Kona Village A Rosewood Resort

Brilliant stay at Kona Village! Booked the Ocean Front Legacy Hales, perched right on the shore with unobstructed views and absolute serenity. Carol and Kacy were both incredibly helpful with booking restaurants and activities, including Moana and a tour of Mauna Kea. Shipwreck Bar & Sushi was terrific, and the pools and beach were never crowded, despite the resort being fully booked. The pièce de résistance was the sunrise outrigger canoe experience – it kicked off day one in fine form. The sense of place at Kona Village is one of the best things about it. Many other Hawaiian resorts are massive complexes, but this one bucks the trend and offers a much more authentic experience. Greatly impressed – well done!

This was our best resort experience to date! WWe celebrated my 50th with only the top of the line…Our hale was total perfection. The solitude, space, top end appointments, bathroom shower and tub (indoor and out) was No Ka Oi! Every single resort staff and Ohana was courteous, greeted with a wave and an Aloha and a smile. Our room service and turn down service was exceptional. The Island Roots dining event is highly recommended…the food, family style dining in a magical setting with Kona Village Ohana was an incredible experience. Paniolo night offered great service and food, but the local live music highlighted the spirit. Management at Moana Resturant made us feel like family, and the octopus was our favorite! Beach side and pool side were both comfortable, and the ahi nachos were a fave. But this place is so classy, their well tequila is beloved Fortaleza, chefs’ kiss all the way around. Snorkeling was awesome, SUPs are available for use also, along with so many other ways to enjoy the special waters!! Every touch was appreciated, from birthday wishes and amenities, to bike usage, quiet hot tub mornings, private beach and gathering areas near the hale, in room full bar, jumbo beach towels, magnet collections, and more! Thank you! We will be back and look forward to spending our next special occasion with you!

Kona Village is a beautiful property and we had a wonderful and relaxing time. Generations of my family have been going there since the 1970s and it's retained a special charm. The service and room quality were excellent and we appreciated that they were accommodating with a late checkout. However the prices for food are exorbitant. At over $1,200/night for the lowest tier room, that price does not include breakfast. Once at breakfast, a juice at 1/2 the normal size costs $12, an egg dish at $35 has an omelette and three potatoes and won't fill you up. You can expect to easily spend $50-80 per person at breakfast. A 12 oz cappuccino is $11. Plain steamed rice is $10. A hummus appetizer is $30 - all of these prices without tip. We went to their communal dinner and as vegetarians and pregnant I could not drink, so we spent $463 on dinner for two people that was basically grilled corn, vegetables, and dessert and were still hungry - we could have spent this amount to go out to a Michelin star meal elsewhere. You need to budget at least $200 - 500 per day in incremental charges if you plan to eat at the resort. A couples massage for one hour is $650 without tip. Overall a beautiful property and still a great experience but the way the insane prices don't feel like they embody hospitality.

Positives: The property and villas are stunning. Beautifully manicured gardens, spacious, well designed villas and sweeping ocean views. The hotel also has a fantastic story. Founded in the 60’s, it was decimated by the tsunami in 2011. It was then rebuilt and opened in 2023. We spoke with a number of hotel guests who visited the hotel prior to the tsunami and regularly came back. That’s a testament the charm of the hotel. The service was impeccable. Every server / bar tender was top draw. One clear highlight was the Roots dinner which they do every couple of weeks. If you have the chance to attend, I would highly recommend it. It’s a perfectly designed communal dinner with outstanding food and a stunning setting. It’s also relatively affordable at around $200 per person (that includes unlimited food and drink). Ship wreck bar is one of the most unique and memorable bars I’ve ever visited. Great spot. The restaurant food was good (not spectacular, but good). Despite all the positives, we definitely saw some issues you wouldn’t expect from a resort charging almost $2,000 per night. The pool service was super slow and you could rarely get a drink unless you actively flagged down a member of staff. The drinks were often wrong (mistakes happen) but the servers would take off and it would be 20 mins until we could get the correct ones. The golf cart service was slow and super unreliable. We were told we’d be picked up at 5:50pm for the roots dinner. After multiple calls to the concierge, they eventually turned up at 6:10pm so we were 15 mins late to the dinner. We then tried to get a cart home after one of our dinners as it was raining. We waited 15 mins at the restaurant, when they told us it would be ANOTHER 15 mins until a cart would be available. In the end, we walked home in the pouring rain, ruining our shoes on the dirt road. The bikes are janky at best as the saddles and handle bars kept moving. We definitely enjoyed our stay and the hotel is beautiful. We did expect slightly better though for the hefty price tag.