Priced like a new Rolls Royce, but rides like an old Buick.
Written: Feb 19 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Beautiful, nicely tended gardens and grounds, privacy from your own hut, no television.
Cons: Most service levels not equal to the luxury price.
The Bottom Line: Weak service levels undermine a beautiful property in a gorgeous location.
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| teamw23's Full Review: Kona Village |
We recently returned from a short stay in the Kona Village. It was a mixed bag, but all in all, I don't think we really got our money's worth. This is a very expensive place to stay. It is so expensive it should be perfect, and it definitely wasn't.
This is a very unusual resort. Rather than having a bunch of rooms in a big building like most hotels, here you get an individual "hale" or small hut on stilts all to yourself. These huts are laid out amongst mature, very nicely maintained gardens and ponds, as well as running along the ocean. Although they can be somewhat closely spaced in spots, most of the huts have a reasonable amount of privacy and some are very private. Each one has its own small porch, a bathroom and a bedroom area. The huts are not air conditioned, they come with a ceiling fan only, and the simplification doesn't stop there. There are no TVs, no phones and even no bedside clocks in the rooms. The idea is that this is supposed to be a "get away from it all" vacation, so the distractions of the modern world are deliberately kept out. We had no problem with this. The lack of air conditioning was no issue given the perfect Hawaiian weather and the lack modern intrusions was actually one of the things that attracted us to the resort in the first place.
Meals are included, and are taken either out on a verandah or in one of the two restaurants. There are two pools (one for kids and a "quiet pool" for adults), an activity hut providing snorkels and sunfish and the like to the guests at no charge, and a lovely black sand beach in a picturesque cove.
Apparently this resort has been around for at least twenty years and it enjoys a very good reputation. It has consistently been rated one of the top places in the world to stay by the travel magazines.
After staying there for a while ourselves, we get the impression that this is a resort that has been resting on its laurels for some time, and the quality and service levels have been allowed to slip below what one would expect given the outlandish prices for a room there.
Our problems began upon check-in. We arrived about 10:30am. Not surprisingly, our room wasn't ready yet (this is nothing to complain about) so the front desk clerk checked us in and told us that he would put our bags into storage and to walk around, relax, have lunch and come back in a few hours. We did that, but when we returned several hours later, our bags were still sitting on the lawn by the driveway just where the cab driver had left them. At 2:30 our room still wasn't ready, but after I complained about our luggage it was finally removed to a storage area. At 3:30 we came back again and were told that our room was finally ready. However, we would have to wait for a bellman to come take our luggage. I asked whether we could have the bellman just deliver our luggage and was told "No. We don't know which bags are yours, you'll just have to wait." So wait we did, and wait and wait. At least we had company since 3-4 other people were also sitting on or by their luggage in the driveway. Nobody came, and nobody came, and nobody came. Eventually we decided to just say the hell with it, went into the open storage area ourselves, retrieved our own bags and began dragging the heavy bags down towards our hut (a non-trivial distance away). At that point a groundskeeper saw us and took pity on us, picking up our heavy bags, putting them in his little cart and finally delivering them to our room.
I thought maybe somebody had called out sick or something, but the next afternoon the same scene repeated itself, as I saw a bunch of people sitting around on their luggage waiting for the inept bell service to get them checked into their rooms. The idea that a place like this can't have a dedicated bell man who takes your name when you check in, puts a tag on your bags and then delivers them to your room like every other halfway decent hotel in the world is absolutely crazy.
Once inside the room was fairly nice, with a nice comfy bed, a large glass shower as well as a tub and a double sink. The only design feature we didn't like was the lack of blinds. The windows are all louvers, with the bottom half wood and the top half glass. That's great except the top half glass means you can't keep the sun out in the mornings. In any event, you should prepare to get up early. We were almost blown out of bed every morning at dawn by loud, tropical birds crowing at the new sunrise. This is nice and romantic the first morning, but the novelty definitely wears off quickly.
We were somewhat less impressed with the housekeeping and maintenance levels in our cabin. The cushion of one of the chairs was stained, the paint was peeling at the floorboards by the bed, the bathroom had some small mildew near the shower and around the sink, and there were some dirty scuff marks on the walls. None of this would cause you to think that the room was unacceptably filthy, indeed these are the kinds of problems one finds in most average hotel rooms. But the quality of the maid service and maintenance of the rooms reminded me more of a mid-level Marriott or a Ramada Inn than the height of luxury.
The service levels didn't improve markedly during our stay. The box containing towels for the pool was frequently empty, the service level in the restaurants was acceptable but not impressive, sort of typical for a mid-priced, all-inclusive resort. The food was better than average, but not by much. The main dining room looks like something out of Hawaii 5-0, and clearly dates from the 1970's without any updates.
This seems to be a very family focused place. They have activities for kids to do during the day and there were a large number of families with kids there during the day. This is a protected compound where your kids can play unsupervised safely and despite the issues we encountered this would generally be a good place to bring children. However, there are apparently certain weeks of the year when children aren't allowed at all. If you are seeking romance and quiet, it would be best to come one of those weekends unless you want to feel a bit like you are in Disneyworld.
We generally enjoyed the Luau show they put on every Friday night. The food was decent, and the show was pretty well done.
I really wanted to like this place, and was sorry I didn't leave with a higher opinion of it. It is indeed a beautiful property in a gorgeous spot. Walking the grounds in the evening by the light of the Tiki torches is a lovely experience. If the service & maintenance levels improved, this place would earn every penny of its exorbitant rates. Until then, I would recommend going only if you get a deal. It's just not worth the $650 or even $500 a night they are charging for it.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
teamw23
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Reviews written: 47
Trusted by: 4 members
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