Uncle Billy's Kona Bay Hotel

Choosing a hotel online is always hard. I loved the price and location of this hotel, but was freaked out by all the negative reviews. I definitely don't believe this is the nicest hotel ever, but it was certainly adequate and I would stay here again. If I had read the reviews before I booked I am sure I would have chosen to stay elsewhere, but am glad I was not scared away. I prefer to be close to the action and being able to walk places is priceless to me.

I like that parking was a reasonable amount and that it came with breakfast included. You could even choose to park for free if you used a lot a few feet off site (there was one day when this was full). As reviewers report this is not the best breakfast, but fresh fruit, bread and cereal are better than nothing. I think perhaps people are confused by the luxurious free breakfasts I get when traveling in Europe, this type is pretty standard for places I stay in the US. Rooms also have a fridge and microwave so it's easy to fend for yourself if you need something better.

Staff were nice. There was security at night. One night they were successful in telling loud people to take it inside their room, another night they were not. You can hear everything going on outside around you. Rooms have a porch which some people seem to like to hang out on. The pool could be nicer and open later, but this is Hawaii and there are plenty of places to swim. I would have loved if the smaller pool was heated, but I guess most people probably don't need this when it's 80 out.

We had a problem with our sink, but they got it fixed and offered us a room change if they didn't. There were some bugs, but I assume that is typical of Hawaii. I'd just be sure the empty your food waste frequently.

This place is just OK.

It's a generic hotel room that's close to the "strip" in Kona.

You're close to the water and walking distance to drinks/food/shopping.

That's what you're paying for.

Although it's one of the cheaper places in this area, it's still very expensive compared to what you could get a few miles away up in the hills.

The rooms are a bit humid and it's hard to dial in the temperature/humidity for optimum sleeping. The beds are just OK.

The breakfast has big 'ol slices of pineapple, which is appreciated.

Next time we'll just save some money and stay at an AirBnB up/down in Captian Cook.

First time visiting Hawaii, came with my husband for our honeymoon! Uncle Billy's Kona Hotel was the perfect spot! I chose it because of its amazing/convenient location. We were in the downtown area of Kailua-Kona with shopping centers, restaurants/bars, and most importantly the ocean. We stayed at the Superior Studio - kitchenette & ocean view. Definitely worth paying extra for this room! The studios are located across the street from Uncle Billy's front desk/standard rooms. It was a breathe taking view of the ocean from our balcony! My husband and I slept with the sliding door open and fell asleep every night to the soothing sound of the ocean's waves. Hands down, best part about our room!

In addition, I chose Uncle Billy's hotel because it was affordable. Aside from its location, I wanted a room with a view without wasting all of our money on the hotel. Its all about location, comfort, and going out. Thanks to their reasonable price, my husband and I were able to focus on the activities/adventures in Hawaii!

During a tour that we attended - we were picked up/dropped off at our hotels. We saw peoples hotels even resorts - nice to look at but in the middle of nowhere. Literally nothing to do around there. When we got dropped off, people were amazed at our location. It was described as "the downtown nightlife."

There is just so much to do! If we weren't off to one of our adventures (snorkeling, ziplining). We walked around the stores/shoreline, visit beaches, and tried different restaurants.

*HIGHLIGHTS: balcony, ocean view, complementary breakfast, free WiFi, location, location, location*

Hubby and I ended up here after our original travel plans got messed up and so to avoid a nightmare situation (talking unwashed bedding, etc) we decided to book an actual hotel. Our plans were last minute so every other hotel in town was booked. We got one of the ocean view rooms with a kitchenette. The view is gorgeous. No bed bugs or roaches. The staff was nice and polite. AC worked. That's about all I have to say that is positive.

The carpet hadn't been changed in at least 30 years. Because the room is literally right on the water, I'm sure mold & mildew is a struggle for any hotel in the area. It is clear though, that no steps were ever taken to mitigate this issue. Actually- the entire hotel reeks of mold. You can smell it just walking through the complex. I'm sure one inspection from the health department would shut the whole operation down. Why these rooms even have carpet is a mystery to me. Gut that place and tile everything! Use throw rugs if needed, but carpet is not a good idea.

