OUTRIGGER Kona Resort & Spa

I want to make a couple of points first. 1. The staff is excellent. Everyone is very friendly and very helpful. We had no issues with any of the staff and are grateful for their help in several key moments. 2. We love the property. Have stayed here multiple times. The pool is in fact one of the best on the island. We’ve even tried the big one up at Waikoloa and like this one more. All that being said… This property needs help. It’s clear now after staying multiple times since the switch-over to becoming an Outrigger property that the hotel wasn’t so much renovated as refreshed. It still has glaring issues and you don’t have to go far to see them. 1. The rooms themselves. We had to switch rooms after the first night because the front door was literally coming off its hinges. I had to body-slam it just to close it. This isn’t a fault that just shows up one day, it degrades over time, and I don’t understand how housekeeping nor the prior guests could not have mentioned something. I will fault to assume that the hotel knew about the problem and chose to keep the room on reserve for some poor schmuck (me in this case) when it was needed. The toilet is another mystery. For some reason, the toilets in the bathrooms sit several inches higher off the floor than every other toilet in the world. Even a taller person has to be on their tiptoes when using it, and heaven help the shorter people whose feet don’t even reach the floor. Who the hell would do this on purpose?!? It’s neither necessary nor even beneficial. Then there’s the weird under-cabinet lighting in the bathroom. Anytime anyone walks into the bathroom after dark, it lights up the whole room. This is fine if you WANT this feature, but you’ve got to give the guest the option to turn it off. Also, the sliding patio door was almost impossible to move, like it hadn’t even been opened since the 80s. The locking bolt was bent downwards, forcing you to awkwardly maneuver and slam that door too just to close it, to say nothing for locking it. 2. "Piko", the on-site “restaurant”: This is probably the most frustrating part of the experience that keeps this hotel from being an actual resort. We’re now several years post Outrigger taking over from Sheraton. The existing restaurant at the time, Rays, was shut down to renovate and reopen as “Duke’s”, but from the look of it, they’re no closer to being done with that renovation than they were a year and a half ago when we were last here. Looking out the side of the hotel at where the restaurant area sits, all you can see is open metal walls and a ton of mess. What the hell was so wrong with Rays that you couldn’t just renovate it and have an actual working restaurant up and running? All that being said, Piko is a sad attempt at running a proper restaurant in a temporary space that clearly wasn’t intended for it. It’s not the operation that’s the problem, though. The menu is some kind of horrid hipster nonsense that effectively gouges you by adding countless awkward and random ingredients to items that don’t need those enhancements. Best example is the burger. It’s $32. A THIRTY TWO DOLLAR BURGER. THAT TAKES THREE MENU LINES TO DESCRIBE THE INGREDIENTS. Don’t talk to me about inflation or Hawaii being more expensive, nowhere else on the island charges nearly that much for a damn burger. The closest I found at any other restaurant on the island was $22, and Piko’s is still $10 north of that. This place takes advantage of the fact that it’s the only restaurant on property that’s not fried pub food in an area (Keauhou) that’s already lacking in quality dining establishments. To make matters even worse, the poor employees running the coffee stand in the morning are clearly overworked and many food items in the counter aren’t even stocked until the place has been open for two hours. The excuse I got was “short staffing”. Bullsh*t. It’s 2026, COVID is long over. There’s no excuse for short staffing at this stage, especially at a resort that charges you $32 for a burger. Piko is a band-aid dining solution that should have been replaced by its successor long, long ago, yet here we are. Oh, and one last thing…at a dinner that cost us well over $100, I asked for a salt shaker. I was brought a cheap plastic holder with paper packets of salt and pepper like I was at a gas station. WTF? 3. Many amenities are non-functional. The ATM was out of order the entire week we were there. The credit card machines at the front desk went down multiple times (including at check-in) and we were emailed some weird form to fill out instead for charges. The towel dispensers were never even available for use. I spent an hour trying to get on the WiFi to no avail and had to call the front desk, to which they gave me a code they said I should have received at check-in (I didn’t). I also need to add that this stay started a week before the Kona Storm hit, and we checked out the day it began, so weather was not a factor. We really love this property, but the current way it’s being run makes it very hard to want to return. It’s still, unfortunately, the same clapped-out Sheraton it was 6-7 years ago with a fresh coat of paint here and there. It looks good in most spot but needs a lot of work to bring it up to the standards of the other resorts you find on the island. I truly hope it reaches that level, but I’m not encouraged by this latest experience.

Thank you so much to Tielynn at the front desk for helping us out. We really appreciate the effort she put in giving us a great experience here.

