Kona Bali Kai

We visit the Big Island to hike, snorkel and to body-board (kids). This was our second time at Kona Bali Kai apartments. Apparently we liked the apartment itself — everything is functional, straightforward and organized to our liking. The kitchen has everything we need to make our own simple and healthy food. The Poke-serving place on the premises is highly reputable and always crowded. Groceries are available from Safeway, Walmart (both to the North) or KTA supermarket (to the South), all within 10 min drive. Papayas from Walmart are our daily local treats. A variety of hikes are available within 1.5 hour drive from Kailua-Kona, including rain forest, beaches and mountains. Snorkeling in the Kona region can be done off any beach, as long as the waves are moderate and the access/exit is safe. The farthest snorkeling we went on foot from Kona Bali Kai was at the "Mile marker 4" Bay, just to the south of the Magic Sand Beach. Finally, nothing beats the Magic Sand Beach, just 20 min on foot from Kona Bali Kai, for kids body-boarding and adult beach-bumming. Just do it in the evening, to avoid sunburns.

Street noise from Ali'i drive can be a problem for some. This time, our unit was facing the drive — and we experienced it in full. It should not be a problem in units facing the ocean. Also, last time we were in a different building away from the street and also have not heard much.

View

No air conditioning despite reviews on booking that had a/c

Very clean and good location, walking across the street to the beach.

1. No air conditioning in the bedroom. Some other places offer a portable air conditioner in the bedroom. 2. Some other places offer complementary cooking oil, soy sauce, aluminum foil, plastic bags, etc.

We appreciated the complimentary bottled water and a couple of snacks—that was a thoughtful welcome. The apartment was clean when we arrived, and the entrance/check-in process was smooth and easy.

On the downside, quite a few things in the apartment felt outdated and not very intuitive. It took a while to figure out how to operate the washer and dryer, the AC, and the blinds. I reached out to customer service each time I ran into an issue—while they were always friendly, unfortunately, they weren’t very helpful in resolving the problems. One major drawback is that there are no windows. The only option is to close the blinds, which helps reduce the outside noise a bit, but not enough to actually sleep in. It gets very noisy early in the morning—after 6 AM, forget about peace and quiet. The listing mentioned two queen beds, but in reality, it was one queen bed and a sofa that supposedly folds out into a queen. I wasn’t able to open it fully, and folding it back was a mini workout, so I ended up sleeping on it as-is—not exactly the most restful option. The kitchen was described as “well-equipped,” and technically it had the basics, but we had to go out and buy a lot of essential items—salt, pepper, spices, oil, coffee, tea, even filters for the coffee maker. Usually, with Airbnb stays, these things are provided. There were also some rusty knives and only two coffee cups, which was surprising. Lastly, the apartment is part of a beachfront complex, which sounds amazing—and visually, it is. The beach is beautiful and right there, but it’s all lava rocks, so don’t expect to swim. Great for photos, not so much for splashing around.