Polynesian Shores Condominium

I must preface this review by saying that this has NOTHING to do with the property as a whole. I have stayed in other units at Polynesian Shores a number of times and it has been wonderful and I would give it 5 stars. However, we recently had a terrible experience when interacting with the owner of Unit #126, Greg Salmon — he tried to keep our substantial deposit. While I hate that this review will impact other good owners of condos at Poly Shores, I have to find a way to warn people of this owner.
I have attempted to submit this review on the VRBO site that he uses but to date they will not publish it because I did not end up staying in the unit. This is their policy which is unfortunate since there is no way for me to warn others before trying to do business with him. I did submit to Ripoff Report which is available to see. If you google his name and the condo and unit number you will see my submission as well as a number of others who have had a similar experience with him.
Here is the review that was intended for VRBO Unit #126:
This is a warning to all those who may rent from Greg Salmon (who at the time of this entry owned this unit). Here is the sequence of events that I went through with Greg so you can decide for yourself if it’s worth the risk:
1. I put a large deposit down on this unit for a family vacation but had to cancel due to financial reasons.
2. I emailed Greg to cancel well within the 60 day 100% money back guarantee (published on this VRBO site at that time) but he said his policy was 90 days and he would need to post and re-​rent it. I mentioned what the VRBO site said (also sent a screen shot) but he still responded stating he would need to re-​rent it for me to get my deposit back.
3. The next day the site was changed from 60 to 90 days
4. I realized I was still within the 90 day mark (within just 2 hours) so emailed him again about it but no response.
5. I continued to email and call him but received no response
6. I started a dispute process with my credit card company and warned Greg that I would pursue the formal dispute if I didn’t receive my deposit within 24 hours.
7. No response from Greg so I started the process formally and let Greg know that he will be hearing from them.
8. Two hours after my email and call, he called me and said his wife sent the check over a week ago. I did not receive the check for another week which was postmarked the day I emailed him telling him I was starting the dispute process, so he completely lied about his wife sending the check a week prior.
If you don’t trust my word, you can find similar reports about him doing the same thing (lying, avoiding and keeping deposits) by googling his name (there are several other reports on the ripoffreport website).
I would NEVER rent from this person, even if the unit was free! But again, Polynesian Shores has MANY wonderful units with honest wonderful owners to rent from. Just don’t rent from Greg Salmon.

First day back from our trip in Maui at Polynesia’n Shores. We stayed in Room #225 which is a 1 bedroom and loft unit… or what they call a two bedroom.
When booking a room here, please beware of what they say and what you receive on your confirmation. They will tell you the WiFi is all ready to go, residents are quit and the property is half vacant meaning more privacy. They will oversell you and under deliver on almost everything. The front office knew there was going to be construction next to our room that week and they told me there wasn’t anything going on prior to booking. They explained that they had an at will storage area that contains toys and beach items you can use. Also, you are responsible for everything on your own. Meaning cleaning and all items used. Once you are booked and paid for they will not do anything for you.
Your designated parking space they claim will not be in use but every day there was some one parked in our spot and I had to call the live on site manager to then find out who’s car it was and then reach out to them to then move the vehicle. If you have a baby with you this can take time and become very frustrating because if you park in someone else’s spot they will tow you if they are a permanent resident and not a weekly rental.
If you are the person that’s sits by the pool and reads books all day, this place if perfect for you. Residents who are permanent will be there right by your side to tell you all of their stories and talk your ear off while you try and read your book. Probably best for people who don’t have friends and are looking for anyone to talk to.
This place is always full and there will always be a line for the BBQ grills if you plan to cook.
In room #225, they showcase a paddle board on the wall above the door to the patio. If you call and ask they will say you can use it but in reality the board is chained to the wall and they don’t have a key and its only for the owner. So all week long you sit there looking at a paddle board you thought you could use but in fact cannot.
No air conditioning, which really sucks.
Next time, we will be staying at a resort with air conditioning in a one bedroom as it would have been much better in a one bedroom in air then a two bedroom sweat house.
Its up to you to make the decision to stay here and its hard to believe all of these great Unilocal stories about how nice it really was. It all seems a bit fishy to me to hear everyone talk so highly about Polynesian Shores.

