resort don't feel like they are getting the undesirable units and that all the good units are going to the owners. The furnishings and maintenance of the Shell Vacation Club unit was clearly superior to that in the Wyndham unit that we had rented years before. The Shell Vacation Club units have been refurbished within the past year and the furnishings and maintenance of the units is first rate -- except the kitchens, which while adequately furnished and fully functional, are showing wear. The kitchen is fully open to the upstairs great room style living room, dining room and lanai -- all of which had a nice view out over the fairway of the golf course that surrounds the property and out to the ocean. The two bedroom units are two stories, with the bedrooms and two adjoining bathrooms, plus the laundry, downstairs. There is a small patio outside the bedrooms. The kitchen, dining room, living room, and lanai are upstairs. The bedroom closets are small, but there is a small closet upstairs as well as a half bath. The check-in and check-out process was a snap and the only "extra" charge was the mandatory state tax which I knew all about from prior visits to timeshares in Hawaii. The unit WiFi worked great. There is a tennis club on site and the condition of the courts looked to be outstanding (they held a Federation Cup match there), although we did not play. There are numerous pools and spas at various locations about the property, which we did not make use of. To our observation, the pools receive modest usage and lounges were always available. There are also BBQs located around the property and we used them to cook the majority of our dinners and found them available, clean, and in working order (2 burner Weber models). The grounds of the resort are well maintained and make you know you are in Hawaii. Keauhou Bay is an easy walk (maybe a minute) from the resort and offers outstanding snorkeling trips, a canoe club, kayak trips, kayak and SUP rentals, fishing trips, etc. The Sheraton Resort is a bit further of a walk (a couple of blocks), but is easy enough, and we recommend going and watching the Manta Rays come in to feed at night -- very impressive the night we went. The nearby Keauhou Shopping Center is easy to get to -- we always drove the approximately 1/2 mile to get there -- and has a number of eating establishments (which we did not go to) and has a good KTA Supermarket which, while we were there, had excellent fresh fish suitable to BBQ. While the Poke bar there has an excellent reputation, it closes at 5:30 p.m. and we did not get there before it closed during our visit. The Safeway off Henry Street about seven miles away had decent to good poke and offers samples if you are undecided about what to purchase. We did not use the Shell concierge nor did we go through the SVC timeshare sales presentation. While the discounts on activities (particularly Fairwinds II) are significant if you attend the presentation, having gone through the sales presentation years before, we did not feel that the pain of the presentation would be worth the savings. On the whole, an outstanding stay.

Just gorgeous

Cassie W on 27/12/2017 01:23

At Holua we had a two bedroom townhouse, and it was perfect. Downstairs there were two bedrooms, one with a king bed and the other with twin beds. They are all covered by beautiful Hawaiian quilts. Upstairs is the kitchen and lounge area. Minor point - the shampoos provided were divine.

The landscaping and gardens are pristine. There are tennis courts which can be used for free before 5pm (rackets $5). Parking is free. There is bird life everywhere.

The staff were excellent and called a couple of times to make sure we had everything we needed.

Loved it. Only minor issue - the pool was absolutely freezing!

Excellent stay at Holua resort 10/10

lasvegas09 on 05/12/2017 07:26

I cannot praise this place enough. We had chosen Holua based on sleeping arrangements for our family of 6 for the money. We needed a property with a separate bed for our daughter and this property offered a king, two singles, and a pull out hide-a-bed. This property offered the best bed configuration, the most space, and the best location for the money.

Check in:
Check in was flawless and they let me check in about 4 hours early. The bellmen offered to use a cart to carry our stuff from the parking garage to our unit. Some of the units are farther away from the pool than others; I asked to be placed close to the pool and I was given a unit in building 21 which is between two pools. Some of the units are further away from the pool than others so keep that in mind.

The grounds:
As is stated by many others but I feel needs restating, the parking garage is in the center of the compound. While I did not think this was a big deal, it soon became apparent that lugging groceries (think cases of water) from the car to the room can be laborious. The front desk was always willing to send a bellmen with a cart to help us and it was really nice.

