Vacation Rentals by Owner

Beautiful Oceanfront Sunrises

Guest: Sarah B.
Date of Stay: 02/18/12 Review Submitted: 03/14/12

This unit is so close to the ocean that lanai and its furnishings were almost always wet from the ocean spray. There were high winds and high surf for our brief stay. Due to its central location, we hopped in our rental car and explored the island, finding calmer winds and sunshine. The unit is a little dated and could use some updating , Furnishing were a little "worn & tired", but comfortable. The non-stick surfaces of pots and pans are all scratched up, so it was good that we didn't intend to prepare any meals other than breakfast in the unit. The unit also had adamp, musty odor. We tried opening the sliders and bedroom windows to air it out, but the odor remained.

Recommended for:Age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway.

Amazing ocean views

Guest: Diane (San Rafael, CA)
Date of Stay: 01/15/12 Review Submitted: 03/06/12

As I understand it Pono Kai is one of the original condo developments on the island. It is low rise (2/3 levels) and the grounds of Pono Kai are pristine and spacious with communal bbq's throughout the complex including right in front of our condo. Our unio is very clean and nicely appointed, showing its age in some elements but owners seem to be systematically upgrading (eg. workers measured for new counters throughout when we were there; living room/bath flooring upgraded etc.) There are chairs, fins and snorkeling masks, and beach towels available for use. View from balcony is marvelous and made our 10 days very special and relaxing. In this unit the master and second bedroom are "in the back" so they are a bit dark with no ocean view--but we slept super well! It is very clean and the maintenance staff/desk, as well as the owners are very responsive. The beach directly in front of the building is gently eroding, but a very short stroll in either direction provides a sandy beach for beach lovers. Wonderful walking path extending almost 5 miles provides best walking possible on the island and Kapaa is a sweet little town a short stroll up the road with several good restaurants.

Owner response:Thanks so much for your kind words, Diane. We loved having you share our piece of heaven on Kauai. We are upgrading!!! New cabinets, vanities, sinks, and counter tops. We are excited to offer this amazing upgrade to all our guest and extend our appreciation for your tender loving care while you all visited. MAHALO!!...and please visit us again soon. Farrah/Rachel

Recommended for:Age 55+, families with teenagers, romantic getaway.

You could fish from the lani!!!

Guest: BadgerBrewer (Madison, WI)
Date of Stay: 10/10/11 Review Submitted: 11/04/11

What a fantastic place to spend 2 weeks on Kauai. It's centrally located so getting around the island is a snap. The grounds of the Pono Kai are beautiful and well maintained. The view from this unit is AMAZING! You could easily toss a baseball into the ocean from the lani it's that close! Waking up every morning to see the sunrise was perfect. The view alone is worth every penny. The condo interior shows a little age in the kitchen and bathrooms but I wasn't concerned with looking at the kitchen and bathrooms I spent most of my time at the condo gazing out at the ocean. I'd also suggest getting something done about the unit above as the floors are quite noisy. Thankfully we seemed to be on the same schedule but you could hear every footstep from above. The next time we're on Kauai I'll be sure to try and secure this condo again simply for the stunning proximity to the ocean.

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, tourists without a car, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Great location

Guest: Tw (Colorado)
Date of Stay: 08/22/11 Review Submitted: 08/29/11

This is a wonderful condo! Very roomy and nice homey touches. It is very close to several shops and grocery stores. It is also located close to some beautiful beaches. The beach in front of the condo is nice to look at, but when you actually walk down to it there is trash everywhere. That said we would still stay here again. The view from the balcony is gorgeous and you get a wonderful sea breeze at all times of the day. There were five of us staying here and we had plenty of room for all. There is also a ton of outdoor games and a pool located on site. We loved that there was snorkel gear, chairs, beach mats, and beach towels for us to use. The kitchen is also fully stocked with whatever dishes or pans that you would need to cook with. We also made good use of one of the many propane grills located on the property. We had a wonderful time here! Check out the coconut marketplace for great gifts and TnT burger shack for wonderful burgers! Banana Joes's has great smoothies and is located up by the turnoff to the light house!

