Kona Islander Vacation Club

We've owned a timeshare at Kona Islander for 34 years, and they keep upgrading the rooms. Our studio has a bed and a sofa bed, so it works well for two people or a family. You can request the second or fourth floor for an ocean view, and clean towels are easy to get. There's a pool, spa and BBQs, though nothing fancy. You're in Kona, so flip-flops and shorts are enough. We like walking around the wharf or renting a car to see the island. We come during Ironman races, volunteer wherever needed, then watch the race from our lanai. My maintenance fee is $780.00 a year, a little over $110.00 per night. The only drawback for me is that there’s no elevator.

The friendly cats were the one saving grace. My room had an ocean-facing window, but be careful if you're hoping for a view over the beach. It’s only a few feet away, and noise carries from landscaping, people shouting on the beach, loud music and homeless or unhoused people screaming or playing music. The place is an assembly of buildings and rooms with different owners, which makes everything confusing. My room was owned by a Las Vegas, NV company. When I called the “front desk,” someone on another Hawaiian Island answered. If I needed help, I had to walk across the complex, only to be told to call the same number. The place is understaffed, too, and at night there may be nobody around to help with a problem. Way over-priced.

The one good thing about this inn is how close it is to the water. Parking, though, is HORRIBLE, and I won't stay here again. Our assigned room hadn't been cleaned after the previous guest, so we were moved temporarily until housekeeping could get to it the next day. Even that room had stained, obviously dirty sheets. In the proper room the next day, I found a cockroach on the bathroom wall. The pillows had hair on them and the sheets were stained, like they hadn't been washed.

At least the unit had A/C and was close to bars and restaurants. The rest was a mess. Check-in was awful, and the woman at the front desk was rude and no help. There was a COCKROACH right outside before we even got the door open. We weren't told about wifi, if there was any. The shower was dirty, the handle was broken, and the weak drizzle of water stayed cold or lukewarm. The toilet wobbled because it was loose from the floor, and the floors felt grimy. We had to take our own garbage to the dumpster and clean the unit ourselves. When we asked for fresh towels, they said an exchange would cost an extra $30.