Alii Kai I

Ali’i Kai unit 5102 7−6−13
This vacation rental unit is indeed newly-​remodeled; however it is far from being a comfortable experience. The photos on the website look great but there a number of real issues with this place.
Here are some Problems we encountered:
No beach chairs to be found anywhere; we ended buying two chairs and got the management company to reimburse us.
Internet connection was very problematic. Even after help from the handyman, the connection was lost constantly when the router would jump to a different account in the complex.
Dishwasher broken, necessitating hand-​washing dishes all week. Very awkward with no dish rack available.
No towel bars installed in the bathrooms so we had to hang wet towels on the backs of the dining room chairs to dry!
Two of the three ceiling fans were rotating in the wrong direction so that no air was circulating through the bedroom or living room. Handyman wasn’t able to locate the switch to correct this.
Toilet in the master bath ran constantly after flushing, (handyman unable to fix this as well) so we used the other toilet all week.
Two cheap wall clocks were broken. We changed the batteries but still broken.
No condiments other than small salt & pepper shakers. Anything else you need, you’ll have to buy at the market.
BBQ is quite a distance from the unit, making outdoor cooking impractical.
«Lanai» is just an 10’x 5′ tiled area without shade or privacy. People from the complex walk right past it at all hours & the vibe is not romantic. No table for eating a meal outside even if you would want to.
There are no curtains on any of the windows. With people walking by we had to hang a sheet on the bedroom window to provide some privacy.
The bedroom TV is small (20″) and the sound & picture quality made it unwatchable.
We never found the «beach access» mentioned on the website.
Positives: The bed was very comfortable & we daily visits on the lawn by a flock of Nene & a couple of sweet geckos hung around in the bathrooms.

We spent four nights in Building 1, unit 103. It is privately owned by Kim and Paul who do a wonderful job of maintaining the property. It is decorated and maintained with care. No, this is not beach-​front, but the view of the mountains out the picture windows in BOTH bedrooms is amazing. This condo was significantly less expensive than the resorts around this area and we felt we got much value for what we spent.
WARNING: Like most condos on Kauai, this unit is not air conditioned. We visited in August and were fine but I must warn those who like to sleep really cool may want to avoid August (warmer months) as there was a night or two that was quite muggy even with the breeze coming through the open windows.
Parking is right out the front door — no long walks to parking lots.
The lanai is small and mountain facing but has a small lawn and they provide many extra chairs and tables so you can spread out as you like.
Kitchen is equipped with a full size range, refrigerator, dishwasher, washer, and dryer. All cooking and dining utensils are provided as well. Everything is clean and well maintained.
Living room with a big screen TV was comfortable for our party of four. Be sure to check out the guest book on the coffee table.
Bathrooms were standard tub/​shower combinations but water pressure was good and plenty of hot water. They provide a small starter soap, shampoo, and conditioner. Extra towels can be found in the master bath cabinet.
The condo even comes with three closets full of every possible beach toy imaginable as well as folding chairs, coolers, snorkel equipment, boogie boards, beach towels, and more.
Nice pool on the property and nice neighbors in building 1.
We shopped at Foodland. Expensive but no more than other places on the island. Ate mostly in Hana-​lei. Loved the garlic shrimp at L&L Hawaiian BBQ.
About 45 minutes from Lihue airport.

We stayed in condo #3204 for a week last year (April 2010) and loved every minute of it. We had read reviews of some condos not being upgraded or remodeled in what seemed like years, but luckily we researched, did our homework and found this particular condo to be in wonderful shape. The owners have decorated tastefully, with a Garden Isle flavor, but not cheesy at all. Everything was clean and worked properly and the best part is that the building of this condo is edged right up on a bluff over looking the beautiful Pacific Ocean, so you have ocean views from both bedrooms, and the living room. Since it was just me and the fiancée the place was actually quite spacious… there was another bedroom and bathroom that didn’t even get used. The neighborhood is quiet, peaceful and beautifully landscaped as well. Will definitely try to stay here again when we come back!

