Outrigger Royal Sea Cliff Kailua-Kona

Hated our condo at Royal Sea Cliff

by TripAdvisor Member Aggie_Bev

Run, don't walk, away from this resort! We arrived on July 5th, 2006. Our problems began as soon as we entered our condo which we rented through the owner since it was privately owned. The unit had not been maintained. The stench was unbearable, especially inside the kitchen cabinets. The air conditioning vents/registers were filthy and the one in the kitchen area was almost completely black with what looked like mold, but could have been mildew. Roaches and bugs were everywhere. At one point in our stay, the unit next to ours had a sign posted "OZONE TREATMENT---DO NOT ENTER" which further explains why one should not stay at this resort. Perhaps the condos owned by the resort are in better shape than this one but I personally will never stay at this resort again.

You'll never want to leave!

by TripAdvisor Member KMTM

We stayed at the Royal Sea Cliff Condos for our 20th wedding anniversary vacation to the Big Island and it was wonderful! Waking up and stepping out onto our private lanai to the palms rustling in the warm breeze with the birds chirping and the waves crashing against the shoreline was absolute heaven on earth! You'll have to go there to experience it for yourself.

Very nice for a three star

by TripAdvisor Member PaulMcBay

Before booking the Royal Sea Cliff, I read the reviews and found them to be a mixed bag. Some people love the place, while others have problems with bugs or cleanliness and they dislike it.

I found the place to be one of the nicest three star hotels I've ever stayed at. I loved the salt water pool and all the lush vegetation on site. We had a one bedroom suite. The only complaints were that the carpet was dirty in the living room and air conditioning noisy in the kitchen. However, bed was comfortable and sheets clean. We had no issues with bugs; perhaps it's the toads that hop around the grounds at night. The resort was nice and quiet. We stocked up on steak and seafood from Costco (near the airport), BBQ'd by the pool, and ate in almost every night. (Saved a bundle.) It would have been nice to have high speed internet in the rooms, but the lobby had it and every night I'd go upstairs to upload my day's pictures.

We took home some great memories from the Big Island. Make sure you see the Volcano and go to the top of Mauna Kea (never thought I'd need a parka in Hawaii).

Loved the view

by A TripAdvisor Member

We had a one bedroom with an ocean view and it was fantastic. The living room and bedroom were large and comfortable and always clean. The decor was a bit tired, but that didn't matter. Although this place was just off Alii Drive, it was very quiet, at least our condo was. The staff was helpful and friendly, always greating us with an Aloha. The pools were clean - the saltwater pool a bit larger which was good for lap swimming. We watched the waves pound the shore, the cruise ships go by, the whales migrating, and the sunsets were amazing. It's about 2 miles from downtown Kona, but made a nice walk for us. We rented a car and were able to park by our back door with no extra charge. We will stay there again should we return to the Big Island.

Wonderful Lanai and View

by A TripAdvisor Member

Our first stay was one week and we spend most of our time on the lanai. Ate, drank, entertained, napped, and read on the lanai.
The accomodations were first rate, the property was beautiful and well kept.
We enjoyed every minute of our stay.
M Wegerif

Royal Sea Cliffs was great

by TripAdvisor Member froggytn

We spent a week at Royal Sea Cliffs in March. During this time, the entire state of Hawaii was being inundated by rain. However, the Kona area remained mostly pleasant. We had a 2 bedroom condo and felt it was lovely. It was clean and comfortable and was always quiet. The resort sits atop lava rock, and there is no beach, but the 2 pools are oceanside, so you get the sound of the surf. Our lanai faced the ocean, and we spent alot of time out there reading and enjoying the view!The grounds are landscaped so nicely. They had wireless capability near the concierge area. The staff all were pleasant and helpful.

Loved it!

by TripAdvisor Member cohusker

I was a little worried staying here after reading the posts, but I was very surprised on how nice the rooms/hotel was. I booked a "Garden-View" Studio Room for $119 on outrigger and I was upgraded to an Ocean View room (#429) and it was outstanding! It is very close to "downtown" Kona and has underground parking.

