Kona Hawaii Guest House

This place is so cozy and lovely. The view alone is worth it and so is Uncle Spirit-he and John made our little trip lovely. It is rustic, outdoor living-so yes, there’s bugs, and yes, you cook and eat outside. For those of us that enjoy such things it’s a wonderful place! We stayed for three nights and had an absolutely lovely time and are looking forward to returning during whale season! A big Mahalo to the owners for letting us stay in your lovely home!

I’m what people might call a “country girl,” and this place was the perfect stay for my husband and I. We really enjoy visiting with the owner, John. This has been our first experience in Hawaii and he has been so helpful during our stay. We walked down to the beach from the guest house, it is close to a lot of hustle and bustle but out of the way enough to where it is a quiet and peaceful place to retreat. I am loving waking up to complimentary kona coffee and listening to the birds make their morning calls.

My husband and I stayed at the Kona guest house for 7 days and it was awesome. John was so friendly and fun to visit with, telling us about the Island and places we should visit. Spirit the guest house kitty was adorable. The guest house is at the end of a culdesac with beautiful foliage all around. No noisy traffic and I loved waking up to all of the chirping birds. Down the hill is a great walking path to get your steps in before your adventures of the day. Our room was the Dolphin room at the top of the stairs, we had beautiful sunsets and a nice breeze in the evening. It was a wonderful stay. Thank you John.

It's rustic, quiet, and perfect for our needs. If you are looking for a hotel/ motel/ resort experience... then this place is not for you. Johnny is helpful and eager to help. He wants your hawaii experience to shine. The rooms need to be updated a bit, & they are a work in progress. but the bed slept well. We had the Dolphin room. There is plenty of room for 2. I was a bit leery when i read other reviews, but I'm coming in with knowing it's rustic.... made for a wonderful trip. I wouldn't recommend that this place would be good when traveling with children. It's the simple little treasures that I seek, and I find this to be a gem. It may be a diamond in the rough, but it shined for us.

This was a wonderful experience for us. The host is highly knowledgeable about area attractions, beaches, restaurants, flowers, birds. He also helped us through a first aid emergency. We took his advice on any and all recommendations and were happy with the results.||If you are a nature loving person, you may love it here as we did. We are campers and found it charming. We loved being in the south because of the lush vegetation (whereas the north, with its golf courses and expensive resorts, is dry).||We were plied with freshly-picked papaya and passion fruits daily. We awoke to the amazing number of birds singing in the area. ||It makes sense to have the cooking and food area be on the balcony because it prevents problems inside, in the bedroom. ||A wonderful family environment, warm and welcoming. We had no sanitation problems at all & will come back again!

John's hospitality is a FIVE stars hospitality. He is such nice guy and very helpful in giving tips on where to go, what to do and what to eat. Also in the morning, he will pick a fresh papaya and deliver it to your window. We loved it. The three stars rating here is for the room. The room was clean and everything in order, but you could feel that it has not changed much in many years and could use revamping. I am guessing though if John's revamps the rooms he would need to increase his rates which are probably the most competitive out there. The view from the room upstairs is a million dollar view.

My fiancé and I had an absolutely lovely time at the Kona Guest House. We were in the Happy Whale Studio and had a stunning view of the sunset every day from the balcony! Other reviews of this place complain of insects, mold, clutter... first of all, I did not smell or see any mold and I'm really sensitive to bad smells. Yes there were a few bugs and critters (namely adorable geckos) but I think that's the trade-off when you're in a beautiful wooded neighborhood with papaya and lilikoi fresh for the picking for breakfast. If you're looking for a sterile hotel with no personality, then book there for double the price, but we were pleased to stay here at a very reasonable price and enjoy some great aloha vibes. Plus, the guys working at the guest house were very gracious and chill and accommodating whenever we needed something or had questions. Best of all, there's an adorable black cat who loves to hang out with you and get pets while you hang out outside the room 🏝️

I was a bit skeptical after booking based on a few reviews but was pleasantly surprised with the place. My wife and I are avid travelers and are always more interested in the adventure and experience more than the luxurious of modern hotels. We sought out a very authentic place to stay on the island and this guest house seemed like a great option for our 13 day trip. It was well priced, convenient, and had a home feel that you can’t get at a resort. John was incredibly kind and helpful with tips for the area. Though the rooms are close together and you do need to be conscious of each other’s space in order to respect privacy, the communal spirit of the place was reminiscent of the best experiences I’ve had traveling through Airbnb’s and Hostels around the world. It all depends on what you value and the view was truly breathtaking.