The bed was epically uncomfortable. Nothing but a thin sheet between us & mystery stains on the mattress. We actually went to Ross & bought the cheapest sheets we could find and threw those on top of the bedding already there. I never once took my shoes off in the room & lysol'd the ish out of everything. Our mini fridge smelled like something died in it even after I sprayed it down with lysol. We slept with the sliding door open. While the view was amazing and falling asleep to the waves at night was a treat, it doesn't make up for the horror show inside the room. My husband & I saw hookers hanging out in the parking lot.

Once rooms opened up at another place in town, we moved. The price is attractive & the rooms look decent online, but some things about a place don't come through in photos. Don't ruin you Hawaiian vacation & book here. Seaside Hotel has reasonable rates & they are clean. Better yet - make travel plans at least 6 months in advance to get the best choice & rates and don't stay here.

Uncle Billy would be so disappointed in how his property is being maintained. We were supposed to stay 4 nights, but after one we had about enough. Vacations are supposed to be relaxing, however you cannot relax when your every thought is "how much exposure to black mold causes harm?" and "please, please don't let a roach crawl into my ears or nose when I fall asleep!" When you wonder if you need to wear your flip flops when you shower, or If it's safe to walk around bare footed in your room, or even if it's safe to leave your bags open/unzipped out of fear that a roach will get in there and come home with you...it no longer is a vacation. We checked out this morning, and hopefully Uncle Billy's will have enough integrity to refund us for the nights we are not using.

I used to go to this hotel everytime I'm on the kona side, this will be the last time! Honestly if I didn't have kids I would have slept in my rental. Also not in pictures was the toilet seat full of urine that I cleaned off because my child had to use it! I wouldn't recommend this hotel to go to for anyone!

What a dump...stay elsewhere. I can't even say you get what you paid for - anything over $50 is too much. Dirty and gross - dead bugs on the ceiling in the bathroom. Vents look like they have never been clean. Safe doesn't work. If the owners would gut the place and do a major remodel this could be a great boutique hotel.

Never again will I stay here


Oh and to top it off - we received a parting gift from the hotel.. a cockroach crawled out of my suitcase when I got home. Just ewwwww

Maybe cheapest price in Hawaii who located just on beach. Don't complain it's old or blarblar if you didn't pay four season price.
I rather pay less and save money for a helicopter tour to watch the crater.
There maybe some dudes thought...to keep customers away so they could always have rooms when they wanted.
Everything were decent. Not horrible at all compare the one I booked at Fresno.
How?
When you stepped in the office, you smell strong cigarette smoking.... the clerk asked you add money for the room you booked well .... all the clients looks like homeless ...
NOT HERE.
This one is very nice.
Wish could enjoy their breakfast, but they don't provide anymore.

The location of this hotel is great, especially for the price. There are a lot of shops to walk around to right outside of the hotel and the beach is within walking distance.

The continental breakfast was below average. Another review mentioned about hard boiled eggs, they did not have that for us. They did have the fresh papaya though, which was awesome.

The hotel room we stayed in looked nice (picture attached with this review, pardon our mess). There was a musty smell, however, also there was no air conditioner and we had found two cockroaches.

My impression is that they rent out a number of the rooms to locals on a monthly basis, which is not a big deal, they all seemed friendly.

If I am looking for a cheap place to stay in this good location, I would come back again.

I really don't know who this hotel is for. Why would you go there?

Do you wasn't to take your kids? Why, because you want them to swim in a birdbath?

Do you just want to have a room to drop off your bags? Why, because you want to take bugs home with you in your luggage?

Do you want to take your wife? Why, because you want your wife to resent you?

The only people who I think would appreciate this hotel is crackheads who want to get high and pass out before they get to the room. There's plenty of people sleeping outside, so you won't be alone.

This hotel is an inspection away from getting condemned. They probably don't care about reviews. They know what they are. They just hope people are suckered in by the relatively low prices and don't rely on repeat customers.