The HI Express in Kona is a typical HI Express. It is clean, newish and their typical breakfast.
It is not luxury, its not a dump and to me, covers all the necessary bases.
Great location, parking($) no resort fee, walking distance to the main street.
One of the best things about any HI Express is they are consistent and this one is perfectly typical.
Chose this hotel as a place to land after a late flight for a couple nights. The front desk staff and the breakfast were GREAT. The parking situation on-site leaves a little to be desired as there are not enough spaces adjacent to the property, however an overflow lot exists. The room was bit worn - great lighting and very spacious but stained carpet and housekeeping never showed up and cleaned our room. Not a huge issue for a two night stay, but when paying Hawaii hotel rates (~$250/night) it was enough to ensure that I'll be looking at the Courtyard or somewhere else up the coast next time.
Hello there TinLizzy
Thanks for letting us know your impressions about your stay with as in our hotel. Sorry to see you had some inconveniences with the parking and the housekeeping. Definitely something we will have to look into and improve as much as possible.
I would like to offer you a sincere apology if this caused any inconvenience to you, rest assured this will never happen again in the future.
Hopefully you'll give us another chance, we'd definitely love to host you again and show you the changes done. Until then, take care!
Alejandro G.
Case Manager.
IHGService.
We wanted a place close to the airport our first night and this was very close. The beds were clean and comfortable. The location was within walking distance of restaurants. The breakfast was good. But, it is in an older building and our carpet was so sticky I could not stand to walk on it with no shoes on. Some towels were stained and unusable. You pay $10 to park. We were not told to immediately put our parking pass in our vehicle and 50 minutes later we had a $50 ticket on our car! Since the ticket had been written only 3 minutes before, they decided to not make us pay it. Beware!! And, as we started packing up the next morning, I started seeing what I think were ants on the dresser and our bags. One was even in my wallet. Not a good start to our trip.
Hi 2travelOhio,
Thank you for leaving us your review and for making us a part of your visit here in Hawaii. How was it? I'm sure you had a great time!
We're all about acing on the brilliant basics, and a little more where it matters most, 2travelOhio, but I'm sorry that you thought we came up short, this time. Though it made me smile that you liked our location, the room, and the beds, I understand that you felt differently in other areas. I regard your thoughts about the hotel's condition, the towels, and the carpet condition. I read that these could use a good updating. I
Trust that I have brought this before our management's attention to be discussed to all concerned staff. We may not have been our best on this trip but I'm positive to end this with a 5-stars on your next stay. Thank you for taking the time to let us know about your stay with us.
Kind regards,
Frank A.
Case Manager
IHGService
I check the ratings for the various hotels in Kona and selected the Holiday Inn Express. This turned out to be an excellent decision. We were on the 3rd floor with a view of the ocean (few buildings in the way but it worked). Everyone here was very friendly and helpful. The room was spotless and well organized. It had everything we needed including a very nice pull out desk for my laptop. It also had a nice comfortable chair with small table for reading, writing, etc. There is a laundry but we didn't use it. They have breakfast in the morning that was really good (in our opinion). Coffee was the best. See photos. We walked down to the water (about a block away) and checked out the outdoor market and all the shops and restaurants. Fish Hopper was reasonable and good. We did walk around and looked at the other hotels to confirm we made the best decision. Uncle Bill's is a real dump. Anyone that stayed there was probably kicking themselves. Marriott looked okay but cost more $. Parking at the hotel was a little tight (spaces aren't really large). They have an overflow parking lot next door in case you can't find a spot. This place was busy (probably due to people liking it so much). Good security inside the hotel (keyed areas to get into halls, etc.). The maid told us she works at some of the other hotels (cleaning) in Kona and that this one is the cleanest and has the highest cleaning standards. They have a pool but we didn't use it. You can't go wrong if you stay here. Gas station is right around the corner. It is a little tricky getting to the hotel because of the way the nearby streets are set up but Google Maps worked fine. They let us check in early. Very pleased and will return again when in Kona area. Costco and Kona Brewing are nearby (driving). They have a business center for printing documents. Internet is about 6 mbps which isn't blazing speed but it was consistent and fast enough for uploading photos, etc. We didn't use their exercise room but did use the business center to print documents.
What can we say, it's a newer HI Express?! Same basic breakfast you get everywhere (some fresh pineapple would be nice) which we usually used plastic plates to eat out by the pool. It's very handy if you don't have a car, easy walking to most central Kona restaurants, ABC stores but a bit of a 1+ mi hike uphill to places like Walmart & Target. You are about 1 block from seeing the ocean and there are no decent beaches close, best beach & walking spot is Old Airport and that's close to 2 mi north. Rooms were clean, staff helpful. Just remember this IS Hawaii, $200 for a simple room & breakfast however other brands are much more.
