MrKiller21 (Melbourne, Australia) 05/19/2018

Personally we found the restaurant a bit pretentious. That is more a criticism of us then them.. just not our type of dining. That said, our waiter was attentive and friendly. A constant supply of cold water, before asking, is always a good sign. The meals and especially the desserts were quite superb. Live Hawaiian music in the background, the view of the glowing rim from the volcano.... they are not doing much wrong here. An enjoyable evening.

funonthemove (Cookeville, Tennessee) 05/17/2018

My husband and I stayed 2 nights at the Volcano House on the Big Island of Hawaii. This is run by the National Park Service and has less than 40 rooms. We were welcomed by the friendly staff and our check-in was quick and easy. Don’t expect a five star room, but our room was clean, decorated nicely and had an awesome view of the crater. There is no television as they want you to enjoy and experience the park, with its stunning views and many walking trails. The lobby was so inviting with its fireplace and rocking chairs, and there is a nice restaurant and a bar with full views of the crater, and two gift shops with very nice items to commentate your visit. Across the street is the museum with everything you would want to know about volcanos and the beautiful art center showcasing the many items made by local artists on the island. If you want to do something different while visiting the Big Island, the Volcano House is the place to be.

Monika P (Singapore, Singapore) 05/13/2018

We stayed at the Volcano House Hotel just prior to the recent eruption and really enjoyed the amazing setting and views over the crater from the hotel. Also highly recommend the guided walking tour offered by the hotel. The food was good if a bit pricey and my only criticism is that the rooms were very dated and could do with a renovation.

SoCalGirl533 (San Diego, California) 05/12/2018

We recently took a trip to the Big Island and just happened to be there when Kilauea began erupting! We were lucky enough to get in a trip to Volcano National Park while it was still open. After taking in the film at the Visitor's Center we went across the street to Volcano House and had lunch in the. The view from our table was amazing, with the crater front and center as we had a window seat! The service was great as our waitress, Stacy was quick and offered good pointers on which items were her favorite. Several of us had the fish and chips entree and it was superb with a flaky, nutty batter and crisp chips. The salads were equally good with the balsamic dressing a hit! Prices were slightly high but what we expected given it's Hawaii and a National Park. Would definitely recommend it to anyone visiting the park who wants the complete experience. Only wish we could have seen it at night! Maybe next time.

mplstravel (Minneapolis) 05/11/2018

Our experience was a little unusual because we were evacuated right after our meal but its an experience of a lifetime. Its a kick watching the volcano table-side, and while thats the big attraction at this eatery, the food is quite good. A bit expensive, but for a national park, thats to be expected. We ate at the grille, not in the main restaurant.

familytravellerz (Victoria, Canada) 04/29/2018

We had a two bedroom condo that we booked through VRBO so we did have any interactions with the Aston staff. The condo was spacious (with the exception of the outdated and cramped kitchen) and comfortable with a large lanai and its own BBQ. The Shores is a beautiful complex in a good location. The grounds and common areas were well maintained. Pool was good. The fitness room is small but very clean and well enough equipped. The resort seemed to have a lot of full time residents.

DDDFJD (Carmel, Indiana, USA) 04/06/2018

Working with Peggy at Waikoloa Realty (808) 886-7874, reservations & communication throughout were excellent. All questions answered immediately. The Waikoloa area is beautiful & easy to find. The directions & map sent prior to arrival along with check in information was perfect. To have an assigned parking spot is wonderful & this one was especially nice because it was right on the end & marked for this condo. Step into this 2 bedroom, 2 bath unit & immediately you feel at home. It’s warm & inviting & especially comfortable. The kitchen has everything you’d ever need to cook a full meal, even some spices & coffee/tea supplies. This microwave is the easiest one to operate I’ve ever encountered. The dining room table & chairs were beautiful & the artwork delightful (South Pacific was a favorite musical of mine). There is a desk in the dining room to use to set up your computer. The living room, again, very comfortable & the TV worked well. Ceiling fans in the living room & master bedroom provided just a touch of breeze when needed. Full windows in the living room & bedrooms offer you the views of swaying palm trees. I practically lived on the wrap around lanai with very comfortable furniture & the perfect place to enjoy your meals, a good book, a cup of coffee or glass of wine. The master bedroom had the most comfortable king bed & lots of closet & drawer space. The master bath has double sinks & lots of storage underneath. There is a huge shower with dual shower heads & lots of hot water. The washer & dryer is always a welcome addition - so nice to continue your travels or return home with clean clothes. In the entry there is a collection of great books, movies & a game to enjoy during your stay. At The Shores & for your use is a gym, tennis courts & barbecue areas that include a table & chairs for outdoor dining if you want something other than your lanai. For golfers, you would be in paradise as the course is right outside the complex. You are a short walk to the rocky coast & the King’s trail that goes along the ocean’s edge for quite a way. You are very near A-bay which is a breathtakingly beautiful beach. Many restaurants, grocery stores & shopping reside within the Waikoloa complex. There is even a movie theater. We’re already looking to return, LOVED our stay & the Waikoloa area & would return in a heartbeat. Special thanks to Peggy for making our stay so wonderful.

