The Gem on Alii Drive. FREE wifi and low summer rates

I visited Hawaii for the first time Oct 2012 and my visit to Kailua-Kona was all the more enjoyable by having this comfortable, clean and wonderfully furnished condo to come home to at the end of a day of exploring or just lounging at the beach. The kitchen had pretty much everything you would need for cooking, the beds were *super* comfortable, the linens and towels were good quality. I loved that there were some basic essentials in the kitchen and bath cabinets for you to use if you needed. Also some basic beach stuff, snorkels and coolers – soooo convenient! The complex was pretty quiet, and very friendly. No loud rowdy parties thank goodness! The entire complex was very well maintained.
I spent a couple of days doing absolutely nothing but relaxing by the pool with a book - comfortable lounge chairs, and enough shade to stay out of the sun if you wanted to. We used the BBQ that was off the pool area several nights and cooked up some yummy dinners. It was great to really feel like you were in a comfortable home - to relax on the sofa/eat at the table and watch tv or listen to music, and not be stuck in a hotel room. There were great books available with info and maps about things to do/places to go.
I absolutely loved being able to just walk across the street and sit on the rock wall to stare at the ocean and watch the sunset (although you can also see it from the patio at the pool!) We saw huge sea turtles in the tide pool there almost EVERY EVENING! And it was nice to just walk down the road a bit for some exercise - the jogging-biking path gave plenty of room to avoid cars, and fellow walker-joggers always exchanged greetings. It just felt like everyone was happy to be there! I definitely plan to return!