I stayed at the Hawaiian Princess 14-24 October 2005. I was there alone for 5 nights, then my husband came for the last 5 nights. I booked a "premium" unit (#1308), corner unit, up high. Now, this unit may have been "premium" as compared to others in the building, but my description would be more like "standard". The building is old, but recently remodeled and very well cared for. The lobby area and pool are new and nice, but by no means deluxe. The unit I stayed in had not recently been remodeled and appeared to have been furnished from a consignment shop because the furnishings were old, dirty and out-of-style. The unit was moderatly clean, but had bugs in the kitchen. The air conditioner was also old and could not keep the unit cool during the day, although it was pleasant at night. There is NO WAY you can stay in this building and not need any A/C - the sun hit the lanai doors about 3pm and the temp rapidly rose, not cooling down until after sunset. The mattress was old and saggy and the sheets polyester. The towels were plentiful, but small, old and raggy, especially the "beach towels". The kitchen was well equipped with hand-me-down dishes, pans and plastic glasses. The master bath had been recently re-done (new shower, sink and tile) and was very nice, but the 2nd (1/2) bath had mylar wallpaper and a broken toilet. The condo was over-run with cheap, ugly beach-motif artwork and lots of kids' art. There was so much "decorative" junk sitting around, I had to put a lot of it in closets and drawers just so I could have some counter-space. The dining room table was broken and the fabric on the chairs dirty. There was a very nice, new TV in the living room with VCR and DVD player, but the one in the bedroom was about a 8" diagonal screen about 10 feet from the pillows on the bed and didn't work very well at all, even though there is cable.

The Princess is run by security guards 24 hours a day. They are very strict, and if you break any of the 1000 posted rules, you will definitely be called on it. I felt like a child in school! My first morning there, I woke up very early and went out to the pool. After settling in with my book, I was approached by a security guard and told to leave because the pool is not open until 9:00am, and the residents don't like the noise early. Hello, I was alone and it was 8:50am!!! Every day there was a group of homeowners at the pool, they would tell the guests (me) where they could sit and which chairs were "saved" for the homeowners (all the new, comfortable ones!) The beach is very nice, but in a small cove, so don't come thinking you are going to take long walks on the beach! There were Hawaiian local out on the beach, especially on the weekends. Otherwise, there were never more than a dozen people on the entire stretch of beach the rest of the week.

This area is probably the poorest part of Hawaii. There is VERY high security at the condo and signs everywhere telling you not to take valuables out on the beach. For security purposes, I would worry about renting a 1st floor unit because they have direct access to the beach from their lanais. I never could decide if this was a good thing or a bad thing. Also, you should be prepared for many homeless people around, especially at nearby state park beaches. They allow these homeless people to camp at the beaches, and the homeless have totally taken over the state beach parks. They have their tents set up at all the picnic tables and they have completely trashed the bathrooms. It is very depressing to see a beautiful beach completely ruined. This makes the Princess's beach look even better!

There are absolutely NO RESTAURANTS to eat lunch or dinner, except fast-food, without driving 25 minutes. I kid you not. The ones that are there are McDonalds (2), Pizza Hut (2), KFC, Subway and a couple more in that category. There are also NO BARS and NO NIGHTLIFE (without the 25 minute drive). I did find an EXCELLENT sushi place, Sun Sushi, which had a huge menu and was very reasonable, but you have to take it "to go". Otherwise you must drive to Ko-Olina or the town where Safeway is. There are 2 or 3 grocery stores in the area, but I recommend hitting Safeway on your way to the Princess from the airport, as it is 25-30 minutes away. The other grocery stores were OK, but mostly like a convenience store. Liquor stores are also few and far between. Again, hit Safeway on the way in, and don't expect to find any fine French wine or Champagne.

Anyway, this review my sound somewhat critical of the Princess and the Makaha area; but, if you can get past these problems, and you are able to entertain yourself, you are in for a real treat. The rates at the Princess are less than half of what you would expect to pay for a hotel...and you have a whole condo with a lovely lanai and spectacular view! It is well worth the money, especially now that you know what to expect. Bring lots of books, DVD's, etc, and get a corner unit if possible. I know a lot of the reviews say it's a great place for kids, but my 15 year-old would have been bored to tears and the condo would not be comfortable with more than 2 people anyway. So, leave the kids at home (unless you have an infant, or maybe a toddler...then you won't need any more entertainment!)

Have a wonderful trip to Hawaii, ALOHA!