Regular Kona visitors, enjoy staying along the coast, just south of restaurant row on Ali'i Drive. Whenever possible, we try to stay in an oceanfront unit, not always an option when booking relatively close in, unwilling to pay a huge premium.
First stay in Hale Kona Kai, after several recent stays at Kona Reef. Hale Kona Kai is smaller, quieter (less street noise), with reserved parking. 1 br units at Hale Kona Kai have bigger bedrooms but smaller living space.
Unit 411 is clean, well maintained, reasonably equipped but a bit dated, slight moldy smell when windows are closed, A/C is on - which fortunately was rarely required during our stay. Balcony is on the side of the building, so we did not have a sunset view (in December), stairs at the end of the hallway were blocked off with yellow tape, apparently for safety reasons.
Only real beef is with the management company. They will spam you constantly to buy insurance, activities and other extras. They have some of the latest check in times ( 4pm), earliest check out times (10 am), will text you prior to arrival to extend both even further. As our flight arrived before noon, we asked if it would be possible to drop our luggage (in the room) prior to 4pm, received a snarky response. We decided to stop by around 2 pm, on-sight crew were very friendly and accommodating.