ryancoke99 (Prince Albert, Canada) 03/18/2018

Absolutely enjoyed out stay at Aston Shores at Waikoloa during the week of February 17 - 25,2018. Central to most things on that side of Big Island, but still a drive to pretty much anywhere you wanna go (fairly typical of Big Island though). Aston Shores is a gorgeous property and the suite we rented from VRBO, was incredible. Please check out info@waikoloavacationcondos.com for their multiple rental properties. The only negative thing I can say about our whole trip is regarding our car rental experience. We've rented multiple times and have never experienced such poor customer service. We reserved a standard size SUV with Budget Rent a Car months prior to arrival. After being in airplane and waiting in airports for pretty much 17 hours, we were faced with an almost 2 hour wait in Budget's building before being helped. Then, the lady behind the desk informs us there are no more standard sized SUVs left and we'd have to take a downgrade, with no offer of refund of any kind. As we we're exhausted and just wanting to get to our condo, I just accepted it and drove away. I have sent a few emails since to Budget, to only be offered a $43 refund for the experience. Needless to say, I will never entertain renting from Budget again. Anyway, enjoy The Big Island. Peace

mimi565 (Regina, SK) 03/11/2018

We stayed in Unit 235 and it is very well equipped with everything guests need for a great vacation. The kitchen is well stocked with dishes, cutlery, cooking utensils, pans, etc and has a blender, coffee grinder, toaster, coffee machine and more. The king and queen beds are very comfy, the twin bed was a bit uncomfortable. There are plenty of sheets, towels, blankets and pillows, although the pillows soon need to be updated. There are enough beach chairs for 7 people, boogie boards, snorkelling equipment, tennis rackets, and coolers - everything needed or the beach! The living area is meticulous as well as the lanai, which has an abundance of furniture making it the perfect place to spend all your spare time.The floor tile on the lanai and inside the condo is beautiful and easy to clean. The only thing that would be nice is to have a barbecue on the lanai, but the barbecue station is not that far from the building. The pool and hot tub area is a great place to spend a pool day - very clean and well-kept.This location is within walking distance to all of the Waikoloa Resort amenities, and we would not hesitate for a minute to stay at this property again.

Lon C (Round Rock, Texas) 03/07/2018

On our recent trip to the Big Island, we stayed at this property. We (two) had a one bedroom unit on the third floor facing Mauna Kea and Hualalai. It was spacious, had a full kitchen, 1 1/2 baths, and a lanai to die for. I'm sure we will go back!