When it comes to Alii Kai, just know how all things are not created equal. Quite a bit of research went into our choice of condo here. There is a range of dowdy and outdated — all the way up to unit 4 – 203, which happens to be the best in this complex. Completely gutted and refreshed, it is clean, polished and situated on edge of bluff. Ultimately, the quality and maintenance of the units are responsibility of owners, not site management. This is why choosing the perfect dwelling takes time. Investigate first.
The pool is a great option for those of us who want to know what we’re swimming in. It was heated perfectly as well. Plus, it was much, much deeper than 3 feet, which is hard to find these days.
The development sits on the edge of Princeville, so there are tradeoffs. Do you want panoramic views, or beach access? I like the vista here. Beaches are everywhere. I can find one anytime, as this is… an island.

Jodi at the desk is an amazing resource!

We stayed at unit #4304 for a week. We travelled with my husband, myself, my mother in law and our 3 year old son. The accommodations were perfect for us. Our son and Mother in law shared the 2^nd bedroom and we purchased an inexpensive twin sized air mattress at Walmart and our son comfortably slept on the floor on the air mattress at the at the foot of the Queen sized bed so my MIL and son did not have to share a bed. This is our 3^rd time staying at Alii Kai, but the first time staying in this unit. We have stayed in the unit that is 2 floors down (#4104). We love the Princeville location in general. We really like being near Hanalei and we also spend quite a bit of time on the south side of the island, but with proper planning, the drive is not a big deal to us. The specific location of this unit, high on the bluff with the most amazing ocean view is what keeps us coming back. We love hearing the sound of the waves crashing when we wake up and sitting on the balcony with our morning coffee just looking at the ocean. That is priceless to us and my MIL and son loved that as well. The only negative is that there is no easy access to walk to the beach. The easiest way is through the St. Regis resort, but when we went there, there was no parking so we ended up driving to Anini Beach. It is a short ~10 minute drive. My husband and son did go to the pool one day. The pool is nothing special, but it was there when we didn’t have time to drive to the beach, but the beach is really what you go to Kauai for, so that was fine. The unit itself is very nicely decorated and has been upgraded since the original construction. The bathrooms were nice with a bath tub in the 2^nd bathroom (perfect for bathing a child) extra cabinet space in the master bath, and extra built-​in dresser in the master bedroom (this area is a vanity in unit #4104, which I personally prefer… didn’t need that much extra drawer space for 1 week vacation) and a large walk in closet (large enough to hold all of our suitcases to get them out of the way). The beds were very comfortable and the family room furnishings were also very comfortable for the 4 of us. Unfortunately, the white suede furniture in the family room can use a good deep cleaning. The kitchen was adequate, but advertising it as «a kitchen stocked for the gourmet chef» is a bit of a stretch. There are no mixing bowls, only 1 Pyrex measuring cup, knives are pretty cheap and dull and I pretty much used every pot & pan to cook breakfast every morning. Again, it was good enough for a 1 week vacation with limited cooking (breakfast every day and 2 dinners), but I kind of expected some better quality items when they say it is stocked for a gourmet chef (which I am not!). It does have a blender, toaster oven (VERY slow to toast), rice cooker (never used it), so those are nice extras. My biggest problem with our stay was the maintenance service. I had heard through another review that some of the windows were broken for a stay that was about 3 weeks before our stay. So I contacted the rental company about a week before our arrival and requested for them to check out the windows and have them repaired before our arrival. I didn’t want to deal with repairs during our stay. We were told that the windows were already fixed, but if we have any concerns, call maintenance and they will be fixed right away. I was disappointed upon our arrival to find that they were still broken, it is obvious that they were not fixed (and perhaps broken again) because the handles were still missing. We called maintenance right away to have the windows repaired, we also had some ants on the chair in the master bedroom. Unfortunately, we never heard back from maintenance. I called again about 4 days later because now we were out of hot water, also reminded them about our request to repair the windows (3 of them) and the ants (problem was getting worse). I did tell them that since I am pregnant and we have a toddler, I didn’t want any toxic or smelly spray in the master bedroom, but if they have traps, they can lay those down. Fortunately they did raise the hot water (didn’t have a problem for the rest of the trip), but nothing was done about the windows or the ants. The nice comfy chair in the master bedroom was obviously unusable for the week, not to mention, sleeping with ants right next to you. They said that if the windows were not repaired that means that they needed to go to Home Depot to get a part; however, they never called us for the remainder of our stay to come and finish the repair. Overall, we had a wonderful vacation and we love the unit, but we are a bit frustrated about the level of service. We would probably stay here again, but I would hope that their service would improve by then.