I traded my timeshare through RCI and I was a little nervous staying at the Pona Kai after reading reviews. I called the resort to see if I could request a top floor unit. They informed me that I had a partial kitchen and the only building I could be in was K. I called RCI and was able to up grade to a full kitchen 2 bedroom unit. RCI asssured me everything would be fine and to call if there was a problem and they would take care of it. When we arrived at the resort they put us in a top floor oceanview unit. It was wonderfull. Unit E302. I'm so glad that we changed buildings and got a top floor. The floor creeked every step we took. The unit was very large, it was clean, everything worked, no bugs. The view was great. We were very pleased. It is an older resort. Be sure to request a top floor unit. The grounds were very nice and the service was excellent. The location is good, central and Kapaa is a great little town. The path along the ocean was really nice. We love Kauai and will be back.. I would stay at the Pona Kai again only booked through RCI, still a little leary about those other reviews.

Im a timeshare owner here at this resort, I've been coming to the Pono Kai Resort for the past 7 years and every year that I come my vacation has always been wonderful. The staff are always friendly and helpful. Front desk personel to see if in need of help can be Bernadette and Ryan who's always willing and able to help with island information and recommendations.

I highly recommend the Pono Kai Resort, its my home away from home.

We stayed at the Pono Kai Resort August 29 - September12, 2008. My parents have a timeshare with BlueGreen. This is not a BlueGreen property. I think it is an RCI. The grounds are beautiful and the staff was very helpful. There are chickens running free, so we heard crowing very early in the am. The first week we stayed in E105, a one bedroom. The furnishings were fairly new and it was a clean unit. The downside was that we were on the bottom floor and it sounded like a stampede above us every night. And they also had A/C only in the living room. The bedroom was stuffy. Then we spent one night in a mini suite, K208. There were ants everywhere. If the ant problem were fixed, then this unit would have been okay. Then we moved to a two bedroom unit, C201. The good thing about this unit was that we were facing the ocean and no units above us. Again, we were plagued with ants. We had to buy ant traps. There was an A/C in the living room and in the master bedroom. No A/C in the second bedroom. Very hot in the daytime, but I opened the windows at night and it was nice. This unit was not maintained very well. The walls were dirty and there was rotting wood in some places. The kitchen was not as well stocked with utensils and pots and pans, but it was livable. The fridge was rusty and smelly and the stove burners didn't fit properly. The floor creaked every step, so I know are the unit below us must have heard everything. This resort could use some refurbishing, but it's tolerable. We didn't stay inside much anyway. The island of Kauai is beautiful. There was so much to do and we stayed on the go most of the two weeks we were there.

My husband and I stayed at Pono Kai Resort from August 30 through September 6. We traded our Maui timeshare (studio) through Interval International and received a one bedroom condo. We had never stayed on Kauai, so we were excited to try something new. I had been watching out for reviews on this site, so I did kind of know what to expect. I was a little nervous about staying here, as some of the reviews were really bad. After staying there, I can see why they did receive bad reviews, although there are some positive aspects to this place.
I had taken the time to fax the resort and request an ocean view. They had responded that they would notate our reservation, but could not guarantee us anything.
We arrived about 1:30 in the afternoon, and our room was ready, which was great. It was a second floor unit, with a beautiful ocean view. This is the main positive aspect of this resort. It is right on the ocean and you feel like you can reach out and touch the water. Just beautiful. We were very pleased with the location.
The unit itself was ok. This is an old place. It was clean, and I didn't notice any mold, that others had complained about. The first night was fine. Very quiet. The second day, that changed. Someone checked in above us and they were up all night, walking around. It sounded like there were a hundred people up there. The floors creak and squeek so much that no matter how someone tries, the people below suffer.
We talked to the front desk the next morning to see what we could do. We literally got no sleep. They said there were no 3rd floor ocean view units available, but they could move us to another 2nd floor unit in a different building with an ocean view that would have someone moving in the next day. We thought we would get at least one night of sleep and hopefully the new people wouldn't be as noisy. They said we would have to pay a $50 ""cleaning fee" to make this change. We decided to try it, as staying where we were would mean no sleep the rest of the week. She told us that the room would be ready at 4:00 pm, but she called about an hour later and said it was ready. I really doubt they needed to clean it, but we were charged $50 anyway.
This room was again, right on the water and had a beautiful view. It was however, not as clean. There was alot of mold in the bathroom by the shower. I don't understand why they wouldn't try and clean it up better, but we really didn't care anymore, just wanted quiet neighbors. The first night was great, as no one was up there. The next day, someone moved in and, although you could hear them, it was not nearly as bad as the other unit. Again, I think this place is so old that structurally, the floors are just bad.
They did have air conditioning in the living room, but the bedroom just had a fan and it was very warm and stuffy in there. The mattress wasn't too bad. There was also a sofa bed in the living room which we slept on a few times, as it was much cooler in there, although it was not very comfortable.
The grounds of the resort were well maintained. The pool is very small and in a fenced in area. The hot tub did not work while we were there. We did use the grill our first night and cooked in two other nights, so that was great.
The "gym" is a small room with two treadmills and two bikes. I did like the "beach walk" that went along the ocean. I walked a few miles every morning, which was great.
The beach in front of the hotel is not swimmable and is littered with so much junk, you really can't walk on it. It is pretty to look at the water, though.
Kauai isn't that big and from where this resort is located, we were able to drive down to Poipu and up to Princeville very easily. Just a beautiful island.
We spent alot of time at the Marriott Kauai Beach Club, as we really loved the pool and the beach right there. As we are Marriott owners, they were very nice about letting us use the pool.
If we ever return to Kauai, this is where we would stay. We really enjoy the amneties such as a large gym, large pool, etc, and should have just traded into there and taken a studio. Live and learn, as they say. We didn't hate this place, just didn't love it.
As far as restaurants, we really enjoyed Hukialu Lanai and the Voyager Grill at the ResortQuest Kauai Beach Hotel. Very nice settings, reasonable prices and good food.
Our favorite was Cafe Portofino by the Marriott. A little expensive, but a beautiful setting and the food was very good. Also, Duke's right next door seemed nice. We had lunch downstairs one day and it was good.