When we read the reviews on the Banyan Resort, we didn't know what to expect and I almost cancelled. However, I am one of those who says, "que sera, sera." So off we went to Kauai.

The front desk did not have good reviews either, specially about Ginger. We found Ginger to be very accommodating and friendly, so with the other staff. You have to learn to treat people nicely.

We are budget travellers and have travelled to many countries. We have stayed at B&B's, hotels and condos. We consider the Banyan Resort in the upper half compared to other places we've stayed. It is clean and has everything you need in a condo. The grounds are well kept. It is centrally located on the island and very close to the popular shopping centers. While on vacation, we need a safe place to sleep, take a shower and rest. We mostly cook, for healthy food and to save money. All that can be done in the condo. The lizards are NOT pests because they eat pests.

Also available at the Banyan resort are: towels, mats, chairs, snorkels and fins, boogie boards, and some coolers. All you need to do is sign them out.

If you have unlimited money to spend and love to be pampered, don't stay in these condos.

We went on the helicoper ride, ATV, boat ride, and kayak tours. We did a lot of snorkeling on our own (no tours). We had a lot of fun. We also did the Luau (supposedly the best on the isalnd). We went to the one at the Polynesian Cultural Center in Oahu years ago, so the Luau in Kauai was a bit disappointing.

We would stay at the Banyan Resort again.

My family, including a 1, 5, and 7-year old, and a brother and sister-in-law recently shared a condo here.

The first condo we were offered was outrageous: decor from the 70s (and not in a groovy way), an air conditioning unit in the living room so loud it sounded like an airplane taking off, and if it was on, you couldn't hear the tv at its loudest; one of the bed mattresses was broken and caved in on one side, no a/c in either bedroom and the bedroom ceiling fans had two settings: "off" and "barely moving." Wish I'd gotten the owner's name or room # so I could include it, but we didn't stay long enough for that. Apparently, our travel agent said we wanted an ocean-view room (we saw a faint strip of blue between warehouses). Don't request ocean view here.

At our request, the staff moved us to another 2-bed, 2-bath condo (b-14) which was far more updated (think, early 1990s - laminate countertop, vinyl flooring, berber carpet, and hallelujah, newer a/c units in living room and both bedrooms). Grossly mismatched furniture was serviceable.

The owner inhabitants above us were very nice, but LOUD, especially from 5:30 a.m. on, which I suppose is when they get up to go to work, get ready for school, etc.

This is an older but fairly clean place. The housekeeping staff was very nice and polite. It works great if it's just a home base between trips to the beach, hiking, etc., My sister stayed there several times and apparently, this is where locals put their visiting relatives up for vacations, so that should tell you it's affordable, but don't expect "resort" or even "timeshare" conditions.

Just a few asides: my credit card key had to be reprogrammed 3 times during our 10-day stay, which was inconvenient, especially when it wasn't discovered until office hours were over. Also, cell-phone reception can be lousy here, depending on your carrier, and don't use the room phone - even local calls will cost $1.50 (I think) per call. Finally, on our last day I noticed a spot on the carpet I assumed my kids had made, so I cleaned it very carefully. Shouldn't have; the rest of the carpet was black in comparison afterwards. I'm not usually a germ freak, but that was pretty bad.

Moral of the story: families with kids on budget will probably benefit from these older units since you don't really worry about damaging anything, and the location is central with pleasant extras (a/c is not standard on the island). But if you can swing the extra $60-100/night, stay somewhere else.

Prior to my stay at Banyan Harbor Resort I had stayed at three other hotels in Hawaii, and this one is by far the worst. The room's decor reminded me of an early 1990 beach house. The air conditioning units in every room was on timers, which would kick off in the middle of the night. To top it all off the room was a breeding ground for lizzards. The first one was spotted in the down stairs bathroom. The first sighting occured after the front desk had closed, so I was forced to wait untill morning to report the zoo breeding in my room. The next morning a much larger lizzard was found crawling up the stove. I promptly went to the front desk to report my findings. The response of the clerk was, "we don't know how they get in, but they do eat all of the bugs." I went on my way to escape from the zoo to do sight seeing. I returned back that evening to discover lizzards outside of my door. When I approached they ran underneath of the door into my room. By this point my family was disgusted with the property, and decided it was in out best interest to seek other accomadations. The lizzard won! I highly reccomend the Hilton Kauai Beach Resort, it is much better than this resort.

My husband and I stayed in a 2 bedroom unit that we shared with our friends. The area was nice, swimming pool ok but not large. The Barbeque grills were new so that was a plus. I was surprised to see a tennis court.

Ok now for the downside...our room wasn't all that. The lighting was very dim throughout the entire unit except for the room nearest the balcony. I thought something was going to crawl out of nowhere. Overall the furniture was old and mismatched. It's like who ever owned the unit took what ever hotel furniture he/she could find and put it in there. The bed nearest the hill/backside was dark bathtub was old (someone please change the shower head). A/C was filthy my husband had to wash out the filter plus it was loud. The bed was old I actually brought my own blanket...thank goodness...I usually do that when going to old hotels. I don't though for nice fancy hotels I was bummed we didn't book a room on our own at the Marriot. As for our friends room they didn't have A/C in there room so they told us how hot it was.

I do however have good news the room we stayed in was an older unit that was not renovated. Why? I don't know. The other units that our other friends stayed in were renovated and very clean. I was shocked. So most important if you do decide on staying there ask for a newly renovated unit. I heard that each unit is owned by different owners.

Now if I did have a nice renovated room then I would rate this place as Average. I think it be a nice for families but not a couple on their honeymoon.