Vacation Rentals by Owner

A real home away from home

Guest: Marsum (BC, Canada)
Date of Stay: 02/28/12 Review Submitted: 03/29/12

This property is exactly as described and shown in the pictures. It is beautifully updated and decorated with everything you could possibly think of. The location is perfect for the beach and for walking in to town. Carol was extremely helpful and considerate in making sure everything was to our liking. My only negative thought is the proximity to the BBQ area and the wafting of food smells during the supper times. I could tell this was someones real home and not just a condo for making money from. Thank you Carol and Chuck.

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, age 55+, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Highly Recommend

Guest: Carol and Mac (Calgary, Alberta, Canada)
Date of Stay: 01/16/12 Review Submitted: 01/29/12

This Condo is the perfect place for a wonderfl vacation. The location is perfect as well within walking distance to the main area of town which is great for shopping and dinners out. The Condo is equipped with everything you could possibly need...right down to the beach chairs and snorkle gear. We would highly recommend a trip to the Place of Refuge for snorkelling. We spent 5 hours one day with the dalphins swimming all around us. The sea life is everywhere and very beuatiful..Carol and Chuck are very accomodating hosts starting immediately with the booking...right through to a follow-up call when we arrived to ensure everything was perfect and it was and then some,

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, age 55+, girls getaway, tourists without a car, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Great location and very well kept condo.

Guest: PK (SF Bay Area)
Date of Stay: 10/14/11 Review Submitted: 10/31/11

We stayed here for 4 nights in October and really loved the property; we wished that we had few more days. The property is located right on the beach and walking distance to Alii drive. Carol had everything ready for us and the welcome basket was a great touch. Overall a great experience and we will certainly stay here again and also recommend it to other friends.

Recommended for:

John & Hazel

Guest: pete & repete (Las Vegas)
Date of Stay: 05/13/11 Review Submitted: 07/09/11

We are 2 active 80yr olds. We have stayed at the Reef 6 times all in different units. We usually stay for 5 or 6 wks. This time 6 wks. This unit is close to the lower parking lot and very handy for taking items to the unit. The approximatry to the lot does get noisy at times though. The unit is clean and beautifully decorated. This shows pride of ownership.The owners are very good to deal with. Most folks come to Hawaii for 1 or 2 weeks & are busy all of the time. We have seen most there is to see & do, many times over. There IS so much that a person would want to see or do. At our ages, we love to play golf, relax, watch the surfers & sunsets & enjoy our 1 martini a day. (plastic glasses) We love to have that around 4:30 or 5 at a table by the pool. Then a dip in the pool & jacuzzi. A few times we were in the pool & or jacuzzi when it rained, hard. What a life that is. We love to sit on the lanai and enjoy the people. The lanai is close to the BBQ area and it does put you on display to everyone walking by. We found most folks nice and talked to a lot of them as they passed by. A local hawaiian group had a wonderful BBQ with many adults & children. We enjoyed watching them have fun. The man that was doing most of the cooking brought a large plate of their food to us for "pupus" We loved it & printed large letters on a board saying "Mahalo" and held it up for them to see. The walk to town is a short walk & we did it every morning. If you don't have a car, it is great as you can get to most everything by walking. There are so many great places to eat for breakfast, lunch or dinner. We played golf 12 times & enjoyed it every time. If you golf, be sure to buy the "Golf Card" before leaving home. It saves you. This unit has most everything you will need to have fun. snorkel gear & etc. The king bed is very comfortable. We were concerned that there were no king pillows. The NEW shower is a real piece of work. Hazel now wants to put the same thing in our house. It will have to wait as we want to come back again. Everything you will need in the kitchen is there. We did have to buy most all of our condiments etc for cooking since NONE were left. We left PLENTY. We hooked into WIFI easily. That was a plus. Over all, a great stay. We would consider staying here again. Carol took care of us from the start & she made it Sooo easy. Don't be afraid to do it. Mahalo until next time.

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, age 55+, tourists without a car, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Home away from home

Guest: "Moaky" (Germany)
Date of Stay: 03/23/11 Review Submitted: 05/01/11

Many thanks to Carol and Chuck for providing a clean, comfortable, well-appointed "home away from home" while visiting beautiful Big Island. The property did more than justice to the listing description. A few highlights: * The owners' friendly hospitality * The condo's comfort and cleanliness * The condo's convenient location within the complex * The abundance of vistor beach gear in the condo - no need to go to Walmart :-) * The wonderful oceanview from the terrace - a great place to watch the surf and take in the sea air Without reservation I would recommend this condo to friends and family. Thanks again!