We really enjoyed our stay here at Polynesian Shores!
We were in unit 209, we had a late arrival (after 10pm) but the staff was very accommodating beforehand about leaving a key in the box for us so we could get into the unit. The one problem with the late arrival is it was rather difficult to find the parking spot with our unit number because it was so dark. Parking is limited here, and we had a giant car next to our space the entire time. We had to pull our car out sometimes to exit and take the board off the top.
The unit was very nice. I was a little nervous about the no AC esp. since I knew I would be sleeping in «the loft» portion. The ceiling fans were great though, and I never felt hot at night, though it did get kind of warm in the late afternoon with the sun shining in all day long. None of the units have any AC, but people do not seem to mind, and that’s a good thing! Nice breezes blowing in from the ocean and the ceiling fans should be fine.
This was not a personal complaint of mine, but the loft bedroom/​bathroom did not offer a ton of privacy. The bathroom was very nice with a double shower, and it was huge… but it did not have a door… and the shower did not have a door. and the toilet did not have a door, so basically, do not share the loft with anyone you are not comfortable with seeing you naked, unless you plan on banishing them downstairs. I guess you could do that, I am not really very modest person, so I was rather unconcerned by this. I guess it just depends who you are staying with.
So anyway, the unit was nice and had everything we needed. The staff was very friendly esp. when we told them we had friends coming over and they offered to help with their parking/​finding of a spot. One other note is that it can get kind of loud around here with everyone having their windows opened, though I thought this sort of enhanced the atmosphere. They have quiet hours in the evening and those seem to be well respected. ok blah blah blah. onto the fun stuff!
Ok the beach– Well, unfortunately, we were here almost right after Hurricane Ana, so our first morning, there was not a ton to see with the snorkel/​masks. Everything was still just really churned up, we did have a very nice swim though. The entry point can be a little tricky when the water is murky because you can not see where any of the rocks are… but there is a ladder off this little jetty thing and you can go in from the ladder.
The water clarity did seem to improve throughout the visit, though certain portions never had a ton of visibility. BUT there is a nice little break offshore here so my dad got to surf, though there is a reef right underneath the break. Didnt bother him so much, but I dont care for that. I was happy to swim around with the turtles and avoid the rocks… I think it just depends on the time of year, general weather conditions. maybe sometimes the snorkeling is awesome, we mainly just did some swimming. There were some nice waves though, it was pretty cool overall :)
So there are also all these tidal pools and small sections of beach where you can see a ton of turtles! So that was cool too… also fun to climb around on the rocks and see other cool stuff like sea urchins and starfish.
The pool is very basic, it was nice for a rinse off. the sunsets are incredible and everyone seems to congregate together to watch them… certainly makes the evening beverages tasty! I would def, come back and would recommend, all these condos along L. Honoapiilani seem to have been built in the 70s and this one def has a fun, mellow, 70s vibe to it. love!