Walked out right after check-in....sort of

by A TripAdvisor Member

I didn't actually stay at the hotel, and that's because I checked out only 3 hours after I checked in! The minute my newly minted husband and I pulled up to the hotel, we didn't like it. The circular driveway where guests pull up for registration was very small and inconvenient. Maybe it’s just our ignorance, but we generally carry our luggage with us when we go check in. We then find that there was no ramp up to the registration desk so we had to drag them up the steps. We then waited awhile before we were checked-in. There was 1 front desk person doing check-ins while 3 others sat idlely at the concierge desk, which I found awfully odd. As I grew more and more impatient, one other personnel suddenly appeared to do check-ins. We were checked in pretty quickly but were then told that we actually have to drive up and park near our room. We were a little confused and annoyed that we had to drag our luggage (rather heavy) back to our car and drive to our room. BTW, my husband almost lost his footing on one of the steps as we dragged our luggage back.

We were totally confused by the parking area layout. The parking area was located underneath the hotel and branches out just like the hotel itself but was dark and dingy with no proper signage. There was no signage in the parking area telling you where the rooms are so one can easily find a nearby spot, which would have saved us a lot of time. The schematic provided to us by the front desk person where she highlighted our room in relation to the rest of the hotel was wrong. We had a 1-bedroom ocean front room but she highlighted rooms on the second right-hand branch. We drove around aimlessly for a few minutes and finally settled in on a spot. At that point, we still had no idea where our room was so I told my husband to wait for me in the car so I can first go locate our room first because I didn't want to drag my luggage around again. I quickly found the elevator, which was also dark and dingy. I rode up to my floor and was "welcomed" by a strong and unpleasant smell of curry right as I exited the elevator. I was really unhappy by this point but was relieved to have finally found my room just around the corner. But then my room keys didn't work. I went back to the front desk to have them fix my keys. As I walked through the myriad interior courtyard, I realized that we didn't have to drag our luggage back to our car earlier. We could have just wheeled them directly to our room, but why didn't the staff tell us when they saw us with 2 large bags and 2 large suitcases!!! I was fuming at their incompetence.

Well, they did fix my keys so I had to go back and try the room. I opened the door and immediately found a mildewy smell around the whole apartment. I didn't like the apartment at all. The sofas were of a faded red tropical print. The cheap bed sheets had marks and stains on them. The bed creaked. The blinds on the window that directly faces the ocean was broken, which totally defeats our hope of wanting to wake up to the ocean scenery. The terry cloth towels were thin and coarse.

I complained to my husband that I really didn’t like the apartment but he said that he was starving and didn’t want to deal with this until after we’ve eaten. So I had to abandon the issue and go find food with him. Honestly, I was really hungry too. We ate at Lulu’s, which was basically good bar food with an ocean view. As I sat and complained and complained, my husband finally caved in and suggested we find out what’s still avail around Kona and get pricing. At the end of our meal, we called up a few places, all of which were condos, but at this point, after the Outrigger, my husband didn’t want to try another condo. I agreed so we decided to check the internet. We found internet service at the Island Lava Java, just a couple of stores down from Lulu’s in the same Coconut Grove Marketplace, and looked up pricing in the area. Turns out a room with an ocean view was $230, about the same we were paying at the Outrigger.

We then promptly went back to our hotel, got our luggage, walked up to the front desk and checked out. I was determined that I would rather forfeit the first night’s cost than have our honeymoon ruined. I must admit that the only saving grace was the check-out process. I told the same girl who checked me in that I want to check out. She asked me why. I just shook my head because I was so upset and disgusted. She asked no more questions and quickly checked me out. I asked if I need to pay for that night and she kindly said no. I asked if she was sure and that I didn’t need to sign anything for her. She said no. I thanked her, walked out and never looked back.

By the way, the Sheraton at Keauhou was much, much better.

BlueCollar's Kailua-Kona Page

by BlueCollar

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Sunset at Kailua Bay.

Kona is where you'll find the majority of bars and restaurants on the island. It is the most happenin' place on the isle.

We have stayed at the Kona Bali Kai, the Aston Royal Sea Cliff Resort and the Keauhou Resort. All of which are great properties.

Don't forget my travelogue.

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