Recommended for:Families with young children, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Utah Family

Guest: Lynne Lloyd (North Ogden, Utah)
Date of Stay: 06/01/11 Review Submitted: 06/14/11

We loved our stay in Kauai! The Pono Kai resort and the Hofhein's condo were perfect. We enjoyed the view of the ocean and early morning sunrises, not to mention the bike/walking path right next to the condo. The little town of Kapaa is charming, and the Shave ice at 'Ono Ono's next door is a must. Thanks for a wonderful vacation and we hope to return in the near future.

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, people with disabilities, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Fantastic view!

Guest: "Kenike" (Hawaiian for Denise) (Venice Beach, CA)
Date of Stay: 07/05/10 Review Submitted: 08/07/10

This was a beautiful condo. The master bedroom was HUGE with amenities that I've never before seen in a rental unit. The kitchen was fully equipped & the whole unit was spotless. There were plenty of extra bath towels also which is a huge bonus. The grounds of the complex were beautifully maintained. There is a 5 mile bike/walk path which runs through Kapaa & in front of this unit. The ocean view from the lanai was spectacular!! I would definitely stay here again & would highly recommend this unit to anyone wanting to stay on the east side of the island. This location is central to both north & south shores which are easy drives. You can walk in to downtown Kapaa for dinner too! For the adventure seekers, try ziplining with Kauai Backcountry Adventures. It was SO much fun!

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, people with disabilities, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Guest: Linda, Julie and Jeremy (Sacramento, CA)
Date of Stay: 08/19/09 Review Submitted: 08/19/09

This was my first experience reserving a place to stay from the internet, other than a hotel. Farrah and Bryan both made it easy and reassuring. As for the condo, it exceeded our expectations! Of course the pictures on the website gave us an idea of what we were getting but the actual condo, the view/beach and even the resort were wonderful. It was located close to my nephew's wedding and rehearsal dinner which made it even more appealing. My son, daughter-in-law and I even had the family over one night and it was perfect for the group. Thanks for a great time!

Recommended for:

Guest: Tom Olafson (Fraser Lake,B.C.)
Date of Stay: 04/21/09 Review Submitted: 04/21/09

April 5 to 9/09:A great place to stay in Kauai for type of accomadation and location and price. Direct view of the ocean and centrally located in Kappa. As well the unit was clean and quiet. Great for a family of four or five.

Recommended for:

Guestbook Comment

Guest: Papa Smurf (Ottawa,Ontario,Canada)
Date of Stay: 04/01/09 Review Submitted: 04/17/09

WOW!!! That is all I can say. The owners were fantastic to deal with. The location was perfect. Pona Kai complex was beautiful. The large ocean front unit with balcony was perfect to view the sunrise and go for walks along the beach. Swimming pool and large jucuzzi were a bonus. Thank you again (and especially to Farrah.)

Recommended for:

Guestbook Comment

Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 04/01/09 Review Submitted: 04/03/09

Last March we three ladies rent this unit for 11 nights. What fun !! We have a fantastic view of the ocean right there on our balcony..great for coffee in the morning and drinks at nights. The pool and hot tub here at Pono Kai were delightful along with the poolside massages. The town of Kapaa was literally a block away and full of shops and restaurants...the walking path for several miles along the ocean was GREAT !! The furnishings were out of a magazine !! Beautiful and very comfortable...the bathrooms were very large and super for 3 ladies and all their stuff. We will definitely be back and will tell everyone about this unit...a little piece of heaven.

Recommended for:

Guestbook Comment

Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 09/01/08 Review Submitted: 09/25/08

What a wonderful vacation spot. It was the perfect place to finish out our vacation especially after having spent a week in the city of Honolulu. We all decided we should have spent all of our time at Pono Kai. We appreciated having all the ammenities we needed. We would want to stay at Pono Kai if we have the chance to return to Kauai. Thank you for offering such a beautiful place to stay.

Recommended for:

Guestbook Comment

Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 09/01/08 Review Submitted: 09/03/08

Our 5 nights in your condo were great! You have gone all out to make sure quests have all the comforts of home. Having everything we needed to cook meals helped a ton so we didn't need to eat out 3 times a day! The bed in the master suite was so comfy I felt like I was sleeping in my own bed. I would definitely stay here again on my next visit to Kauai.

