Kona Reef Resort by Latour Group

Based on the photos online and people’s experiences here we were excited to arrive. The reality was completely different. The unit was EXTREMELY small (the reservation was for 3 adults but they put us in a room that was barely large enough for 2), and unclean. Shower had soap scum everywhere- floors, walls and glass, sink in both the kitchen and bathroom needed to be scrubbed, oven door covered in grease and freezer has some kind of residue. The office is minimally staffed and you can’t get ahold of them after 5pm. No concierge. The only reason we kept the room was the view.

We stayed in E3 this was sub par unit: slider door no lock, front door in bad condition. Bathroom: tub flaking and patched bottom, no soap i containers, cracked sink top, toilet hard to flush, floor tile so dirty I washed it myself. Uncomfortable sofa, ask for a second chair no result, dirty drapes, murphy bed took up living room, tv (2) did not work on arrival

Pros The pool was nice and warm and the chairs and chaises were comfortable. The BBQ area with 3 tables was great and we enjoyed 2 dinners there. There are usually 4 nice BBQ's but they were all broken. They brought in 2 smaller ones that worked out fine to share. Good location that was walkable to downtown and many restaurants. Our unit had almost everything we needed, from a coffee maker to an ice chest. They also had beach chairs and binoculars. Cons Stairs had to be navigated every time even though they have elevators. We stayed in Unit B26 which faced due west. This was great until around 3pm when the sun was directly in our face. It made the room not only very hot but impossible to enjoy the lanai. The only place to sit at a table in our unit was on the lanai and it became unusable from 3pm to sunset. We could never have dinner or happy hour on our lanai because of this. When I went to plug in a cord behind our bed, I realized there was only a waterproof cover over the mattress before the bottom sheet. This did not seem at all pleasant to us so we had to remake the bed and put the bedspread/blanket under the bottom sheet.

Nice resort close to town. You can walk to the restaurants and other amenities. The pool area is great. The unit we had was a little dated and could use some sprucing-up but was fine for the time we were here.

This review is specific to unit F5. I have stayed in many rental units and this one has to be near the top, if not the top, of my list. First off the location is within an easy walk to 'downtown' Kailua-Kona, with lots of restaurants, shops, and bars. The complex has a nice pool and great lounging chairs. The only drawback is there was only one functioning grill/BBQ of the four. The location is great for watching sunsets. The condo is very clean and comfortable. It is ground level at the front door (no stairs) but the back patio is elevated, so you don't have people walking by your sliding glass door all day! Privacy is important to me. This unit has separate A/C units for the main room and the bedroom, so you can enjoy the sliding door being open to the main room while keeping the bedroom cool. The kitchen is important to us and this one has pretty much everything you need for pots, pans, utensils, etc. Also, the owner seems to be okay with the cleaners leaving any unopened leftover food, which is a wonderful bonus as you don't have to waste money on things like cooking oil or various spices. Although we did not utilize them, the owner has a large variety of water 'toys' for renters to use. Obviously, we were very pleased with the opportunity to stay in this unit and will stay there next time we are on the Big Island.

I would not give this place any of your money. 12 hours before checking into F23 the host cancels my stay for no reason. VRBO is not able to get a hold of the owner of F23 either. Currently, I have to go through my credit card company to get my money back. Only saving grace is that VRBO did as much as they could to get me a place to stay as I was on the airplane headed to Hawaii when the world's worst host cancelled my family vacation condo. VRBO has been trying to get a hold of the host since Nov 13th and the host has not returned calls or messages.