snowseekerWA (washington) 04/24/2018

We made our reservation through Air B and B and a group called Resortica. This is the same property, but possibly different units than those available through Aston, but it's the same overall development/neighborhood/property. Wiakoloa village is a great place to stay and this condo complex was perfect for the price, location, and amenities. The unit itself is a well designed townhome with minimal shared walls, was spacious and very comfortable. The bed arrangements were perfect for our family (two singles for the kids, a queen for grandma, and a king for mom and dad), the kitchen/dining area was well stocked and had more than ample space, and the living room with very tall ceilings had a great feel to it. There was a HUGE grass/green space out the back sliding doors, which was perfect for the kids to let themselves out and play. The appliances were new and efficient making it as easy as being home to get the dishes and laundry done. The only thing I would change if I were building it myself would be to increase the outdoor patio space. Also the owners/managers go out of their way to say you get a "starter" amount of laundry detergent/dish soap etc... We were very pleasantly surprised to find enough supplies (garbage bags, soap/detergent, shampoo, etc...) to probably last a month. Lastly, it was really great to have a nice collection of beach chairs, beach umbrella(s), boogie boards, tennis equipment, some sand toys, and towels galore. All this stuff is really hard to travel with and we were very happy to have it in Hawaii waiting for us without having to spend a bunch of money to gear up on arrival. They even had some basic cooking things like oils (vegetable and peanut), salt, pepper, balsamic, and a few other things. The kitchen supplies, pots/pans, dishes, were better and more numerous than anything we have at home. This particular unit was nice in that it was across the street from one of the pools. The pool was also wonderful. It was warm, but refreshing. It was really fun to swim under the stars without being too cold. The hot tub was large and accommodating. The grills around the pool made making a poolside lunch/dinner easy and fun. My wife enjoyed the work out facilities and there are many paths and lots of space in the roadways for running/biking and kid play. Having the pass to the Hilton was the icing on the cake. While it's a bit of an outing/effort to navigate the resort because it's so big, it is a wonderful perk to have. We had one day where it was too windy to be on the beach and we were able to retreat to the Hilton for more fun in the sun instead of feeling like we had to retire to the room or condo pool. It's a very easy to walk there from the rental, however, with two younger kids and LOTS of pool and sand toys it was only practical to drive. The kids (ages 3 and 6) did scooter with me to the Hilton while my wife drove and we met up in the parking lot to gear up. It's also easy and fun to head over to the Hilton for their luau and its nice to have free parking for the event, too. In the end I would highly suggest the Wiakoloa Village Resortica as an excellent location and we really enjoyed this rental as an outstanding place for your Hawaiian adventures.

loveDCA (Seattle, Washington) 03/18/2018

Our AirBnB was part of the Colony Villas in Waikoloa and was perfect for an adult family of four. Our unit was a two story townhome with two bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. The community is quiet and well-maintained with one outdoor dedicated parking spot and a garage. The fitness center and pool aren’t open 24 hrs but they are both well-maintained. In terms of location, it’s an easy walk to the historical lava falls that are inscribed by early indigenous Hawaiians and the nearby resorts.

ildiInPDX (Portland, Oregon) 03/04/2018

We booked the townhouse rental through HomeAway and the property was managed by Kona Coast Vacations. Rental was great, well equipped and clean, very comfortable and relaxing. Kona Vacations was great as well, they followed up before the trip a few times and then checked in during the trip as well. Great service from them but the service from the property itself was pretty average. Luckily, we didn't need to worry about that! The hot tub was closed due to a leak but fixed the following day. We'll definitely be back.

Serena C (British Columbia, Canada) 02/22/2018

We stayed Feb 3-17th 2018. Beautiful quiet resort. There were 8 of us.We booked 2, 2 bedroom condos and requested close together. At check in we were put as far apart as possible, but asking asking they made changed to get us closer. Our one friends condo was comfy and wonderful, ours not so much. We stayed in 1901. You could tell it was a rental and no worry for it. The dishwasher has a screw holding the water line in place...so cleans terribly. The handle of the scissors was broken off, no tea towels or dish rags ( after the cleaner came she took them and we never got them back. and there was only one of each.) No broom, so we kindly asked the cleaner to help get us one which she did. The couches were terribly uncomfortable and broken and the table and chairs in kitchen...well so rickety..3 times friends fell on the floor once hitting there head on the island because the floor was so slippery and the chairs so bad!! Our tv's were soooo old...in fact one upstairs was a VCR combo that was quite small. The fact we got 3 channels didnt help. Now....to me I just think that there needs to be checks done all on rentals before the people show up to rent to make sure things are up to par. We paid alot of money...same as our friends and did not receive nearly the same quality. That being said, we never had an issues getting a space at the pool...was very clean and beautiful,,loved the hottub as the weather wasnt always the greatest. There is no beach in walking distance...you must drive. The area its self is wonderful...but not cheap at all to shop for groceries there! A loaf of bread is $8.99 US! Amazing Thai restaurant and best Maui ribs in food court ever!. Over all we had a great times, how could we not ...we are in Hawaii beating the snow! However, our place was such a dissapointment for what we paid. I wish we requested photos of the condo we were paying for first. If you get a place as our friends did its awesome!

