Ok… I am a little planner and would like input on where to stay… I have been there twice (not to race but to watch) and stayed at the royal kona. Based on my experience, I would like to be closed to the pier and have a mini kitchen. Any input? I know it’s early to ask all this…
Its never too early to reserve for Kona, especially the condos close to town. We book for the next year before we leave Kona. The condo we like is usually booked before December.
Try Kona Islander Inn. It on Alii is right across form Bubba Gumps and the Expo. They are efficiency type units, but have mini kitchens. Can’t beat the location and they are reasonable. Many of the rental agencies have units in that complex.
Aloha,
Support Crew
If you are travelling with a group, you can rent a condo that is not too far from the pier (my family and I stayed at the Kona Makai which was about a 10-12 minute jog away from the pier) that has multiple rooms and a full kitchen. I got the information and made the reservation using www.hawaii-kona.com/vactionrentals.htm. They had a whole selection of various sized condos that are perfect for ironman week.
Marisol,
There are a whole bunch of places on Alii, from the pier south. You’ll just have to call around. Check out www.vbro.com, it’s a rental listing website. Anything within 5 miles or so will keep you close. Cheers and congratulations again.
Hey Sophie congrats from a fellow Cincinnatian! One of the nicest places that I have ever stayed at is the Hilton Waikiola village about 20 mins north of the airport up the Queen. It is simply awesome. Check out their website. The Four Seasons just south of there is very nice as well (a little less to do, but more “relaxing”). If you plan on getting there a week early, it can’t be beat. It is a way to the King K and pier though on race morn. There is a huge lagoon to swim in, several very nice restaurants, including sushi, and you can run/bike for some light taper type training along the Queen highway. Actually a train or water boat taxi to get you to your room from the check in desk - there is also a kids day camp to drop them off at which is lots of fun (if you have any). Their spa and massage is absolutely world class. I met and spoke with Lisa Bentley and Luc van Lierde a couple of years ago there. The downtown Kona “village” scene is just too much for me.
p.s. Do you know Marilyn Prout (in Indain Hill)? - she an I are scheduled for IMFL this year unless she qualifies for Kona again via something else. We will be trying some long rides (5 hours +) later in the summer if you want to join - that would be great!
If you want a kitchen your best bet would be a condo: Kona by the Sea, Kona Nalu, Kona Alii, etc… Kona Islander Inn (mentioned above) would probably be the most affordable. They just re-opended the old Kona Surf (end of Alii Drive at Keauhou) as a Sheraton I think, no kitchens though. If you have a big enough group a vacation rental house would be a great option. As mentioned above VRBO is a good place to look. My b/f has a house in Keauhou Estates that sleeps a lot of people and is really nice. It has a pool, but its kind of short for laps. Its on VRBO called Hale Kolepa (its on the golf course). If you’re not with a group I know of a newly remodeled studio apt (actually I live on the other side of the wall) at Kealakekua Bay. Not real close to the pier, but a great place to swim (with dolphins) and run and out of the chaos of Kona.
Anywhere but the Sheraton. We stayed there this last october, but they were still in the middle of construction/renovation! It really sucked rolling my bike through the construction workers laying down the tile on the walkways. Needless to say we left pretty unhappy.
vrbo.com is the best site to find condos. I don’t recommend the Hilton because the afternoon traffic coming into town is a bitch and you’ll be relient on your car. Plus no kitchens. Everyone here has named good condos all withing a few miles. The Sheraton (former Kona Surf) is finished and reopened. I haven’t seen it but heard it’s quite nice. Again, no kitchens. PM me if you have questions like locations or quality.
I’ll trade you some Kona coffee for a Reds shirt for my hubby.
I stayed at the Hilton Waikola a couple years ago and though it was nice - it was a haul depending on what tower you stayed at…if you wanted to bring your bike down for a ride it seemed to take forever to walk it out. If you want the village scene then it is too far. If I went back to the Big Island just for a vacation, maybe but if you are racing/spectating then I say stay closer.
