Located along the prime Kailua Kona walking town shoreline, this recently renovated hotel has a large inviting lobby with clean, fresh and functional rooms. The hotel is comprised of two six floor buildings (east and west towers) with roughly 12 large oceanfront (6 per tower), 38 garden/rooftop/parking/partial oceanfront (interior facing in both towers, the front half of each tower has a respectable angle of the ocean, the rear half has a sliver of an ocean view), 20 east facing town/mountain and 18 west facing courts/park units per floor.
Common areas: There is a medium sized pool, often overcrowded with many families, and surrounded by the Billfish Poolside Bar & Grill, which is the only hotel operated restaurant, also overcrowded with minimal service. Honu's Beach Restaurant remained closed. A small beachfront on the harbor is also crowded with opaque water. The gym is on the oceanfront with a nice view and equipped with six machines (two treadmills, two ellipticals and two bikes) and two benches with dumbbells. There is a coin operated laundry.
Room: The room appears recently renovated with a 55" TV with streaming service (Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, ...), sufficiently fast wifi, a modern shower, hidden fridge, safe, iron w board, lanai, decently insulated doors keeping the outside sounds muffled, and other standard room amenities. The hotel via text service provides notification of limited service, thus if you want your room serviced, you need to call the front desk. I was assigned one of the few interior units jutting out north with a view of asphalt from eye to eye, courtesy of a trifecta of large parking lots with constant horn honks throughout the day and night, and being directly over one of the service bay driveways. The noise was mostly muffled with the thickly insulated sliding glass door, but so goes the fresh Hawaiian air.
Fees: The $22/day mandatory "amenity" fee includes 2 bottled water (although Hawaii's tap water is just as good to drink), $4/day credit at Menehune Coffee. Other perks such as a welcome drink, hour use of snorkel/mask, make this fee tough to justify, but it's mandatory and common in Hawaii's "resorts". The $25/day open air parking is a bit steep for Kona, but I guess you pay for convenience. The single unstaffed exit gate occasionally has a backlog.
Marriott Bonvoy: It does not appear this hotel recognizes Marriott Bonvoy status, no separate line nor recognition, other than platinum+ getting a credit for breakfast at the aforementioned poolside restaurant, with Honu's closed until further notice.
Summary: I would stay again given the prime location and high standard rooms, but not until the hotel is fully staffed with normal operations, Honu's reopening, and up to Marriott standards and a level of Hawaiian hospitality.
