Since 1993, Castle Resorts & Hotels has specialized in innovative hotel and resort management. We manage properties throughout the Hawaiian Islands, including Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Molokai, and Hawaii Island, as well as Auckland, New Zealand. Accommodations range from full-service hotels to resort condominiums and combines value, convenience, and authentic experiences.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Modern
Family
Languages Spoken
English
Location
69-1029 Nawahine Pl, Puako, Island of Hawaii, HI 96738-5748
Castle Hali'i Kai At Waikoloa
541 reviews
Getting there
Somewhat walkable
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
We stayed here for 8 nights and it was perfect! Upon your arrival at the gate is to remember to ENTER the # BUTTON before your code to get it!
Our ocean front 11B condo was on the ground floor which we like having easy access from our patio to pool/workout room clubhouse. We were 2 buildings away to the pool area so it took only a few minutes to get there. I worked out every morning with a nice ocean view. They also had extra mats if you wanted to do some yoga or floor exercises. The clubhouse also has a bar where you can ordered drinks and food in the evening. If you don't have a view from your condo - the pool area is the place to visit to watch the sunsets. Just remember to bring your condo keycard to get in.
Our condo was well stocked with everything you needed to cook meals. I don't think they have any one bedroom condo rentals in the resort so we had an extra bedroom of two twin beds. The laundry room was near the entrance and across the second bedroom. Our master bedroom was large with double sink bathroom. Thankfully, it also had a bathroom scale to keep you in check.
There is no beach access but you can walk over to the left of the golf course and visit the Hilton Resort next door (which is huge resort) and walk along the path to see the other resorts on the waterfront and then you can walk along the beach for about a couple of miles. At the end of the beach walk we discovered Lava Lava Beach Club where you can have a nice lunch and drinks. The other walk called Fishermen's Trail is on your right (past the pool) through lava fields and is very difficult in some areas. You must wear good walking shoes and have good balance for this trail. It is not good for any running or to wear flip flops on this trail.
If a little shopping urge hits you, it is only a 5 minute drive over to Kings Place or Queen Market Place (right across the street from each other). The Island Gourmet store in Queen Market is more expensive than Foodland (all groceries is expensive in Hawaii) but there is a Foodland close by but just not in these two locations.
We would stay here again.
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Date of stay: December 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Not handicap accessible. Stairs going up to the unit and leading to the upstairs bedrooms.
It is not oceanfront, but ocean"view" on the golf course.
6 adults and one teenager. Master br up has a K, 2nd br up has a Q and the 3rd br down has a Q. Grandson slept on the couch (does not pull out). No air mattress in the unit. If you needed extra space for another couple there was none. No extra bedding. 3 extra pillows and only one blanket for grandson.
Kitchen had what we needed but lacked basic spices like salt/pepper. There were only 3-4 trash bags for the whole week.
3 full baths and only 8 bath towels, so we were washing towels often. Not something you want to do on vacation.
Maintenance came to replace a burned out bulb in the master closet and look at the shower head in the 2nd br bath upstairs. After he switched it out the difference was night & day.
5-10 min to walk to pool from unit, but there is parking if you want to drive. We only used the pool briefly one day then realized we would rather be at the beach. If the pool is all you want, it was very nice and has great views of the ocean.
No beach towels in the unit. Towels at the pool, but you are unable to take them outside the pool. We bought beach towels and beach items. If you plan to have any beach days, there is nothing there to use/take. Beach towels, umbrellas and chairs would have been ideal.
No board games, playing cards etc. that would be great for in the evenings if you wanted to have a family game night.