This is the local rental agency we have used for the past 8 years. They have given us wonderful service. Their web site is easy to use and has maps locating all their rentals so you can see just how far they are from the Pier.
Property Network Ltd. http://www.hawaii-kona.com/
Support Crew
Personally I like the King Kam. It’s ground central for everything. I know it’s pricey and the rooms are old but you can’t beat the location. I don’t know if any of the rooms have a kitchen, but I don’t care. I didn’t go all the way to Hawaii to sit in my room and eat when there are lots of great places to dine out.
Everything is there, registration, transition, the pier, science of speed conference,…etc. It will be my third year there. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
King Kam is sold out… Have you ever stayed at the seaside? I think I want to be right there… so it’s between the sea side, royal Kona and some efficiency condo between the 2. anyone stayed at seaside? i would like feedback
We stayed at the Kona Seaside for a couple days in 2003 when my wife did the race. It was ok considering we got a great deal on priceline for it. I think it was around $50/night for the two nights we were there. There are two sections of the hotle and we were in the older section. I would say it was clean, but not nice. Maybe Motel 6 level? The newer section might be closer. It is very convenient being across from the pier though, and there are groceries/convenience stores/restaurants all within a couple blocks. That being said, I think we were MUCH happier in the condo that we switched to for race week.
Thanks. I am having a hard time finding condos that are close to the pier. Any input on that? I looked at the recommended websites, it is hard because they don’t tell you how far they are from the pier. I would really like to stay withing a mile of the pier
The condo we stayed at for race week was maybe a couple miles from the pier, but it was fine. You’ll have your bike there and it’s a pretty nice walk up and down Alii from most of the condos. Unless you stay closer to keaohou, you’ll have no problems gettings around. But to give you a better idea of distances, when you find condo listings just use mapquest or google maps to figure out the distance to the King Kam hotel, that’ll be about the same as to the pier. As far as specific condos, I would just take your time and ask around…
I’ve stayed at Seaside twice before. As someone else pointed out, it’s about the level of a Motel 6, which is fine by me. One thing to keep in mind though, some places don’t have air conditioning, and some that do have window units (noisey!). I believe Seaside has window units that half worked. If and when I go back to Kona, I’ll probably just try to stay at Seaside again, price and closeness to the pier couldn’t be beat.
There really aren’t many condos close to the Pier. Most are about 3/4 mile out or more. I know people who have stayed at Kona Seaside and no one has liked it. Remember, you won’t have your bike race morning, so you will have to walk/jog in.
I recommend using the site mentioned above. www.hawaii-kona.com Navigate to the map page. We have used that rental agent for 8 years now. They have a great web site and map that will show you where all their condos are in relation to the pier.
Support Crew
Thanks for the map, that really helps. I am just confused as far as if i should get a condo or hotel, not sure how many people, bla bla bla I appreciate all the help 
go for the condo - washer/dryer/kitchen are super worthwhile and if you can get anyone else to split the cost it’ll be cheaper anyways. you can hitch a ride race morning if you really need it.
Did you try going through Anthony Travel? They usually set aside a bunch of rooms at the King Kam for qualifiers that you can only get through Anthony Travel. 2 years ago I got a King Kam room after qualifying at Lake Placid in July.
The Kona Seaside is clean and well located but the rooms are quite small and old. My Aunt stayed there last year and didn’t mind it because it was much less expensive than the King Kam. Another very well located inexpensive (by Kona standards) motel is Uncle Billy’s. It has a nice outdoor bar facing Alii Drive and is equidistant between the Expo and the pier. I haven’t seen the inside of their rooms though. Perhaps someone else can comment?
I wouldn’t want to be 1 or 2 miles away. We typically like to cruise through the village several times a day to see what’s going on and to grab a bite. Even at a mile away this becomes a pain to do.