Vista Waikoloa

Best to wait on this one, new construction taking place between the resort and the ocean. Obstructs the view shown in the photos. Go search the Kolea web cam and you will see. we wre bothered by the noise and dust, workmen working until 8pm at night! Wait until after the summer.

Stayed here for 5 weeks and had the best time ever. They have just painted and decorated this condo all Hawaiian and it is just beautiful. We have stayed at the Vistas several times and this condo was the best one we have ever stayed at. The owners are on top of everything. They communicate with you and make sure everything is right. They really have done it right here. Thank you John and Trisha. We have already made reservations for winter and spring...yeah....we love it alright.

In 2004, while looking for a condo on the Big Island, I found the Vista Waikoloa condos thru Abbey rental. We stayed in B206 which was on the main road (a little noisy in the early morning) and then in 2007 we stayed in B201.which faces the pool and a lovely grassy area. Both condos were great but the B021 offers more privacy outside the master bedroom. We both enjoy getting up early and having our coffee on the lanai.

My husband used the fitness facility and I walked around the resort every morning. In the evening we would take a walk down to the beach between the Marriott and Hitlon. The sunsets were awesome. Loved the shopping at the Kings Shops and both hotels.

We leave July 22 for 21 days and are staying in B201 again. We just feel like it is our home away from home but with a beautiful view.

Would not stay anywhere else in Waikoloa as it has the best views and the closest to A Bay.

December 1-8,2007: We have stayed at Vista Waikoloa three times in the past few years. We love the spacious Floor Plan A with the large lanai's and roomy interior. The kitchen has a nice view and it makes it very open to living. The owners of A-202 (VRBO) are wonderful and ensure their guests feel at home. It is furnished comfortably and the kitchen amenities, pans, cutlery, etc. are just like at home. Very nice. We love the close bar-be-que area too. We slept very comfortably in the master bedroom.

Our new favorite place to eat out is Tommy Bahama at Mauna Lani a couple of miles up the road. We were very disappointed with the Waikoloa Beach Grill next door. Fish was overcooked - it seemed the place had seen its day. We love the grocery store up the mountain at the Waikoloa Village. Even when the new Queen's Marketplace is complete we think we will like to go up the mountain and mix with the locals. Highly recommend it! Thanks Sylvia for a great time and place to stay!

We booked our condo unit through Abbey Vacation Rentals and stayed in unit F305, which was a top floor unit with ocean and mountain views.

First off, the grounds are spotless and very well maintained. The pool is well maintained and comfortable and we enjoyed using the bbq facilities they offered.

Our unit was beautiful, well furnished and very comfortable. We shared our two bedroom unit with my husband's brother and his wife and we had plenty of room to spread out and relax. Our lanai was great and spacious and we enjoyed many sunsets from our lanai. You are a 5 - 10 minute walk to the beach depending on your route, and the beach is really nice and great for families with small children as beach is situated in a bay so the waters are relatively calm. You share the beach with the Marriott Hotel, and I think they provide beach chairs for their guests but because we went during a slow period, the beach was practically empty and so were the chairs so we never had a problem 'borrowing' a chair and no one cared or complained. The resort area is beautiful and well maintained. You are a short walk to King's Market with some great shopping and across the street from that is Queen's Market which has a few stores open but it is not fully completed yet. If you are looking for a quiet, well maintained condo for a reasonable price, you will not be disappointed at this place!

I highly recommend trying the Waikoloa Beach Grill which is right next door to the condo complex. Our meal experience was probably the best we had while in Hawaii. If you have any questions about this resort or about the island, feel free to ask!

Karla

We rented A102 and B105 from Vicki Flores in July of 2006 and I can't wait to go back. My family - husband and 4 adult children and one fiancee stayed and we all loved every minute of the vacation. I truly see why anyone would want to live there. We had great views over the nature preserve and absolute privacy. Walking to the beach or to grab dinner was easy. The Hilton was convenient too. Both units were quiet and beautifully furnished with every amenity imaginable.

