Holiday Inn Express & Suites Kailua-Kona in Kailua Kona, HI

This hotel is in a terrific location. I've stayed here twice and consider it a great value. The room size is good, the accommodations are clean, and the air conditioning works beautifully (important after lying in the Hawaiian sun all day!). Kona's main drag is a half-block away. Super easy to walk there for browsing the many shops, grabbing dinner, and taking in the ocean view. Walmart and Safeway are less than 5 minutes away. (If you're looking for food or snacks, I'd recommend the Safeway. The Kona Walmart grocery selection is pretty weak.) Speaking of the Walmart, it's perched on a hill overlooking Kona town and is an *amazing* spot to watch the sun set over the village and ocean. In fact, there are usually a dozen or so people there every night, just to take in the view as day turns into night. Back to the hotel: The free breakfast at this location is not a winner in my estimation. Variety has been pretty limited. Last time I was here they had an odd combination: gravy (the kind served with biscuits and gravy) with rice. No biscuits. Rice and gravy. Maybe it's an island thing, but I passed. Fruit selection was also pretty weak, which is surprising considering we're in Hawaii. Still, the overall value here and the great location cannot be beat. If you, like me, are not a big fan of resort accomodations, this is an option to consider.

Hotel staff were super friendly and helpful. The room was very clean. I had just come from 4 nights in a less-than-clean Airbnb in Hilo and said prayers of thanks when I walked into my room and caught the faint smell of bleach. Bleach equals clean clean. I had a beautiful view of the ocean, where the cruise ships park. I could watch the sunset from my window. There is also a great sunset view from the 2nd floor elevator landing (its outside.) I didn't use the pool, but it looked clean and well kept. Breakfast was typical holiday inn breakfast, but they added spam or Portuguese sausage every morning. I stopped in every morning and enjoyed a cup of coffee and breakfast on my way out to explore. Loads of shops and restaurants are within walking distance. I only used my car when I went coffee farm hopping. I did take advantage of their laundry facility and had no issues, it's pay and you can use cards. If I ever return to the Big Island, this is where I will stay.

m took excellent care of us when our night flight was cancelled and there were NO rooms anywhere at 3 am in the morning. Went above and beyond to help us and 2 other families with small children. Staff was SO nice - and checked on us and updated the status of getting a room- as soon as someone checked out....thank you

We stayed here five nights and completely enjoyed our stay! More than once I told the staff that they served the best breakfasts (by far) that we have every had at an IHG facility (Portuguese sausage/bacon/chicken fingers, etc), which rotated daily. The breakfast area (as well as check-in) is covered and open to the outdoors, which is unique, and very pleasant. The location is a short walk to the bay (restaurants/snorkeling/historical sites). The staff was consistently friendly and professional. The room was clean, and the daily maid service was reliable. Although the exterior isn't particularly impressive, this was the best stay we have ever had at any IHG facility (and because I am a "platinum" member, we stay at many).

We stayed in Kona for what was the record attendance Ironman World Championship this year. Competing at this event requires a commitment of at least a 10 day block of accommodation to secure 12 month’s in advance. We had booked the supposed dream condo offering all that was needed within that period. This was based on another booking platform’s high rating, but digging deeper, you realise it was far from the truth and TripAdvisor only confirmed our concerns when checking reviews here after the fact. It was necessary to escape the horrendous situation we found ourselves in and with hope and trepidation, we were fortunate enough to secure 2 nights accommodation on the last leg of the trip at the welcome safe haven of the Holiday Inn Express. Arriving to an immaculately clean room where you could breathe; an expansively large room; seeing those pristine white sheets and towels; fully stocked amenities as you would expect, we were in heaven from the hell we had just come from. The room itself exceeded our expectations and more, being up there with a 4 star plus hotel. Breakfast each morning was provided and we had the orange juice, coffee and cinnamon scrolls; the Manager on Duty and staff were always friendly, welcoming and available. This being the end of our stay after Ironman, we didn’t use the gym or pool facilities and took to the road to see the sights, so I cannot comment here. Suffice to say, our short stay here helped us finish on a higher note compared to where we were previously where falsely advertised accommodation and disingenuous service was rife. I can’t recommend enough this IHG property that exceeded our expectations to make our stay as enjoyable and comfortable as possible – without any requests – all needs were anticipated and met. I am aware of a large group from this year’s Ironman that were thrilled with their stay at this hotel, to the point, the hotel staff pulled out all the stops to organise a very early breakfast to help those competing and their supporters to get on the road in the early hours of the morning. For next year’s Ironman Championships, get in as early as you can for a guaranteed, comfortable and assured peace of mind stay at this hotel.