We spent 8 nights at the Outrigger Kona, booking through Costco which bundled valet, resort fees, luau tickets, and Voyager Club access. Here's our honest take for anyone considering this resort. **The property** is genuinely stunning — sweeping open-air spaces, two pools, a lovely water feature, and an open-air restaurant (Dukes was under construction during our visit). The location near the Captain Cook area is fantastic, and the resort sits on sacred grounds with deep cultural significance. **Room tip — and this is important:** "Ocean View" and "Ocean Front" are not the same thing. An ocean view room may offer only a sliver of the bay if you crane your neck. If you want open water in front of you, book Ocean Front. We switched rooms mid-stay with the help of the wonderful Jeneen at the front desk and the difference was night and day. **The pools** were a highlight. The outer pool closest to the ocean was our favorite spot. Chairs and towels were always available, and the deck attendants were exceptional — cheerful, attentive, and full of great local recommendations. Complimentary water and fresh pineapple throughout the day was a lovely touch. We even spotted whales breaching and dolphins from the pool deck. **Don't skip the cultural center.** Our guide Nani was extraordinary — her walking tour (free, ~45 minutes) was moving, educational, and genuinely changed how we approached the rest of our trip. She sang in Hawaiian as an offering to the island and had us in tears. It's one of the best resort experiences we've ever had. **The valet team — one of the best things about this resort.** We've stayed at a lot of hotels. We've been greeted by a lot of staff. Nothing compared to these guys. From the moment we pulled in on day one, they set the tone for our entire trip. They asked about our excursions, and genuinely seemed happy to see us every single time we returned — whether we'd been gone two hours or all day. It never felt scripted or performative. It felt real. They had our car ready exactly when we asked, without fail. But honestly, the car was almost beside the point. It was the warmth. The energy. The sense that they were proud of where they worked and wanted us to love it too. In a resort experience that had real highs and a few lows, these guys were the constant. If hospitality is an art, this team has mastered it. **Tip them generously. They deserve it!** ***Opportunities*** The **cleanliness of common areas** was disappointing for a resort at this price point. A beverage stain in the lobby foyer sat untouched for days. Our lanai hadn't been properly mopped. Hallway carpets and stairwells had visible sand, hair, and debris throughout our stay — not addressed. For what guests are paying per night, this is simply not acceptable. ( I will say our room was clean and we have no issues with the room cleanliness). The **Voyager Club** felt like a premium price tag on a budget experience. Breakfast leaned heavily on egg product rather than fresh eggs and continental offerings, and evening snacks were sparse — rice, miso soup, and a single protein option, minimal cold selections. The staff were consistently warm and welcoming, which we appreciated, but warmth doesn't justify the cost. We won't be adding this to our package on a return visit. The **luau was an outright failure** — and we want to be very direct about this because it affected us financially and soured what should have been a memorable evening. Our Costco package included two luau tickets valued at $370. Sounds great in theory. In practice, actually reserving a date required contacting a single, siloed department reachable only by one phone number. We called. We left voicemails. We visited the front desk. We spoke to the concierge. Days passed. Nothing. The concierge his advice was — and we are not paraphrasing — *"Keep calling. They don't always get back to you. Keep on them."* We were stunned. We are guests. We had already paid. It should not fall on a vacationer to chase down a resort's own department repeatedly just to use an included amenity. No one at that property — not the front desk, not the concierge could simply register us or escalate on our behalf. We never attended the luau. We lost $370 of our package value. That is a failure of resort management, plain and simple, and prospective guests booking packages with luau inclusions should go in with eyes wide open. **Amenities are also poorly communicated** to the point of being effectively invisible. (such as paddle board rentals, pickleball courts, spa, etc.) We discovered the on-site laundry, and water bottle filling station entirely by accident over the course of eight days. Other than a map there was no welcome orientation, no proactive mention at check-in. A resort that doesn't tell its guests what it offers is leaving money — and opportunity — on the table. **Bottom line:** We had an enjoyable stay overall and would return — but we'd book Ocean Front, drop the Voyager Club, and go in knowing the luau booking process is broken and entirely on you to navigate. The standout staff — Nani at the cultural center, Jeneen at the front desk, the pool attendants, and above all the valet team — are genuinely world-class and deserve every bit of recognition they get. It's just a shame the resort's systems and upkeep don't yet match the people who represent it.

There for a large convention. But other non convention people seemed to be having a good time. Place was pleasant. Rooms spacious with big windows and a balcony. Many with very nice ocean views. Very nice pool but no real beach. Generally friendly staff. Minus was isolated location. cannot walk to any restaurants so captive to their limited ones at high prices. One time food trucks showed up but the crush of customers ground them to a halt.

Really liked this property but we were told when we reserved that Dukes would be open. That was very optimistic cause they are not close to opening. Missed having a dynamic restaurant on site. We loved. Ring ocean front with 47 lounge access. Staff was friendly. Parking guys were great. My biggest disappointment is that our reservation rate which included all fees and charges was not honored. Reservation was made directly with outrigger. We were charged $160 extra and they could not explain why when asked. Outrigger has been our go to for hotel and condo stays for several years. But we will be looking closer at other brands in the future.