A friend of mine stayed here a year ago and was the one who recommended this place. This was our first trip to Maui and we stayed in Unit 108 from 5÷23−5÷31. When we opened the door, we found a welcome basket on the table (pineapple, coffee, other goodies), and felt a nice, cool breeze. We were worried since this condo didn’t have AC but it was not a problem at all! There was always a cool breeze, and you can hear the ocean waves at night, how relaxing it was!
I love the granite counter-​tops, stainless steel kitchen appliances, all the necessities in the kitchen, extra pillows, towels, and décor. While I prepared our meals, our girls (ages 6 & 8) would play out in the big lawn (the tree & swimming pool was right across our unit), and it’s nice that I can see them as the kitchen counter faces the lanai. My youngest’d bring me flowers every day from this tree right in front. I love that the little beach was only steps away from us, and we were lucky to see the turtles come out! What a treat to come home in the afternoon, grab a cold bev, and just watch the sunset!
We had problems w/​the wi-​fi in the beginning, and Julie, the manager, came to our condo to fix it. She also spent some time with us looking at maps, informing us about what’s close by, where to take the kids (BABY BEACH IN LAHAINA – THANK YOU! WE LOVED IT!), and suggested other places/​travel tips.
It’s not a hotel, so don’t expect you’ll have housekeeping everyday, or that someone would come to empty your trash & put your towels away. But at $ 140/​night, with killer view ocean front, a NICE kitchen AND having the space we need for our family of four?!? I will definitely come back again! Highly recommend this place!

#203 very nice, a little skimpy on some of the necessities we’ve had in other condos (good scissors, BBQ utensils, beach mats) but clean and the king-​sized bed was very comfortable. The view is wonderful, the pool is great, the ocean front is rocky but clear for snorkelling if you want (although I would prefer a cove which has just as much to see in less turbulent waters), it is nice to meet the other guests and as with this area of Maui, close to the things we needed.

We just returned home today from what was an amazing stay for us at the Polynesian Shores Unit 126, owned by Greg Salmon, rented through VRBO. We really couldn’t have asked for better.
We arrived late the first night to find the unit opened up, the lights on and the beds ready for my 4 person family. We tucked the little ones into each of their own twin beds and then we were off to slumber in our own king bed in the well appointed master bedroom. The sounds of waves crashing on the beach came through our louvered windows along with the ocean breezes. It was perfect and alluded to what we would see in the morning.
Because of the 4 hour time difference for us, we woke early the next day to two walls of sliding doors just off our kitchen and living room. Our two sided lanai provided for an amazing view of the wide open sea. An amazing treat from this corner unit. I drove off to the local Times Market (much nicer and cheaper than Safeway) and picked up breakfast ingredients and was back in a flash making breakfast in our well appointed and fairly new kitchen with stainless appliances. It was perfect.
Each evening the sunsets from our patio, the well appointed and lovely cared for grounds, and ocean deck were AMAZING. Speaking of the the grounds, look for Andy! He is a great guy, there almost every day and bonded immediately with our kids, who sought him out every day to say good morning.
The majority of Polynesian Shores is rented out as vacation rentals with only a few full time residents. Most guests stay for several days, so you start to make friends with some. It’s fun and gave the kids some friends to play with at night. We never used the pool, but many did and it looked lovely.
The location is pretty nice, with nothing being too far away and the best beach we found for our 4 and 2 year old was Baby beach and it was only 5 minutes away.
Are there problems here? Not really. Yes, you will find bugs and occasional ants. It is a warm tropical island, expect that anywhere. They aren’t a huge problem, but you will see them. Don’t like bugs? Don’t come to an island. Noise is not a problem, unless you don’t like the ocean. They have quiet hours from 10 – 8 each day and they are pretty well respected. Rude smokers occasionally will sneak a puff on the walkways and pollute your space, but only they are to blame. There is a designated smoking area well away from the units, but some smokers can’t seem to walk.
We loved our stay. Credit cards accepted through PayPal.