The grounds were immaculate. Very well taken care of. There are little ponds between each unit stocked with fish which was pretty. Mongoose and birds are all over the place. Hardly any bugs (for Hawai‘i). Lot of tennis courts and tennis activity. The pools I saw were in good condition and had a whirlpool next to each one. The dial to activate these is on the white hut next to the pool. There is also a shower and chairs and loungers at each pool. There are gas grills scattered around the property with chairs and trash cans next to them. Very nice way to have a nice affordable meal while on property. We tried to take our own trash out while we were there since there were so many of us. There are two dumpsters and recycling on site. They recycle aluminum, paper, and plastic. In addition to this there are trash and recycling bins in the parking garage near the handicap parking (north side), a great way to clean out the rental car after a long day of cruising. (There is also a fitness center but I did not use it while I was there).

The unit:
We had a two story two bedroom unit. Our unit faced one of the pools and the new subdivision to the south. When they are complete the new houses will be a very visible presence in the view of anyone facing south. The noise from the construction was obnoxious during the early morning but I can’t blame the resort for that, that’s just the price of new development.

The unit closely matched the pictures I’ve seen online, however the paint was not the bright neon green shown in many of the photos it was a nice muted green. Furniture was in good condition throughout the unit. There was also four chairs and a table outside on the lanai. The kitchen was stocked with all utensils and dinnerware including plates, bowls, cups, and glass wear. The unit was showing a bit of age, but everything was in good repair and clean. Lots of lights throughout the unit. TV’s with cable are in each room, with a 5 disc DVD player with stereo speakers in the main room. Stackable washer and dryer saved us as we needed to wash clothes while we were there.

The beds were very firm (which may be a negative if you don’t like a firm mattress). There were a set of towels for all six of us (towel, hand towel, washcloth), plus six beach towels (which were blue striped to differentiate from the white bath towels). The AC units worked very well and kept the unit cool. There was a safe and hair dryer and ironing board in the unit. Inside the nightstand closest to the door in the master is a flashlight. There is a push room and a regular broom is in the laundry closet (I mention it because we didn’t find it right away). The one odd thing that I either didn’t see in the pictures or just didn’t understand is that the living space and the kitchen in upstairs and the bedrooms are downstairs. Both bedrooms open to another lanai on the ground level with a set of loungers and a small table.

The location:
Holua is in Keauhou district at Keauhou bay. Keauhou is a great little walk from Holua resort and is also a boat launch. The resort is surrounded by a golf course. To the north (separated by a part of the golf course) is the Kona Sheraton. It is a pretty good walk if one is inclined to walk that far. There is also a farmers market in front of the hotel three days a week (I think, check me on that).

Kaleiopapa st is on Ali’i drive, a very quick drive directly into Kailua or a short ride south to Captain Cook and the rest of the island. Less than a mile a way is the Keauhou shopping center which besides the standard tourist shops and restaurants has a Longs drugs store and a grocery store (KTA) which makes it very convenient to Holua.

Overall, this resort was a great value for the money, in a great location on the island, has great amenities and exceptional staff. I would highly recommend this resort and would stay there again.

Overbooked and discrimination

Applenewtone on 01/11/2017 21:10

We arrived at 2 pm, we were told our room had "maintenance issues" and expedia (hotels.com) is supposed to find a room somewhere else. After 2 hours (while many other customers could check-in...) the front desk of the holua told us they found a room for us in the sister resort (kona coast). Telling lies to customer and walk them is not fair, usually in overbooking situation first come should be first served, no discrimination should be applied (or at least not visible) between customers having booked directly at the hotel and customers having used "booking" or "expedia". This is called discrimination! And what is next step? Walk customers because of their nationality or skin color..?

Very nice getaway

Maryann L on 13/10/2017 01:22

The units are very clean and great for families. The only thing it is a very long walk to some of the units. The ocean view is not much so it would be better to get a unit near the parking. Very nice landscaping and the pool is great. I would stay here again!