Thanks again. Tom and Lori, Nebraska

We visited the big island for a couple weeks in July and stayed at Vista and had a "corridor" view from building E of the ocean. Started off the vacation with a wonderful July 4 fireworks display over the Kings shops. We were also wondering how bad the construction/vehicle noise might be, but as it turned out even though Kolea is finishing up, we noticed little construction noise and there was no problems (there are still some walls to build and private residences near the ocean). Depending on where you stay in Waikoloa there can be alot of construction going on, but they don't work the weekends or nights when you are likely to be home. We really could not hear much traffic noise either, but I suppose if you were looking for total quiet and had big bucks to spend you could get your wish at the 4 Seasons or Mauna Lani or if you were wanting to spend double what we spent you could stay at Hapuna or Mauna Kea which are full service hotels and full service prices - of course with the two best beaches at your footsteps. Get to Mauna Kea early to get one of the 30 beach passes. We spent time looking at all the main properties on the Kohala coast as this was our 8th trip to Hawaii and always scope out good places to stay for the next trip. We would stay at Vista again if in Waikoloa. The "blue book" is surprisingly accurate and we kept one in the car the whole time. We loved driving over the saddle road, but then again we are from Colorado and we like driving mountain roads. Hilo is undergoing positive changes and we liked the local atmosphere there, compared to 4 years ago when we were last there and it has the best farmers market. There was one radio station that we like to listen to with Hawaiian music but wish there was more. There are lots of hiking trails in the National Park and Pololulu is a fun hike that my 5 year old and I scrambled up and down 15 minutes each way (but we are avid hikers). The beach trail from the Hilton to A-Bay is a nice evening walk for anyone, but bring good footwear. By the way, the food is as expensive or as reasonable as you care to spend, but in Waimea a bit less, try Tako Taco. Aloha!

Our family of four, including two pre-teens, thoroughly enjoyed the spacious and well appointed accomodations provided by Abbey Vacation Rentals at the Vista Waikoloa Resort on the big island of Hawaii. We stayed in unit B206 for a week in May 2006. The unit itself was extremely clean and well supplied with amenities on our arrival. The view from the multi-balcony liani was spectacular with a view of the ocean and facing West for fabulous sunsets every night. The property was well managed with on site swimming pool and barbeque grills. We frequently made the short walk to the beach at Anaeho'omalu Bay to swim with the tropical fish and sea turtles or felax on the sandy beach. The property is within walking distance of the King's Shops, several excellent restaurants, ancient petroglyphs, excellent golf as well as the Hilton and Outrigger resorts. The Bay is approx 20mins North of the Kona airport and 30mins North of Kailua-Kona. We enjoyed several of the best beaches in the world all within 30mins drive of the condo including Hapuna Beach and the beach at the Mauna Kea resort. Activities on the island speak for themselves but it is so much nicer when you also have such a wonderful place to stay!

If you want a touch of casual elegance this is the place. The price is right and so is the ambiance. The Vistas at Waikoloa are one of the nicest retreats we have stayed at on the Big Island. They are completely private, beautifully built and conveniently located in a resort that literally has everything you need within walking distance. We come back here year after year for the last 5 years. We like the A building or B Buildings the best. We stay at the Vistas for 30 days each November/December and have never been disappointed. Little Waikoloa Beach resort is growing but so is the entire Island. It is still the sleepy little slice of paradise we have grown to love.

C Hunnicutt

Princeton

If you don’t want to see a single sign of life, stay in Mauna Lani or Manua Kea. However, my wife and I love being able to walk to Starbucks and the beach, or to dinner at the Kings Shops or the Marriott and not need to get in the car! We go across to the beach access path right beside the Vistas and find beach areas that are completely private, spot turtles or watch the surfers. We park our car when we get there and only need it to leave the resort to go to Waimea or tour the island. If you ask me, The Vistas have it all, location, elegant accomodations and nice views.