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, age 55+, girls getaway, tourists without a car, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Excellent Vacation Condo

Guest: Fay (Canada)
Date of Stay: 01/14/11 Review Submitted: 01/27/11

Photos of condo on this site are picture perfect as to what you will see on arrival. Condo is in an excellent location at Kailua-Kona along Alii Drive. This condo is clean, well maintained with a beautiful fully stocked kitchen, and a very comfortable queen size bed. The view from the lanai overlooking the pool and watching the ocean wave was outstanding. The poolside BBQ area was terrific. Shopping, restaurants, and historic siteseeing are all within short walking distance of the resort. Carol was very helpful at the time of booking, processing our reservation and called us shortly after our arrival to make sure we had arrived and offer assistance with our needs. The Big Island is a wonderful holiday location and I highly recommend accomodations at Carol and Chuck's Kona Reef #E11.

Recommended for:Age 55+, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Kona Reef Condo E11

Guest: Joan and Bill (Moscow, Idaho)
Date of Stay: 12/28/10 Review Submitted: 01/23/11

This condo was so very pleasant and exactly as described and pictured. We enjoyed sitting on the lanai for our breakfast and looking out at the crashing waves and surfers. We also were close to the pool, hottub and barbecue. The condo was very clean and well maintained. The furniture was comfortable and the kitchen well supplied. We appreciated having beach towels and chairs, boogie boards and snorkeling equipment. The location was conveniently close to town, yet a quiet secluded setting. Carol was very helpful with answering all of our questions and making suggestions about best beaches, restaurants, etc.

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, age 55+, sightseeing.

A perfect vacation !

Guest: Janet and Bill (Calgary, Alberta, Canada)
Date of Stay: 12/06/10 Review Submitted: 01/08/11

We spent a wonderful 20 days at the condo. It was our first time to the Big Island and this condo was absolutely the best place we could have stayed. The location is perfect. It is close enough to walk to town for the farmer's market, shopping and a great choice of restaurants. Also it is the perfect base for exploring the island with wonderful beaches in either direction and easy access to the whole island for day excursions. The condo is just like the photos, so no surprises when you walk in and the Kona Reef complex is very well maintained. The unit was very clean and had a lovely welcome basket of goodies. We loved the extra windows (it is an end unit) and enjoyed the morning sun shining in. The kitchen is well equipped so it is easy to cook your own meals. Carol gave us a call a couple of days after our arrival to make sure everything was OK. She was so helpful with any questions we had about where to eat and the best beaches to visit. We went to a lot of beaches and made great use of the beach chairs in the condo. Two highlights of our trip were driving to the top of Mauna Kea and swimming with the spinner dolphins. We can not wait to return and spend at least a month there next time. I would highly recommend this condo to anyone looking for the convenience of being close to Kailua-Kona and as a base for exploring the Big Island.

Recommended for:Age 55+, tourists without a car, romantic getaway.

Wonderful Week

Guest: Bruce (Mercer Island, WA)
Date of Stay: 11/27/10 Review Submitted: 12/13/10

Very comfortable condo with a lovely pool and barbecue area. We were amazed that the grills were cleaned daily! The condo had everything we needed for a perfect stay, including beach gear. The welcome basket was an extra treat, too. It's an easy walk into Kona, where we enjoyed our morning coffee and amazing muffins at our favorite Lava Java and scuba diving at the world-class Jack's Diving Locker. There are nice beaches for swimming, snorkeling and boogie boarding within a short drive, as well as great places to kayak and try a stand-up paddleboard. We saw dolphins, manta rays, humpback whales and lots of sea turtles in our week's adventures. We even took a day trip to see the very active Kilauea Volcano and beautiful Black Sand Beach. If it hadn't been so windy, we would have gone to the Green Sand Beach as well. If you don't grill your own dinner, Kona has a lot of good restaurants within walking distance or a short drive. The guest books in the condo supplied lots of recommendations on things to do and places to go. We'll be back.

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, age 55+, sightseeing.

Ironman Stay 2010

Guest: Luke and Renee (Western Australia)
Date of Stay: 09/29/10 Review Submitted: 10/29/10

My wife and I loved our stay at Kona Reef. We enjoyed sitting on the lanai every morning looking over the pool and watching the surf - what a great way to wake up! We especially loved the convenience of the condo as we did not have a car. The condo is well maintained, clean and modern. Thanks Carol and Chuck for allowing us to stay at your condo. We hope to visit again soon!

