Condos in Kauai and Big Island
 

Hi all, looking for recommendations for condos in Kauai and on the Big Island. There are 8 of us, 6 adults, 2 kids, either looking for 3 bedroom or 2 1-bedrooms.

Thanks in advance
KD

We all must do our homework. The posters of Fodors are not free travel agents, (although a few slip in). I suggest starting with vrbo.com home away.com or google island rentals and agencies. Start pouring thru the thousands of options.

What's your budget for accomodations? Also, any preferred areas of the two islands? What time of year are you going?

Try Sea Village on the Big Island, below Kona. Units are usually VRBO. We have stayed there twice and loved it.

What time of year for Kauai?

Thank you - it's November-December and I'm thinking $150-350 a night (but I'd rather get a recommendation and then decide on cost) -preferably with a pool. In Kauai will be near Poipu beach and Big Island Kona. Thanks again for Sea Village recommendation. Not expecting anyone to be a travel agent for me - just looking for some good experiences.

KD

We like waikoloa beach resort north of kona. Several condo complexes with varIous prices, nice beach at a-bay, amenities and restaurants at Kings and Queens shops

$150-$350 a night to accommodate 8 people?

It's an estimate... just threw it out there. Budget is not really a problem, like I said I would see cost and then decide. If you had a good experience somewhere, would you mind sharing? That's all I am asking. And since I have two recommendations, I appreciate it.

(Besides I figured that was per room)

Poipu Kapili is nice but their two bedrooms mostly start at $375 although I did see a few at $345, or Nihi Kai. There is also Koloa Landing some units near the construction area have pretty good deals right now. This is for Poipu.

KD, if you're limited to Kona I'd second the rec for Sea Village, or another condo toward Keauhou. It's a quieter area. But if you want something closer to downtown Kailua I'd recommend the Kona Bali Kai, next to the Royal Kona Resort. If you don't mind hearing their luau a few times a week (some love it and some don't), the condos themselves are very nice and spacious, and sit virtually on the ocean.

It's tough to give unqualified condo recs, since they're privately owned and some are furnished/maintained much better than others in a complex. It's best to do the homework and read the reviews for the specific unit(s) you're planning to stay in.

Also, with two kids, are you sure access to white sand beaches is not a priority? There are very few in Kona and most of these disappear in fall/winter months. There is one fronting the King Kam, but due to location it's anything but peaceful.

Condo rental rates aren't drastically different between Kona and Waikoloa, and with a $350/room limit I'd steer you toward the latter of those. You'll save 1.5 hours of driving every time you want to go to a decent beach, and the resort restaurant along the Kohala Coast are frankly better than anything in Kailua-Kona. After 30+ years the best steak we've had in the town was at Outback Restaurant.

No shortage of condo options in Waikoloa, for $350 you might get into Kolea. They're gorgeous condos but ask about construction noise before renting (last time we were there it was pretty awful between the complex and the Hilton Waikoloa resort).

You'd want to stay south on Kauai then. We've liked Poipu Kapili -- on seawall but good beach very close by. Kiahuna Plantation is one of the few with a nice beach on property.

Best to stay in the Kohala Coast area of Big Island if you want sunny, vog-free beaches -- although there are few properties ON beaches. We've liked several properties at Waikoloa -- not to be confused with drab Waikloa Village up the hill. Many people split a 10-night to 2-week stay on Big Island between Kohala area and VNP.

You will want A/C. Some places don't offer it because electricity is about four times as much in Hawaii as it is on the mainland.

You'll need a rental car everywhere outside of Honolulu.

On Big Island, we've stayed at Hali'i Kai twice. It's in the Waikoloa Beach Resort complex and it has large townhouse-style units. We've always rented via VRBO and manage to get 2 or 3 bedrooms under 200 per night (although we did not have ocean views from our units so it's a bit less expensive). Gorgeous pool area overlooking the ocean and A-Bay is a beautiful beach that is about a 2 minute drive away in the same area. A larger beach is the Hapuna Beach Park about 15 mins away.

On Kauai we stayed in Poipu too, and there are a lot of condos there. We stayed in a stand-alone house called Hale Ko which has 2 bedrooms and a pullout couch. It was part of the Poipu Kai grounds. Itwas very nice, but there are lots of options in the immediate area. The Point at Poipu looks really nice, as does the Koloa Landing, although I hear some parts are under construction.

We always rent through VRBO, AirBnB or Homeaway.

Have a great trip!