Recommended for:

Guestbook Comment

Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 08/01/08 Review Submitted: 08/04/08

The view of the ocean and the sounds of the waves are the best thing. The ocean is just a stones throw away. The deck is nice, especially in the morning sun. The condo is also very roomy and we enjoyed the wide screen TV and big kitchen. Also the Pono Kai pool is nice and I had many interesting conversations with other guests in the hot tub. Great shopping just a block away in old town Kapa'a.

Recommended for:

Guestbook Comment

Guest: OBMOMMY (WEST HILSS, CA)
Date of Stay: 03/01/08 Review Submitted: 03/24/08

IT WAS A VERY FAMILY FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT. WE ALL HAD SOMETHING TO DO AT ALL TIMES. BEAUTIFUL GROUNDS, WONDERFUL ROOM, WALKING DISTANCE TO TOWN...WE WOULD STAY AGAIN IN A HEARTBEAT. I LOVED MY VACATION HERE!!

Recommended for:

Guestbook Comment

Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 01/01/08 Review Submitted: 01/15/08

We really enjoyed staying here. Very comfortable furnishings with nice master bedroom. Loved watching the sun come up over the ocean from the balcony each morning. One of our favorite restaurants within walking distance. Thanks for the nice place and taking care of us. We will be back.

Recommended for:

Guestbook Comment

Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 01/01/08 Review Submitted: 01/12/08

My wife and I absolutely enjoyed our stay! We had no idea of how much room we would have all to ourselves. We kept saying the kids must come the next time. The furnishings were way beyond any 5 star hotel would offer. I spent most of my time in front of the plasma on the leather couch. Hearing the ocean and feeling the breeze come in made it hard to ever get up. The view was spectacular every morning as we had breakfast out on the lanai. I could throw a rock in the water easily if I had too. We were surprised at how close we were to the ocean. Beachfront was definately not an understatement. The pictures were great on the website but they don't even come close to the real thing. The location to this place was perfect because we never found ourselves backtracking on the island to get anywhere. The front desk was very helpful. They planned out our whole week for us and we just went along for the ride. I would definately recommend to anyone lookng for an affordable and great vacation to stay here. Aloha!

Recommended for:

Guestbook Comment

Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 01/01/08 Review Submitted: 01/05/08

Our family of four - including a 2.5 year old and a 3 month old - just stayed at this condo for 6 nights. The view was lovely and the apartment was more than what I'd expected. While we did hear a bit of noise from the above neighbors, overall the rest of the stay was wonderful. The owners have ample supplies of linens, cleaning products, etc for whatever you might need during your stay. The lanai had a gorgeous view, the television was great for after the kids went to bed, and the resort area itself was lovely. It was convenient to Baby Beach and Lygate Park which are perfect for younger children. I will definitely recommend this condo to friends interested in visiting Kauai.

Recommended for:

Guestbook Comment

Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 06/01/07 Review Submitted: 06/03/07

We thoroughly enjoyed the Pono Kai Condo we rented in May. It is a beautiful property in a beautiful setting. The pool and hot tub were welcome after hard days of hiking and snorkeling. Since it was unusually hot and humid while we were there, air conditioning would have been welcome. But that is a small thing. We recommend this condo with enthusiasm!

Recommended for:

Guestbook Comment

Guest: Nadia Khaber-Kosh (Seattle, WA)
Date of Stay: 05/01/07 Review Submitted: 05/01/07

We had a wonderful time un this gorgeous unit, facing the ocean. This is the second time we rent from the same owners and we very much appreciated their efficiency and kindness.

Recommended for:

Guestbook Comment

Guest: Angela Vallandingham (Independendence, Ky)
Date of Stay: 04/01/07 Review Submitted: 04/04/07

This was our first time to Kauai, and oh what a beautiful Island!! The condo was beyond our expectations, 5 star quality linens and bedding, fastidiously clean, comfortable, and gorgeous. The Lanai was much bigger than you see in most hotels, and ocean front is definitely what you get. The grounds were so beautiful, we knew we were in paradise everywhere we looked. It was wonderful to know that after a long day of exploring the north side or the south side, the central location didn't require any back tracking at the end of the day, and to relax in front of the plasma TV, while enjoying an evening snack or meal was bliss. I would definitely recommend this condo to anyone wanting a central location, comfortable amenities and beautiful sunrises! -Angela Vallandingham, Independendence, Ky

Recommended for: