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We'll be staying at Pono Kai through Bluegreen in April and feeling nervous after reading mixed reviews on Trip Advisor. Any tips on which units are better and how to request these? Other tips on making our trip comfortable and memorable? Many thanks in advance.
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I haven't read the reviews you are mentioning, but we did take a tour of Pono Kai a few years ago when visiting Kauai, and we thought the units were nice. Not luxurious, but well tended and comfortable looking. I hope someone here can give you the advice you are seeking.
Oh, and welcome to TS4ms! It is great to have you here.Life is short, live it with this awareness. -
Enjoy
We were at Pono Kai in June, 2006. The resort was great, unit was in very good condition and clean. No lizards in the room as on Maui. The sea wll needed some repair when we were there but that didn't harm our vacation. I would return in a heartbeat if I had your reservation and the airfare. Regarding picking units, that probably has already been decided so I doubt if you could change even if you wanted to.Originally posted by Danfam View Post
CharlesComment
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The trip advisor reviews are mostly from the Marc and Private rental units
that each have their own decor and may not have a/c or any of the updates that the Pono Kai ( Bluegreen) units had.
BG owns around 1000 assorted weeks, in various buildings, they are all updated and nice.
The PK lays on 11 ocean front acres, it is like Old Hawaii, lush, calm and comfortable. Out of all the resorts in Hawaii, it is our favorite. It isn't a Marriott, or Westin, not fancy, just a great location, friendly staff, etc.
You can see some of out recent trip photos
our November 2008 Kauai Trip
If you have specific questions, just ask.
jmho,
Greg
Originally posted by Danfam View PostComment
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Damfan,
Pono Kai is wonderful. We will be staying there for our 5th time in May. The rooms are nice and spacious. Not the Marriott, but our units have always been nice and clean and well appointed. The gardens are spectacular. You can even clip some of the herbs from the herb garden to cook with if you desire. We have never encountered anything but aloha from the staff. What can I say, we love it.
As a matter of fact, this upcoming trip we are staying a week on the north shore and 5 nights on the south shore. I was going to just look for a hotel room for the first three nights of our stay until the DH whined and whined that it just wouldn't be a trip to Kauai unless we stayed at Pono Kai. It's wonderful having bocabum here to look out for us, because he was able to help me out with a room for the first three nights.
The resort does not have much curb appeal, so don't be discouraged when you first drive up. The pool is small, but nice and always clean. The hot tub is nice and you can meet some really nice people and find out places to go that you may not have thought of, or you can even just eavesdrop on conversations!!
You are right at the edge of Kapaa town so you can easily walk there to eat or shop. Tropical Tantrum is right next door and good for new Hawaiian clothing! Be sure to check out the Pono Market. They have grand plate lunches. Their fried chicken and mac/pot salad are the best anywhere. We like to get our exercise climbing the steps up to the Olympic Cafe. People seem to either love or hate Olympic Cafe. We are in the group that loves it. DH thinks their ahi sandwich is the best and I am a big fan of their fish tacos. Their breakfast is also very good. Great pancakes. The only thing that we don't care for at Olympic Cafe is their adult beverages. Beer isn't cold enough and mai tais are too syrupy sweet.
As for us.........we would stay our entire two weeks at Pono Kai, but I had some other trades that I needed to use!!!!!
Don't worry.........you will love Pono Kai.
Aloha
DonnaComment
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Thanks for pono kai info
Thanks, everyone for the info. We're feeling much better about the whole thing and can't wait to go. I'll update after we're back.
Looking forward to a great BG experience.Comment
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We stayed at Pono Kai last June and had a wonderful stay. We had a couple of minor problems with our unit that the staff fixed very quickly.
We really enjoyed our stay and would stay there again. As others have said, it wasn't fancy, but comfortable. We enjoyed our walks on the beach and around the gardens. My kids loved feeding the fish each night. By the end of our stay, the fish feeder was empty!
Enjoy!
AmyComment
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We stopped in at Pono Kai, just to walk the grounds on our trip to Kauai last April because we were curious. It looked like a really nice place. You wouldn't know it from the roadside. But once you park your car and walk to the courtyard, it's like you're in a different world. The beachside walkway, which they've been working on for a few years, which also connects you to other beachfront resorts, looked like it was nearing completion.
The Marriott it is not. (We own every other year at Marriott Beach Club.) But Pono Kai looks like a nice, relaxing place we'd like to try one of these years.
Also, you're in Hawaii. How much time are you going to spend in your room anyway? Ninety percent of our waking hours are spent outside when we go.
Kapa'a is a great location, halfway between the northern sights and the southern ones, which makes the entire island more accessible.Comment
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Just out of curiosity, because I've never been. Where do people fly to when going to Pona Kai? How does the transportation thing work there?Comment
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You fly into Lihue which is the main airport. It's about a 20 minute drive to Kapaa from the airport depending on traffic.Comment
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If you stay at Pono Kai, how difficult is it to take a tour to another island, for example to go visit Pearl Harbor? Also, how kid friendly is Pno Kai??Comment
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Trips to other islands will almost certainly involve air travel. Kaua'i is the northwesternmost of the major islands. What we did last time we went was to stay two days in Honolulu on the way to Kaua'i and visited the Polynesian Cultural Center and the Arizona memorial.Originally posted by marshalldillon
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Posted via Mobile Device"Because there is good, and there is evil, and evil must be punished. Even in the face of Armageddon I shall not compromise in this."-- Rorschach, WatchmenComment
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Thank you for the information. We have never been to Hawaii but would like to go sometime and this helps me in my planning. Maybe a 2-3 night stay on Oahu and a 4 night stay in Kuaui at Pono Kai. Would you recommend that??Comment
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We try to spend 2 weeks a year at Pono Kai. Since the flight is long and costly (unless you travel from west coast) we usually recommend to the friends that might us our other weeks to go for at least 10 days. Stop at Oahu first to see Pearl Harbor. Then on to a relaxing week on Kauai.Comment
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Back from Pono Kai
We recently returned from 8 days in Hawaii. This is our second year in a row during Spring Break and we've done it the same way. We get a better deal flying to Honolulu, so we stop there for a few nights, either at the beginning or end of the trip. We enjoy Waikiki, Pearl Harbor, North Shore, etc. Then we take an inter-island flight (Island Air or Go) to Kauai for several nights of nature and relaxation.
Pono Kai was very nice. You can't beat the location. We were lucky enough to have a 1 bdrm oceanfront. It's a 5 star view. The property is not fancy, but we weren't expecting the Marriott, and who spends so much time in the room anyway? Everything was clean, well-kept, and we really appreciate the big space and the kitchen. There are grocery stores close by and it was convenient to fix a quick breakfast in the morning, or late night snack for the kids. There's also plenty of restaurants and take-out places if you don't want to cook.
Staff was very helpful and friendly and the few times we did have some minor problems (room key wouldn't work, etc.) they were very attentive and took care of things right away.
We'll definitely go back!Comment
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