Matt B (Darmstadt) 01/11/2018

The location is the Waikoloa Village where many large hotels and condos sit around a shopping mall and an artificial lake, close to one of the nicest beaches on the Big Island and lots of golf courses. Our villa had a large living room with a kitchen, a bathroom and a small terrace. Upstairs are the bedroom with a balcony and the master bathroom. Washer and dryer are also available. Everything was reasonably clean but not in pristine condition, especially the stove must have endured some minor chefs before. There are a tennis court and two smallish pools available to guests. Since we were there at the busiest time of the year, there were not enough chairs available, one morning the pool was completely closed for no apparent reason. During our stay of eight nights there was no housekeeping at all. Nevertheless, they charge a daily resort fee of about $10 and a cleaning fee of $260.

lesley h (Sydney, Australia) 05/18/2018

Stayed at Aston Kona by the sea for 5 nights with friends ; this place was absolutely amazing ; we had a two bedroom condo which was lovely ; beautifully furnished ; had a good size balcony where we ate breakfast every morning and had beautiful views of the ocean : I would definitely stay here again if I went back to Hawaii

Tom H (Cranbrook, Canada) 05/14/2018

We stayed here for 2 weeks in April. This is a set of condos that I believe have individual owners. We booked through a travel agent. All the units are oceanfront and there is nothing between you and the ocean. Beautiful views of the lava beachfront, the ocean and sunsets. We had a 2 BR 2 Bath condo unit. (#122) which was very nice, well appointed and well equipped with dishes, utensils, cutlery and pots and pans. Fridge, stove, dishwasher, as well as a washer and dryer in unit. This condo has been kept modern and had nice furniture in the dining room and living room. King bed in the main and queen in the other. Big private lanai with table and 4 chairs plus lounge chair. Since we ordered through a travel agent we had no control over the unit we got. I would recommend checking their website you can probably look at photos of individual units and get an idea of price. Very nice pool and hot tub area. Nice BBQ area complete with 3 gas BBQ's. We used them a couple of times. Underground and outside parking. There was daily maid service and the coffee was replenished in the room daily. There was a concierge desk just outside of the office. They would arrange tours and things for you. We were on the first floor which is really the second (garage is level one). Would recommend getting as high a floor as possible. No restaurants within walking distance. About 2 miles to downtown Kailua Kona. We had a rental car so not a big problem. Price is expensive. So we managed it by having a 2 bedroom unit and splitting the cost with others. We went in April to try to get out of the high season a bit. Recommend that if this place interests you, to check prices. You'll decide soon enough whether it fits your budget. We also got hit with a $12.50/day resort fee that we weren't expecting so that added to cost. We would stay here again but would research individual units and prices.

LJHSViking (San Diego) 05/07/2018

The property is easily accessible from the airport and town, close to swimmable beaches, and fronting a rocky shoreline with great ocean waves to watch. There's no getting in the water at Kona by the Sea unless you're a daredevil boogie boarder. There is watching the ocean from your lanai, or from the spacious lawn or sandy beach area. BBQ grills are readily accessible and there are a pool and jacuzzi. We stayed in Unit 203, which features a lovely collection of Hawaiian art throughout the rooms. It's a one bedroom, two bath condo with a good-sized living area and plenty of closet space. I'm pretty sure that every unit has a washer dryer, which is very handy to have when you visit the beach and snorkel, as we do. The property management is welcoming and efficient, from front desk to concierge to maintenance and housekeeping. This is a fine place to stay when you prefer a condo setting to a hotel.

Danny D 05/06/2018

We stayed here for 2 days before a timeshare reservation. We had unit 206 which is an ocean front 2 bedroom condo. The view was fabulous and the ocean sounds made sleeping very peaceful. The unit was very well equipped and updated. Both bedrooms had king size beds and the one in the master suite was very comfortable. Our interactions with the on site staff were very positive. Everyone vas extremely welcoming and friendly. I highly recommend staying here.

AlisonS400 (Dublin, Ireland) 04/23/2018

We had a huge 2 bedroom apartment which had every convenience. It was gorgeous to wake up here overlooking the pool and the ocean. Nice casual attitude, great views and fab sunsets. Even the locals come here every evening for sunset. Very comfy beds, sofa and living quarters, huge fridge/freezer, loads of towels. Didn’t wanna leave, had to be dragged away! Would definitely come back.