This place is Kona Hawaii Guesthouse a Unique Hawaii Experience on the map and if you want a unique experience, this is a unique experience. And if you are clutter blind - this place is for you. The host started to text me the day before check in to schedule check in time, according to the policy list check in time was 6:30 by appointment, so I adhered to this policy. We only meet with the host when we checked us in so he could get my credit card information on his phone for the cleaning deposit which is a payment not a deposit and for the payment for administrative fee (I didn't ask what the fee was for). The details of the access method is correct - host will meet you. And We checked out before 11 am. There were some reviews I read about the property was trashed up but it wasn't trash is was clutter every where. We were "upgraded" to the second floor room. We told him that were celebrating our anniversary. The stairs to the upper lever, were narrow and every step you had to take there was some sort of Knick knack on it which is made some what unsafe of you weren't looking down when you were taking the steps. The pictures on the website https://konahawaiiguesthouse.com/ do not represent the property as of today. The balconies are full of storage and furniture. Also a lot of Dirty/Clean dishes, not sure because they never moved and the dish detergent was nasty. Just stuff everywhere. The Host let us know there was a toaster oven, hot plate and a refrigerator available for use. Honest truth - we were afraid to use the toast oven and hot plate since they were located weirdly and outside. We were given directions on how to lock and unlock the doors to the unit. We used the refrigerator which was located outside on the balcony for some soft drinks and water, it wasn't cleanest but we still used it. On our last day, I am not sure if it was a family member or another resident but they used the refrigerator to store the uneaten and open can of cat food which made the refrigerator stink like bad fish. I did inform the host and he immediately removed the food. I wasn't sure of the thought process on that. Maybe because I liked cats. I wasn't offered any food or drink by the host which is listed in the property amenities. Host should remove the Food and Drink option if it is no longer offered. Parking was available for us but in between vehicle that is made it very narrow to park. He gave a tour of the room. The room had its own private bathroom, the host did supply some beach towels with some hand towels. The bathroom did attract small ants and flying bug so the bathroom did have a Zevo Flying Insect Trap to capture the bug but the sink had small ants walking through it. Not to mention, there was couple of daddy long legs living under the mirror shelf. I had to keep all my sundries off the counter. The bath tub wasn't very clean - there was a film on the tub. The hot water is kept at a high of 140 degree since the host mentioned that he has guests from Alaska that visit that requires a higher temp. The room had a smart TV was great - it was new. I spent most of the first day removing the captions and fixing the sound. Sorry Host, I didn't like the captions. I realized the reason for the captions is because of all the fans you need to run to get the air flows to cool the place down. The windows are only screened so you get the hear all the birds through out the night. I wasn't able to connect to the Wifi - the host gave two different passwords to use and neither of them worked. We spent the first day relaxing in the room - only one interaction with the host and felt like he was running away. Oh well, maybe he was respecting our privacy, who knows. Day two and three - no sight of the host, just text late in the day on our last day to tell us about activities that are happening the day we leave. He also sent emails that were templated from the website letting us know he has had returning visitors to his guest house. Maybe they knew him before all the clutter was there and don't see it. He also sent an email to let us know what we need to do before we leave. We basically left the room like we never stayed there. Sorry Johnny - we won't be coming back to your guest house. And we are not going recommend it. Your place is embarrassing and a let down. I tried to have a open mind but the clutter got in the way. I wish I took pictures but didn't want to see the property again in the condition it was in. BTW - if you were on AirBNB/VirBo this property won't be acceptable to their standards. And you won't be a super host.

This is the worst guesthouse and owner I've ever had!　 Inside of room was smelling of mold, a lots of mold on cutting board, cockroaches, mosquitoes, ants......... Also, towel and bed were smeling of mold, too. A lot of mold on shower curtain and carpet, too. I really really could became sickness.. I paid cleaning fee（$118.86？). I thought for hygiene, but it wasn't...! He can buy new cutting board, carpet and shower curtain by cleaning fee！！！！！！！Why he didn't buy new one...! The owner always ask me to write good review, why he could ask me that..... He gave me fruits, but already spoiled and there were many insects....Why he could give me these fruits？ Also, he was not helpful and always excuse... I carried my heavy laggege on mudy path. Please don't belive his word. I shouldn't trust him.