We recently stayed at the Polynesian Shores for a Christmas/​New Years vacation. Originally, we had booked a condo in Kihei, but the unit became flooded and were forced to find another location 3 weeks before our trip. Because of the time of year, we had to book 2 separate units: 203 and 205. The 4-​star rating reflects the average rating for the 2 units (i.e. 3 for 203 and 5 for 205).
GENERAL FEEDBACK:
The condo complex is actually located in Napili-​Honokowai, which is a 15-​minute drive north of downtown Lahaina. Although the complex is fairly old (built in the 70’s?), many of the units have been updated. Since each condo unit is individually owned, the quality can vary a great deal … as we saw first hand. The grounds are extremely well kept and have a wide variety of lovely trees and other flowering plants, including fragrant plumeria trees. The condo is located on a rocky shoreline that is very picturesque, and you can enjoy sitting on your balcony listening to the sounds of the breaking surf while gazing out at Molokai and Lanai across the channel. There is also a small beach just to the south of the condo, which is accessible by stairway. There is also a deck by the shore, complete with 3 large BBQ’s.
None of the units have A/​C, but at least have fans … which we needed to use, even in January. We kept the windows open at night, and had the sound of the sprinklers wake us on occasion.
When reserving the units, I found the office staff to be friendly and very helpful. Given that we were scrambling to find a place on such short notice, they were very accommodating. Also, when we got to sight, I found Julie to be very helpful. We arrived after hours, and the keys for our unit was stored in a lock box hanging outside the office with our name beside it.
Our largest inconvenience was that we had no accessible Wi-​Fi from our units. In another review, I see that Julie indicates that there is, but if that’s the case, we not able to access ANY Wi-​Fi in either unit, nor were we provided any instructions on how to access Wi-​Fi. However, at least there was a hard-​wired Internet connection in each kitchen, so we could access the Internet from my laptop.
Now for a review about the 2 units …
UNIT 205:
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This is the second unit that we stayed in, and I wish that we had it for the whole week. Although the same size at unit 203, it appeared to be much bigger because of the layout, decorating and colour scheme. It was extremely clean, well furnished and the owner obviously takes pride in their unit. The cooking utensils and pans were high quality. The unit had a very open and airy feel to it, and had enough room for my family with 2 teenage boys to stay in. We had no noise issues, as others have mentioned on the first level.
The ONLY disappointment that we with this unit is that the allocated parking spot is very inconveniently located, and difficult to access if the lot is full. If you stay here, make sure to ask for a different parking spot if one is available.
Would we stay in this unit again? Absolutely!
UNIT 203:
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This unit felt more cramped and less welcoming than unit 205. It seems as if the unit hasn’t been updated in over 15 years. The stairs leading to the main bedroom on the second level are treacherous, with narrow steps. It was very difficult (and dangerous) carrying heavy luggage up and down those stairs. Also, there is very little clearance when coming down. Even my wife, who is 5’4″ bumped her head coming down the stairs. The upstairs bathroom was a bit dingy and looked like a second-​rate motel from the 70’s. The shower head was VERY low, making it uncomfortable for anyone over 5’6″. The kitchen has a bulkhead over the stove, which unfortunately cuts off natural light into the kitchen and makes the entire area seem small. The bulkhead is locked any only for use by the owners.
It was clear that the owners of this unit don’t have the same level of pride as those for unit 205, and have chosen to minimize any additional costs for this unit. It’s hard to even imagine that they’re in the same complex! Would we stay here again? Absolutely NOT!

Stayed in #220. Clean and well appointed. Great view and people were great. BBQ deck delightful watching sunsets and turtles. Can’t wait to get back. Contact owner directly. 650.349.7143

Just got back from 5 night stay at Polynesian shores. Our unit had everything we needed for cooking, we used the bbqs on the deck 4 out of 5 nights. We snorkeled on the beach & swam with the turtles like the other Unilocaler mentioned. Beds were comfortable, great location, will definitely return, great value for the $ we spent.

I was there for 14 days in August, and we had a wonderful time. It is Maui at its best. We had the 2 bedroom unit shown in the brochure online. It was clean. You can snorkle out front, and we swam with the turtles everyday. Amazing. Beaches are better than the pictures show. The BBQ area is really nice. Its relaxing, you can walk, its about 10 minutes from Lahina and 5 mintues from Kanapolli. In the winter you can watch the whales right from the shore. Its only about 50 units, 2 storys high. So its small, and just right. Perfect Maui. I would go back, and plan to…