FYI: The little road that runs through the resort is 25 mph and is and really is not a bother since it is only tourists like ourselves staying there. The Wiki Wiki bus goes to the Kings shops starting around noon but road noise has never been a reason not to come back year after year. We stay for 60 days each year and only wish were wise enough to buy one of these back in 1997 when we first started coming to the island.

Tom Dill

Sitka, Alaska

We rented a 2BR unit at Vista Waikoloa from a private owner over the internet. Our unit was everything we were anticipating - tastefully decorated, well-lit, and spacious. Lovely patio complete with furniture for relaxing. Plenty of room for the five of us (3 adults/2children) to relax. Beds comfortable, 1 large Bedroom with nice ensuite bath off the master, 1 smaller bedroom and bathroom for the kids. Third adult in our group slept on hide-a-bed, and managed well. The unit was clean and in very good condition. We had a partial ocean view, and enjoyed the nicely kept tropical grounds. Kitchen had basic supplies, and all appliances worked. Good airconditioning. Small washer and dryer was handy.

My kids enjoyed the pool, and had it to themselves most of the time - clean and HEATED (unlike the pools at the hotel across the street!) Fabulous beaches 5-10 minute drive away (Hapuna Beach), where we spent most of our time. Not as impressed by A Bay nearby. Small fitness center in complex isn't worth the space. Shopping center for groceries and supplies is a short drive from Waikoloa.

Overall, the units are good value, in an expensive area. We had such a great time, we are heading back this winter.

Big Island of Hawaii: Waikoloa, Hi: "Worth Much More Than We Paid"

August 21, 2005

We just returned from a wonderful weekend at the Vistas @ Waikoloa. We've always vacationed at hotel or condo locations which were rated in the 4 or 5 category and each was extremely worth every penny of what we paid for them. On August 18 however, we decided we wanted to try the Vistas @ Waikoloa. We're so glad we did go there cause it was worth much more than we paid for this unit and if we had to compare it, then we would have to rate the Vistas @ Waikoloa with a 5 as all the others we have vacationed at. When we opened the door, what we saw and got was not at all what we expected. This condo was a spacious, 2 bedroom unit, well decorated, extremely clean and so neat. Exactly what I look for in a unit. Besides this, the unit was so comfortable and I just must commend the company who booked this condo, enabling us to have this wonderful weekend. If the care and concern placed on Unit B-201 were not carefully thought out and planned, it would've been perhaps a failed weekend which would have ruined my birthday on August 19. That did not happen and I can only highly compliment the company of ABBEY RENTALS. This condo unit had enough room in it to accommodate at least 7 persons, a very large wrap around lanai with a dining table inside and a very large patio table on the lanai to allow 6 persons to dine outside if they wished. There was a complete microwave, range, huge refrigerator, dishwasher, a very large master bathroom and a secondary bathroom, 2 televisions, very beautiful art on the wall and very neat, clean livingroom set as though it was brand new. This company thought of everything including CDs for easy listening, movies for entertainment, beach towels for swimming, extra pillows and blankets and even books for reading. All you needed to do was purchase your own groceries. Now, how's about that!! What a great weekend we had and we will definitely use Abbey Rentals again in the future and most certainly will vacation at THE VISTAS @ WAIKOLOA. Best of all, it cost us only $208 plus tax per day. What a bargain for such a beautiful condo unit. Thank you again ABBEY RENTALS. Just wanted to add that this Vistas @ Waikoloa deserves a 4 rating or better.

Stayed at Vista Waikoloa in June 04 (A-201--we booked it based on a website that I found for this condo...)

Well equipped condo and comfortable bed...AC works well.

Great location...10 minute walk to Kings Shops.

Noise from condo construction across the street was not a problem...very quiet in general.

A Bay within walking distance, but better to drive 5 minutes to transport chairs, etc. Never a problem parking there and plenty of shade at A Bay. Was surprised to see greenish water...there are plenty of beautiful beaches in the area...we've been to Maui and Oahu and were not at all disappointed with the beaches on the Big Island.

Hilton Waikoloa is about a 5 minute walk away...nice to walk in the evening. Marriott is about a 10 minute walk.

