We stayed at the Waikoloa Shores for 7 nights on our recent trip to the Big Island in February…read more Overall, we enjoyed our experience at this hotel and it was a good deal. We had a little hiccup with our outbound flight from LA and therefore arriving later than expected. We called the hotel and learned that their offices close at 9pm, but they e-mailed us detailed instructions on how to get into our condo after business hours. I am pleased to say, that we had no issues getting to hour condo and upon arrival were pleasantly surprised that we were upgraded to a spacious 2 bedroom/ 2 bathroom condo instead of 1/1 we paid for. At first, it felt like we traveled back in time and landed in 80s, it's an older property and they did very little to upgrade the décor. But, the hotel is clean and very well looked after; the grounds are beautiful and offer all the amenities for an enjoyable stay.
Having a kitchen is great, but having a nice spacious patio on top of that to enjoy your meal in is even better! The kitchen is fully equipped with mostly everything you need to prepare a meal. If you don't have something, just call the front desk and they will deliver it to you (we needed a can opener and it was dropped off within 15 min). The property also has barbeque areas (outside your unit); we tried them out several times. Dishwasher, washer and dryer are available in the unit.
While we were happy with our stay, there are some things I'd like to mention for those of you who consider staying here. We had a little issue with our kitchen - little ants running all over the counter the first two days. We called the front desk and they promptly sent a handyman to take care of the issue. And we saw no more ants thereafter! The pool... is very small; water in the Jacuzzi was not hot, it was the same temperature as the pool. While it didn't matter to us very much (we enjoyed the abundance of gorgeous nearby beaches), take that into consideration if you plan to stay at the hotel for the most part of your trip and like to hang by the pool. Cleaning service: our unit was cleaned only once during our stay and I use "cleaned" loosely. The bed was made and towels refreshed, but not much else. When we called the front desk, we were explained that if you book your stay as a regular hotel room, they'll clean it every day. But if you book through time share exchange service as we did, your unit gets cleaned only once a week (Wednesdays, although ours was cleaned on Tuesday). Tennis courts - no lights after sun set... so we only got to play once since we were out and about most of the day. Lighting overall in the Waikoloa resort area is pretty bad, we tried to go for a walk one evening and turned around since some areas had no lights at all. The hotel is not an ocean front property; it takes about 10-15 minutes to get to the ocean (but not the beach). There is a beach by the Mariott, but that's a bit of a walk and there are by far better beaches just a little bit north (Wailea/Beach 69, Hapuna, Mauna Kea).
All in all, I would recommend this hotel to someone who would like to stay at a reasonably priced condo, but doesn't plan to spend a lot of time in their unit. If you are on the Big Island to explore, this is a great place to have breakfast at on a patio and grill some ahi or beef steak for dinner. If you are a golfer, perhaps you'll be out on the field and this will work for you as well. But if you are planning to spend most of your days by the pool, you can probably find a place with a better and bigger one.
And last but not least, I'd like to mention that front desk has been very helpful during our stay. They were very knowledgeable, helped us make Valentine's dinner reservations the day before, and booked a snorkeling cruise. They even lent us beach chairs and umbrellas as well as flippers; some guests leave that stuff behind and if it's available they'll let you borrow it at no cost. I would consider staying here again, but that may not happen for awhile... Maui and Kauai next!