Recommended for:Age 55+, tourists without a car, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Kona Reef condo

Guest: lindas3440 (Anacortes, WA)
Date of Stay: 06/24/10 Review Submitted: 07/07/10

This was our second trip to the Kona Reef but the first in this condo. The condo was bright, airy, clean and very comfortable. We had a problem with the air conditioning the first night and notified Carol. She had it replaced in a very short time and we had no other problems. It was so nice to come back to a place that we could truly relax. I cherished our early mornings on the lanai. The location of this condo is convenient to everything in town but has none of the traffic noise. I hope to go again in the future and will contact Carol first. Definitely recommend Dan the Beachcomber restaurant (within walking distance) and also recommend The Fish Hopper restaurant downtown on the bay. Both were fabulous. Also for anyone who snorkels or dives, highly recommend the Manta Ray Dive with big Island divers. Used the Kila Kila Sportfishing outfit for our marlin fishing and Teddy Hoogs is the best! Mahalo Carol for one of our best vacations ever. Stephen and Linda

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, age 55+, girls getaway, tourists without a car, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Perfect condo for a Kailua-Kona base camp!

Guest: dp_ck (Berkeley, CA)
Date of Stay: 06/05/10 Review Submitted: 07/02/10

We stayed at this condo for 1 week. What a great place! A fantastic rate for a condo so well located, comfortable and clean. And the beach accessories (towels, chairs, etc.) are a big plus! Easy walking distance to all the shops, cafes, restaurants, and mai tais (2 scenic choices right next door!) on the main strip Ali'i Drive. Short drives to wonderful beaches and excellent snorkeling. And a great launching point for exploring much of the rest of the island -- we made day trips to the north and to the volcano. This will be the first place we try to stay when we return to the Big Island. If you want to stay in Kailua-Kona, stay here!

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, age 55+, families with young children, girls getaway, tourists without a car, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Nice condo, good value, great location...

Guest: Unique_Nickname (Seatte, WA)
Date of Stay: 05/23/10 Review Submitted: 06/01/10

We had a last minute trip to Kona and picked a place to stay without any research the day before our flight. Fortunately, Carol responded quickly and we had the chance to stay in her nice condo in an ideal location. From this condo you can easily walk 5 minutes to everything Kona downtown has to offer (eg. Lava Java, Kanaka Kava, the farmers market). We found this to be a great launch point for our week of exploration and relaxation.

Recommended for:

Ocean view condo review

Guest: Anonymous1000 (Torrance, CA)
Date of Stay: 04/25/10 Review Submitted: 05/31/10

We stayed at this condo for 7 days. The pictures and description of the condo accurately reflect the condo condition, which was excellent. This was our first time renting a condo through VRBO and Carol made the entire process easy, she was a pleasure to work with and quickly answered all of our questions. As stated in other reviews, this complex is close to town and very close to the ocean. Also, the complex itself is well maintained, the cleaning/maintenance staff were there promptly at 6 am every morning taking care of things (the first morning at the condo, the noise from the staff woke us up). I definitely recommend this condo.

Recommended for:Sightseeing

Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 03/05/10 Review Submitted: 03/05/10

We stayed in this lovely condo for 7 nights and had a wonderful stay. The condo is just as advertized and very clean. The new king sized bed was quite comfortable and we especially enjoyed walking into town for dinner. A great place to relax in Hawaii.

Recommended for:

Guest: Sharon 11 (Mountain View, CA)
Date of Stay: 02/10/10 Review Submitted: 02/10/10

We stayed at this Kona Reef condo for 5 wonderful days. The location was perfect! Walking distance to town, right on the waterfront and next to a beach. The unit was very clean and tidy, with a wonderfully updated kitchen to make meals. We really appreciated the extras, such as a beach umbrella, beach chairs & towels, even reusable shopping bags for the farmer's markets. For us, this makes getting a condo like this much more appealing than a hotel (where you would have to rent or carry all that stuff-and it doesn't feel like home). Carol was wonderful to deal with as well. We would definitely rent this unit again.

Recommended for:

Guest: Holly26 (-)
Date of Stay: 02/04/10 Review Submitted: 02/03/10

This was our first trip to Kona together and we definitely picked the right place to stay!! We immediately felt at home. The condo was clean and comfortable-- a perfect place to relax. We definitely enjoyed all the renovations! We enjoyed our views from the lanai and there was plenty of space for us to do yoga in the living room. We took advantage of the location and walked to dinner and breakfast and saw some great fish snorkeling. I highly recommend this condo. We can't wait to come back!!

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