Would definitely return.

I have some pictures....e-mail me if you have any questions.

Michelle

We were understandibly leary after reading the reviews but very pleasantly suprised when we arrived May 15-19, 2004. We stayed in Building C, unit 303 & had views of the ocean, "A" Bay, & the mountains. Yes they are building at Kolea but the palm trees covered that. We had friends who stayed at the Bay Club and we all agreed that the Vista units were much bigger & had more amenities per unit although the Bay Club is timeshare not individually owned. Our daughters, 13 & 17 used the pool twice but we mostly went to Hapuna Beach. Saw turtles there, very cool!! Kings Shops are very spendy. We liked the grocery store at Waikoloa Village & dinner at Bubba Gumps & Huggos were great. Would use these again & recomend them highly!

We like to a spend a month each year in Hawaii, last year Maui and this year, The Big Island. The Vista Waikoloa offers one and two bedroomed units, self contained and fully furnished. The Vista is a large complex and we were in B block. It's fairly close to the main road so the noise may offend some people but that would be the only minor complaint.

Our unit was a delight with all conveniences and a bonus evening view of the sunset. We found both resident owners and guests friendly and helpful. The pool is excellent, heated, lots of chairs and very well maintained. For a retired couple, a very pleasant, quiet and relaxing experience.

Waikaloa is an excellent choice with shops and good restaurants. A full size market under construction at the Queen's Shops will be a very welcome addition later this year.

We stayed in F201 for a week in early August. The unit faced the mountains and the golf course and was very quiet. In the afternoons, the lanai was shady and very comfortable.

The furnishings were upscale and clean. The white carpeting had a few stains that they covered with annoying throw rugs. The kitchen tile is looking a little old, but clean and not broken. Both bathrooms were tiled and were in average to good shape.

Overall the unit is roomy, well appointed, comfortable and clean.

We rented it through the owner's listing on VRBO which is about $35 less per night than through the local agents.

The development is gated and nice. The pool was nice. The units out on the street would have an ocean view and would probably be noisy because of all the traffic.

We were happy with our choice of the Vistas. We faced the finishing touches of some Kolea construction and we weren't affected by it what so ever. Large units, large lanais and within easy walking distance to Kings Shops and A Bay. We were in building E and could see A Bay in the distance. Pool was a nice salt water pool that was kept at a good temperature. Also had 2 hottubs. BBQ's were good and didn't take for ever to warm up.

We would stay here again. Rented through Abbey Vacation Rentals.

We just got back from a 10 day stay at the Vista Waikoloa. We were very pleased with our stay there. The kitchen was stocked with all sorts of cookware, and even had a variety of spices in one cupboard. There was also a small array of water toys and useful gear in the closet. The condo was spacious, and the furniture was comfortable. The carpet was a little worn and dingy, but tracking in tons of sand each day made this understandable. The bathrooms were good, the tub was lovely! Our unit had 2 1-2 baths, which came in handy with 5 of us staying there. We had a nice view of the ocean from the lanai, the construction was a slight irritant, but not too bad. We did have a problem with the air conditioner, but the management sent out a repairman on a saturday afternoon to fix it right away. The staff we met, and the concierge Joanie were very friendly and helpful. We will definately be back.

We have been to the Vista Waikoloa three times since 2001. Our most recent trip was late October 2003. We have never had a negative experience from the expansion that is going on. The units are perched up on a hill overlooking open land and the views still remain the best of any condo complex in Waikoloa. Many units have maintained 100% unobstructed views. Last year Kolea modified thier original building plan to leave huge corridors of land open. We didn't notice any dust and virtually no noise.

We stayed at the Vista Waikoloa from Nov 23 to DEc 24. We had heard about the noise from construction but did not experience any problems.

We had a great vacation and highly recommend it.

We stayed in F201 for 3 nights in March. The unit was well kept, comfortably furished and appointed. The condo was also quite large (however the kitchen was small). The comples itself was fairly well kept. Situated within walking distance to the King's shops (10 minutes) and the Queen's shops (15 minuets). The beach was too far! We would look out on our golf course view and comment that we could easily be in Palm Springs- not the feeling we want on an HI vacaion.

