Overall we had a really good time during our stay in Kailua-Kona. I have mixed thoughts on the condo where we stayed so will sum it up in a pro/con list and let you decide. Our Vacasa contact in Kona was very kind and did help where he could when we brought things to his attention.
PROS –
Location - just a little over a mile to city center, very walkable, and there is a shared e-bike rack across from the complex to rent bikes, plus a bus that goes up and down Ali’i Drive. Also, every night people gather at the end of the parking lot where there are benches overlooking the ocean looking west, and watch the sunsets. A nice place to meet people in addition to the amazing view.
View from Condo – the view from the 3rd floor lanai was amazing. You could see the ocean and the waves crashing into the shore was a great form of entertainment each day.
Generally quiet – This is a concrete building so you don’t hear anything through the walls, which is nice. But if you are on the lanai, you may hear other people’s conversations if they are out on their lanai’s. And this condo overlooks another complex’s pool area, so you may hear when kids are playing below. Also, because you keep the windows open for the breeze and to keep it cool at night, you’ll hear the sound of waves crashing all night. We liked that.
Complex – the pool is nice and it even has a little library. However while we were there, they were doing work on the building right next to the pool, so every day for 2 weeks (except the weekends) there were loud jackhammers and drills whenever you wanted to sit out at the pool. There is a really nice patio area next to the pool with 2 grills and tables and chairs. We used the grills several times and it was a great way to connect with other neighbors and learn things about the area. Also, very easy access to get in/out of the complex and parking spot is close to stairs to the condo.
Towels/linens – there are plenty of towels for the bath and beach.
Laundry – there is a washer/dryer in the condo so that was very useful. They leave some detergent for you but you may need to buy more if you want to do a lot of loads.
TV – there is a smart tv so if you have subscriptions to things like Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, etc, you’ll be able to log on.

CONS –
Kitchen items – We rented an AirBNB instead of staying in a hotel because we wanted to have a kitchen and do most of our own meals there. It was obvious that someone went out and bought brand new plates, bowls, silverware, glasses, all very nice. However, the pots and pans and baking sheets were in really bad shape. It’s like someone just found a pile of free kitchen stuff on the side of the road and decided to put it in this nice condo. The Teflon skillet was full of scratches and pock marks from knives, the sheet pans we wanted to use to bring our food out to grill were rusted, peeling, or dirty and disgusting. For the amount of money we were spending on this place, I was embarrassed for the owners that they actually had this horrible cooking equipment. The various utensils were okay, enough of a variety and in good enough shape to do most kitchen things. (We did call about the pans/sheet pans and other items listed here after about a week, we didn’t want to be complainers, but when a few other things came up we called and got a new skillet and sheet pans after Vacasa got permission from the owner to buy new ones. But even though this was taken care of, our point in bringing it up is to show that no one, Vacasa or the owner, are paying attention).
Bathroom light fixture broken – the bathroom lights are on a timer, but the timer wasn’t working in the main bathroom. When we called about this we were told that as Vacasa does their walk-thru of the place to check things, they make sure the light is working, then force the timer off, so no one ever checked to see if the timer actually worked. It will hopefully get fixed for the next guests.
Beach stuff – again, for the price we were paying, we were a bit surprised that they didn’t at least have a couple folding beach chairs, maybe a small cooler, and a beach umbrella. Well, there was a beach umbrella that we did try to use, only to find it was broken. When we called about it we were told that it wasn’t the owners, and must have been left behind by someone else so they weren’t going to replace it. Granted, all these items can be rented at places in town, but still, it seemed cheap to us that they couldn’t provide these minimum amenities.
Coffee Pot – the bottom of the coffee maker is completely rusted and we wondered if the coffee pot had ever been cleaned out because the coffee tasted bad. We brought our own coffee grounds from home so we know how it’s supposed to taste. We even tried using bottled water to see if that helped, it didn’t.
Ants – we discovered very small, tiny “ants” in the kitchen under some cleaned dishes we had left out the night before to dry on a kitchen towel. So I’m sure it was related to the humidity or something common for Hawaii. When we called about it, Vacasa did drop off some ant traps for us that day. But it didn’t really help. Saw them in the smaller bathroom too, so again, must be a moisture thing.
Information – so there is