Every Hotel listing sight and company needs to not refer this place. This is not a professional establishment. The website is completely miss leading and miss representing the offerings. When others have reviewed this place, they are not kidding. This is in a housing area and is an older house converted to have "suites". If you want something Air BnB on basic level, that is what this is and is a fit for you. If you only want a crash pad, this is for you. The only thing is they require you to stay 3-6 nights minimum. If you think its a nicer converted home professional Inn or Bed and Breakfast, its is not at all. Some specific miss leadings directly from their website: *3 out of the 4 rooms state "with Breakfast". There is no breakfast or anything of the sort. We asked the owner about it once we got there (since he won't respond to any form of communication) and he said there is no breakfast and its the hotel booking sites that say that. When I informed him we booked directly from his website and showed his website to him he said he doesn't know how to change it or how it got there. They did have coffe and a coffee maker * "Free off street private parking only", hell no, it is a narrow driveway about 100 feet long and then a flat spot directly in front of and next to the "Ocean Studio". The owner has 2 cars parked there and when we were there 2 guests had to park on the street since there is only room to part 2 other vehicles. If everyone has small cars, maybe 3, but we had to play shuffle and bother the other guests even when the others 2 cars are parked there since they block one another. The streets around the home say "no street parking" so that probably why they make the statement on the website. We asked the owner about this as well, he said its fine to park on the street, the neighbors are used to it. *"Balcony with ocean views" is a stretch. *Deck w/ outdoor microwave, mini-oven, gas stove- this is a joke. These exist. The microwave doesn't work and the stove is in front of the "Joyful Dolphin Studio" so you either need to disturb them making noise in front of their door or its only for that studio. We let the owner know the microwave doesn't work and he says its due to the Geckos laying there eggs in the outlets. I'm not disputing its true, then don't advertise a working microwave. *"We have "aloha" quiet time from 9pm to 8am for peace and quiet." - this is everywhere on the website and the confirmation email, but its not enforced, and one of the families staying there did not respect this. The reason you need this is because you hear EVERYTHING, especially if people are outside. Plus, the room we had has no closing windows on one side so you can never try to block the outside sounds even a little. * "10% donation every stay"- I can not verify, I hope this is true. What is completely truthful is there are bugs and geckos. We don't mind this at all, but be aware since they are in the room including the Cane Spider, which is totally harmless but they are huge and can startle you being in the covers, shower curtains, or other places. I attempted to contact them many times using different methods on communication before our trip with questions and wanting to book services. No one responded for months. Finally the owner responded once and was short and did not answer my questions and was a bit rude. We tried to book some of the "experiences" and packages. They don't exist at all. The owner was more friendly when we arrived, and did respond to text messages once you are there. We stayed in the "Happy Whale Studio" and the facility was fully booked when we were there for 7 days. With the mandatory cleaning fee (where I'm not sure what that is used for), for us its expensive for what we got and would have been better off camping or going to a cheap hotel. There bath towel feel like they are washed in salt water as well as the sheets. There were particles of sand in the bed. The fridge is not plugged in when you get there so make sure to plug it in if you want to use it (I understand that since electricity is more expensive in Hawaii). They charge you extra if you leave the ceiling fan on through the day (the only means of air movement). The facility: poor parking, and not enough for all guest if each room has a car. There is no garden. The house is on a tight lot so no "hang out" spots and the deck is narrow. Location is good, so like I said, if you want basic, no frills place to crash since you plan to be out all the time, no problem if you are ok with the price, noise, a owner who is super talkative, but doesn't follow through and won't communicate before hand, don't want any "services", don't mind acting like roommates trying to shuffle cars its great for this.

I received the guest policies but unfortunately I did not read them before the cancellation date. They ask that you to turn off cell phones for the convenience of other guests at night but that would not work for us as we had a 4 year old family member dying of cancer. I also have an autistic child that I would need to be in constant contact with. I explained this to Hotels.com who tried to reach the resort for special consideration of cancelling but I was told they could never reach them. I reach out directly and was told they would allow me to cancel due to our situation. Well after months of back and forth with Hotels.com and the guest house management I never received my refund and now no one will help me. We did stay at a different place in Kona and it was wonderful.

We won a 7 night stay on the big island of Hawaii by donating to a charity through Charity Buzz. Although there are beautiful views and the owner is very friendly, I wouldn't come back. With no AC in our room, we turned our fans on trying to keep the room cool. When we'd leave for the day, the owner would come into our room and shut them off. I had no idea he would be coming in whenever he wanted, so it made me cautious. Also, there were no soaps, washcloths, extra toilet paper, etc so make sure you bring your own or make a stop at Walmart first. The sheets and blankets were covered in stains. Finally, there were countless ants, geckos, spiders, millipedes and cockroaches constantly coming into the room through windows and cracks. This just wasn't what I expected Hawaii to be.

DO NOT STAY HERE! The owner/manager spent a lot of time fast talking us into staying after we demanded our money back. The place is totally over-priced. The pictures on their website are inaccurate -- the place does not look nearly as nice as that. My son and I stayed here, and my son hated it. The place was not at all as it had been portrayed. Lots of clutter, tacky stuff everywhere, the grounds need maintenance, pool was a mess, 'kitchen area' was minimally functional, little privacy from other guests, tiny bad parking spots, other residents in the neighborhood are hostile to 'guests' at this place. Awful experience.