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Date of stay: April 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stayed at Hali'i Kai for 2 weeks during Ironman. 7 of us stayed in a 3 bed villa, ample size for all of us with good facilities in the villa; WiFi, dishwasher, washer & dryer. Very clean on arrival. Short walk to the pool and ocean front walks. Shops nearby for essentials and 35 minute drive in to Kona Only downside was advertised as having a sofa bed which it didn't but they brought us a blow up mattress. Beautiful setting, lovely meals at the ocean club. Staff were always friendly and helpful
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Date of stay: October 2022Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I am giving this an average review because there were both good and bad aspects. The main issue with this resort is that it needs to decide if it is a 55+ resort or a family friendly resort. I think they want to attract families to fill their 3 bedroom condos but the atmosphere is not family friendly at all. Kids were not allowed to bring any toys in the pool; but older adults were allowed to use pool noodles. No outside drinks or food permitted at the pool including coffee cups. The pool could be described as a "No Fun Zone." Our kids got yelled at several times by older adults (60+) staying at the resort. One morning my sister had her one year old outside on the grass at 7:40 (20 mins before quiet time officially ended) and her and her husband got yelled at the lady upstairs, in fact she told my brother-in-law to go back to his country because he had a European accent. My mom spent a ton of money renting three of their condos for our family to be there for two weeks and we enjoyed the location and the restaurant and the amenities but not the atmosphere. To be clear we were not a party group and were regularly in bed before 9 PM. On a side note my husband did get bitten by a centipede in our bed. If you are in a ground floor unit I would suggest not relying on screens to keep bugs out. This is especially an issue right after they do heavy watering as we all found centipedes the next day.
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Date of stay: December 2021
Location
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Just getting home from a wonderful week on "The big island" with my hubs and 4 kids. We chose the Halii Kai for the same reasons most people will, it's advertised as a condo like unit with amenities in a good location for a reasonable (* Hawaii Reasonable*) price. There are some little details that I need to share that I didn't see in any other reviews that I hope will help others booking after me make a more informed decision. First and foremost the unit was clean and in a great location. We had a partial ocean view and while the mattress was firm and the furniture a little worn I felt that the property managers did a decent job keeping the place up. We were given 2 remotes for the gate and a keycode for the door. The office hours are 10am to 6pm so make sure you get extra coffee and creamer at your check-in because there isn't anyone on site "after hours" to get anything you may run out of like trash bags, towels, etc. There is no cleaning service at all. This place is not a resort. They do not have a concierge, front desk, or maid service, this is a VRBO style place so they set it and forget it. Also, our A/C stopped working the night before we checked out so by 9:00 am the next morning it was 86 degrees in our unit. We are frequent travelers so I know upfront that there will be resort fees in addition to the points used to book the unit and I am OK with that. What I am not ok with is additional cleaning fees and surcharges not listed on the website ($400 worth) that we were told about and charged for during check-in. After having flown for 11 hours and faced with that additional charge I just bit my lip and let them give me the "Chase, Expedia and the Owners had this negotiation" spiel. The issue isn't their negotiation but that no where on my reservation was this extra charge explained and the way it was presented gave the impression that this is a very common occurrence. It shouldn't be.
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Date of stay: October 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:Ocean club has great fish tacos.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The location is beautiful and the condo is lovely. But I am paying to be in Hawaii in a condo so I can make my own meals and drinks. The pool does not allow any drinks even water bottles or snacks. You must buy their extremely expensive subpar drinks. The staff is rude, aggressive, unfriendly and unprofessional. I spent over $100 on drinks at the pool and was treated like garbage. When did treating customers like they owe you something become the way to succeed? If this poolside bar wants to have people come back they would consider a significant change in the treatment of their patrons and policies. I will not return to a place where I have been ignored, talked down to and witnessed other people being disrespected. The staff at the pool ruined our afternoon. We will never come back to Halii Kai. I hope the property owners think through the way these disrespectful staff at the pool in the resort complex they own homes in, are impacting their real estate investment. I will never return.
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Date of stay: February 2022Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We stayed at Hali’i Kai in Waikōloa for two weeks. The property manager, Michelle, at Kohala Coast Properties was outstanding and very helpful. We had to extend our trip by one day to accommodate an unexpected flight change. Michelle was extremely helpful in getting booking us for an additional night at the last minute and even answered her phone after hours.
The reason for the two star rating is because of an issue caused by the staff at Hali’i Kai. We dropped our two access cards in the drop box at the front office at approximately 8:45am on the day of our departure. I took photos of me dropping the access cards in the box just in case something happened and they tried to say we didn’t return the cards. There was no one at the office at the time and the sign said they would not return until 10.
Sure enough, we received a call from Sadie at the front office at Hali’i Kai that only one card was returned. We insisted that we returned both cards and I offered to send them the pics of me returning the cards. Despite all of this, she insisted that we would be charged $50 for a lost card.
After a lot of back and forth, my wife got on the phone and insisted that Sadie check the box again. This also took quite a bit of convincing as Sadie had said she just checked it. Finally, she decided to check the drop box again. After being on hold for several minutes, Sadie let us know she had found the card stuck to the bottom of the drop box. No apology from her, just a “thank you for your persistence” before she hung up.
If the front office isn’t going to be staffed and the drop box is not reliable, they should consider another system of returning the access cards. Or, at the very least, be more willing to double check the drop box. The fact that we had to repeatedly insist that the card was in there and ask her to check the box again was very frustrating. Had we not been so persistent, we would have been charged $50 for a card we did not lose. I would highly suggest that other guests take video of the cards being dropped into the box and to make sure the card numbers are visible when doing so.
Other than that, our stay was fine. The condo was nice and mostly well equipped for a two week stay. There are some pretty draconian rules at the pool and it isn’t really great place if you have active kids. They should consider making it an adult or senior citizen pool.
Due to the “no fun zone” at the pool and the failure of the staff at the front desk to properly account for the returned access cards, I will not be staying here again. We’ve been coming to the Big Island for many years and have never had these issues with any of our other stays.
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Date of stay: January 2024Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Next to impossible to find any improvements to recommend in this holiday home. Every kitchen appliance you could imagine, fine glasses for indoor use and others in the kit of picnic gear. And chairs and rattan mats to complete your picnic environment. Choose a book to take along, or any of a variety of games and toys for children to enjoy at the beach. The beds and linens are of the finest quality, and the beach towels are sumptuous. A very short walk to the pool make splash times easy to achieve. Highly efficient and welcoming unit layout makes family holiday time easy to organize. Thanks to Peggy Yelland (and the cleaning staff)for her care in ensuring everything is in excellent order.
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Date of stay: October 2022
Value
Location
Service
Room Tip:Consult the info binder early for best use of time.
Wonderful laundry facilites including soap...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We’ve stayed at Hali’s Kai 5 times previously and have always loved it. It’s a great location; the pool is very nice and we enjoy the bar and restaurant.
We checked in around 3:15. When we arrived at the unit, it was being cleaned and we were told that she would need 45 minutes to finish. Not a great start to our vacation.
We stayed in unit #20A. This was our first time renting this unit, and it was not on par with other units that we have rented. There were several maintenance issues. Upon arrival, we noticed that a couple of light bulbs were burnt out. We looked around and did find spare bulbs to replace 1 of the 4 that weren’t working. There were two more serious issues with the bathroom: one of the sinks has a constant drip and there was no stopper in the bathtub rendering it unusable. We called the office and a maintenance man came out, looked and said that he would need to order parts. Neither issue was fixed during our stay.
We would probably stay at Hali’i Kai again, but would not book this unit.
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Date of stay: May 2022Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We loved our "home away from home" stay at Halii Kai Resort. The entire area is very well maintained, and you can't beat the view of the sunset from the pool and bar area (and the Mai Tai's at the bar are great as well!). I highly recommend staying here. The only draw back is that the coast line is very rocky (but beautiful!), so you need to walk down to the Hilton or take a short drive to the Marriott/Anaeho'omalu Bay Beach if you want to swim in the ocean. But if you are looking for great accommodations in a great area, this is your place.
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Date of stay: April 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi, Yes there is poolside cocktail service. Halii Kai is the ONLY condo complex in Waikoloa Beach area offering that. The hotels offer it of course, but none of the other condos. There's a full-service restaurant/bar at the pool with a happy hour. The food is very good and reasonable for the island. Of our 4 stays at Halii Kai, we try to make day 1 a pool day as we adjust to the time change and recover from traveling. Just eat, drink and be merry while in the pool looking at the ocean. Then pay for the whole day at the end of the day. My fave part!
Nope, no relationship between resorts. Hilton wouldn’t dare associate with these folks. Weird cultural appropriation ceremony at sunset performed by elderly white folk. Better off staying elsewhere for families.
There are more places to choose from in the Puako area.
PRICE RANGE
₹36,032 - ₹47,539 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
halii kai resort at waikoloa beach hotel waikoloa
LOCATION
United StatesHawaiiIsland of HawaiiKohala CoastPuako
NUMBER OF ROOMS
192
Prices are provided by our partners, and reflect average nightly room rates, including taxes and fees that are fixed, known to our partners, and due at time of booking. Please see our partners for more details.
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