I read reviews on the Bay Club before heading on my vacation and I was nervous. When I arrived I was pleasantly surprised to see a quiet, serene property with no construction going on, modern updated rooms and very accommodating. There is entertainment at the pools in the early evening and deals on Mai Tai drinks. An easy walk to the Hilton Waioloa. Great stay!

The condos have been rennovated and are just beautiful with big wrap-around lanai. The pools are heated. They have free entertainment in the evenings with drink specials. Would stay there again in a minute.

We stayed at The Bay Club in mid November 2011 in a 2BR, 2 B unit in building one. The unit was well appointed with a comfortable bed. Our second floor place has nice decks overlooking open space and golf course. One of the feral kitties feeding stations was also right outside our building. We enjoyed watching them and being entertained by their antics. But don’t feed them, for your sake and theirs - at check-in you will be warned about a $250 fine!
Check in was smooth and we were able to get in early. Everything in the unit had been recently updated. The unit kitchen was odd - no drawers and limited cabinets but still sufficient. A washer /dryer were located in a small alcove off the kitchen. Both baths were large and well stocked with towels, shampoo, soap, etc. Nice large deck and plenty of free parking.
The resort had several pools but we didn’t utilize any of them.
The downside was no beach but that seems to pretty common on the Big island. A car is definitely needed. We drove to Mauna Kea Beach located a few miles north of the resort. Beautiful beach that is not crowded (limited public parking), clean, and has restrooms/outdoor shower available. We rented beach chairs from the store in Kings Village (Motorcycle place) – very reasonable. Costco is located south of the resort closer to the airport. The grocery store in Queens Village shopping area is also nice and offers lots of choices.
Nice eating place – Quinn’s Almost by the Sea in Kona across from King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel. A little drive from the resort but worth it.
They offer nightly/daily activities - ice cream social, happy hour, etc. We did have several calls about ‘activities’ but we just ignored them. Aside from not being interested we wanted to avoid any potential sales pitch.
We did a timeshare exchange so I can’t comment on the value of the rental rate.

This property is on the western (dry) side of the Big Island of Hawaii, about 18 miles north of Kona. I spent 12 days at this resort and loved it for a number of reasons. My two-bedroom unit was very large. The master bath had a spa tub and separate shower and was attached to the bedroom, but there was another bathroom adjacent to the 2nd bedroom. This allowed two couples to stay here with a lot of privacy. The kitchen was small but well appointed with a full kitchen - microwave, range, full size refrigerator, garbage disposal, etc. All of the kitchen utensils and some appliances such as toaster, coffee maker and rice cooker were provided. We prepared Thanksgiving dinner there with no problem. The balcony is spacious with a great view of the golf course, palm trees and in the distance the ocean. I was told (don't know if this is true) that the Bay Club was originally built as condo units and so the units here are larger than the timeshare units at the Hilton Grand Vacations Club next door or Kingsland just up the road. There is a pool and several hot tubs available to guests.

We only had one minor problem - a frozen ice maker in the fridge - which was promptly fixed by housekeeping. This unit is an easy walk to the beautiful grounds of the Hilton Waikaloa Hotel and short drive (or walk if you like) to shops, markets and restaurants within Waikaloa.
It is also an easy drive (2-3 miles) to several beautiful beaches, including Hapuna Beach which Conde Nast Traveler has rated as the best beach in the United States. All beaches in Hawaii are public beaches. We found this a perfect anchor point for exploring the rest of island. It is isolated when you want away, but convenient to many other points of interest.