Honua Kai is an amazing complex with 4 swimming pools, 2 hot tubs and excellent services. Duke's restaurant on site is a bonus. Their pool side service is fun and convenient but just go in knowing, drinks and food will be expensive and not that big....tasty but not cheap. Overall Honua Kai is for the traveler who isn't too concerned with budget but having a marvelous experience. Pools were exceptional and clean, towel service handy and all areas very well maintained. The grounds were simply divine. The resort itself 5/5 stars!!
The unit we were in was amazing as well. Very well appointed, nice appliances (no-vent dryers, which means drying laundry takes FOREVER) and comfortable. We loved it, but there are some drawbacks and I cannot leave an honest review without mentioning those as well. First, the advertised grill on the lanai wouldn't light. This actually turned into a good thing, as we ended up using the pool side grills three different times and each time we ended up meeting and talking to other renters in the complex. Every single person we met was easy to talk to and friendly. So, in a way I'm glad the unit's grill didn't work. I did report it, so hopefully if this is important to you (it IS quite the walk to the poolside grills and back), it will be remedied. The other main drawback is that while the oversized lanai is truly amazing, the east side is directly above the loading dock for the building, so it can be quite loud, especially in the morning from about 7 until noon or so and daytime highway noise is constant. The views of the mountains to the east cannot be beat, though. The lanai also has a very nice view of the ocean, but it is restricted and the unit is just a tad too far from the beach to actually hear any waves, even at night when it's the quietest.
If you're travelling with family and have people who go to bed early or sleep in late, just know that no matter how quietly the others try to be, you hear EVERYTHING going on in the kitchen and living room from both bedrooms. Noise cancelling fans would go a long way to fixing this. Also the bedroom doors tend to stick and the door handles had to be turned ALL the way to open and close the doors....impossible to sneak in or out of the rooms and not disturb the ones still sleeping.
Overall, we were very happy with the unit and would most likely rent again. Strong 4/5 stars for unit.