Two gripes:

1. The course's groundskeeps were at work on the riding mowers by 6AM every morning. Guess this should have been expected, but for the reason, I would not stay in a golf front unit again.

2. The Waikoloa management company took the full 14 days to return our security deposit. I really don't see the need for this, the house keeper would find any damage the day of check out. It just seemed like bad service.

I will say if you golf is a passion you may enjoy the stay. Also, if you have kids and don't mind a trek to the beach, this could be a good budget option.

We rented unit B105 on July 5th - 10th. We enjoyed the villa and complex but am disappointed in how the payment for the unit is being managed. First, the full amount was credited twice to my Visa. It took several emails to get the reversal for the duplicate entry. We still have an outstanding security deposit refund of $200.00 which has not been credited or accounted for. I've written several email and left voice message to the owner inquiring on the credit of the security deposit. In the last email the owner stated "I don't do the refunds for deposits. It goes through the central office..". You can easily find another unit, much nicer, lower cost with less hassle.

We just got home after a 14 day stay at the Vista Waikoloa unit B-105 which is a 2bd 3ba privately owned nice unit by Vicki Flores that I found on VRBO.com for $175 a night.

The unit was clean, roomy and nicely done, but is in need of upgrading. The problems I had with this unit was that in the description, the owner says it has an "ocean view" and that it's a quiet unit.

The ocean view is a 2 inch slice of blue if you stand by the glass living room door and can see around a large tree in front of the ocean. I asked her during a phone call if there was any construction noise nearby and she told me that all of the construction was taking place on the backside of the Vista, by the King Shops. It turns out that a large building was being constructed directly across the street from this unit and the owner failed to disclose to me that these units sit right on Waikoloa Drive.

This street is 20-30 feet from the units, EVERY SINGLE vehicle going to AND leaving the Hilton, Vista and other units up the road, pass right by the Vista units. The traffic starts around 6-6:30AM with large diesel delivery trucks, 18 wheeler big rigs delivering 40' containers, construction equipment, tour buses, vendors trucks, plus all of the hundreds of tourists & employee cars going to the Hilton, passing right by your bedroom.

Then around 7:30 the construction noise starts, which makes sleeping in after 7AM impossible. If you enjoy traffic noise, you'll love these units but if you want peace & quiet, go to another condo unit.

The best thing about this place is Joni who books every tour or place of interest on the island. She is a wealth of knowledge, she booked a few excursions for us and made some great recommendations.

For what it's worth, we drove into Kona 3 times and after seeing all of the traffic, crowds, transients & kids at every beach, I'm going to be staying north of the airport.

The big island is the greatest place to visit with some of the best beaches and most beautiful sights on any island. After 12 trips to Kauai & Maui, I'm going back to the big island, but would never stay at the Vista again.

I have plenty of photos of the traffic & construction and if you're interested, email me and I'll send them to you.

Ray

I was so disapointed with this place I was really let down I called the to make sure everything was going to be perfect and the unit they gave us was next to the road and you heard traffic all night long and all day and they are building condos across the street they are loud very loud all day nice view though we stayed in unit c301 it really needs to be updated or gutted and started over or even some paint world be nice the shower was nasty I would not get under it due to mold on the head of it I ment to take a picture of it . Im just really mad I flew 4000 miles and stayed here these people dont care I dont think they realize how much money it cost to take a trip like this and only to be let down like this stay somewhere else or at least not c301

They should update the photos. New condos being built obstructing most ocean views. Lot of construction activity up to 8pm at night, and dusty which spoiled the awsome sunsets. We just tried to stay away in the daytime, and the windows closed when we returned. Truth in advertising?

Best to wait on this one, new construction taking place between the resort and the ocean. Obstructs the view shown in the photos. Go search the Kolea web cam and you will see. we wre bothered by the noise and dust, workmen working until 8pm at night! Wait until after the summer.