The latest, newest, and hottest Maui Luxury Resort on the West Side.
Honua Kai—Maui’s premiere resort living.
I just recently closed on a studio unit at the Honua Kai, Hokulani Tower, unit 523 (MLS# 341243). The first night my wife and I stayed in it, we woke up to whales breaching right from our bed.
This beautiful unit not only has amazing ocean views, but is equipped with brand new, state of the art appliances and furniture including a big flat screen at the foot of the bed.
The views are amazing! I watched three different pods of whales playing while sitting on my lanai. The whales and a fresh cup of coffee; that’s a perfect way to start the morning. Read entire post →
Honua Kai Resort is a beautiful place to stay because it is one of the newest condos on Maui, luxuriously appointed, and on a beautiful beach.
Even though this is a new complex it is not immune from our economic troubles and there are some distressed properties here with more to follow. Its only minor disadvantage is that it is over a mile walk from the main Kaanapali Beach hotel-condo resort area.
Special Values
- (MLS# 336670) Ocean views | furnished | 2 bed, 2 bath | Great location within complex – $1,729,000
- (MLS# 340246) Mountain views | 2 bed, 2 bath | Listed below developer price – $799,000
About
Honua Kai has two 10-story buildings with a total of 628 condo units, built in 2009. This is a modern luxury condominium with Read entire post →
The decision to own or rent a Puako vacation home will depend on the story you create as you visit the Big Island year after year.
Would you like to be the next Puako vacation rental homeowner? Hale Hali’a Aloha, ($5,395,000)
To illustrate this, let me tell you the story of Hale Hali’a Aloha… Read entire post →
The Makena Beach and Golf Resort will be auctioned off sometime this spring, tentatively in April.
Makena Beach Golf Resort to be auctioned off in April-Prime Oceanfront Maui Real Estate
The 1,800 acre resort including a 310 room hotel, golf and tennis facilities was purchased by the partnership of Maui developer Everett Dowling and Morgan Stanley for $575 million in 2007. The partnership borrowed more than $419 million to facilitate the purchase. It was purchased from the troubled Seibu Group of Japan. Seibu had purchased the property from Ulupalakua Ranch in the 1970s and proceeded to develop the then Maui Prince Hotel and its amenities. Read entire post →
Puako Beach real estate has recently added two exciting properties to the current offerings – one on each side of the street, mauka, and makai (toward the mountain and toward the ocean, respectively).
No…. Puako has not had an aquatic event such that this property is actually it’s own island within the community, but the King house at #120 Puako Beach Drive has been released to market asking $4.65M. Recently “spiffed” up with gorgeous redone hardwood floors (hardwood everywhere inside, spectacular) this oceanfront home has been a successful vacation rental in the past. Read entire post →
Keauhou Canoe Club
Outrigger canoe paddling has been a traditional sport of the Hawaiian culture for hundreds of years. Now recognized worldwide, there are clubs from Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, even Europe! Teams enjoy the ride together, everyone having a part, utilizing their strength to move a canoe. This strong spirited sport knows no age – young and old all have a part. Whether racing competitively or cruising at leisure, outrigger canoe paddling is a guaranteed awesome experience.
Watching the six man crew move a 500lb outrigger canoe with absolute finesse gliding over the pacific ocean, everyone hitting the water with their paddles at the same time, perfectly in sync, fading into the distance, that’s the sight from Keauhou Bay, as the canoe club practices in the early morning. Wow, what great exercise – outdoors, on the water, fresh air and spinner dolphins jumping! Who needs a gym with an active outdoor lifestyle like that?
MLS#226225, so close to the water...
Just a short distance from the waters edge at Keauhou Bay is peaceful living for under $600,000! (Kailua-Kona real estate offers some amazing values these days.) With a comfortable floor plan of two bedrooms and a loft, vaulted ceilings and large lanai with partial bay views for entertaining, this home is only a stone’s throw away from jumping right into the nearest outrigger canoe. You’ll be out on the water before you know it, enjoying the Big Island lifestyle, in a traditional Hawaiian way.
Every Morning is magic in Kona for me! I can’t imagine life elsewhere. Grabbing a mug of hot kona coffee is great! My day starts, and this steamy mug of Kona’s best doesn’t compare to grabbing my stand up paddle board as the morning light is halfway dawning. No morning is the same as the last.
MLS#217717, asking $1,495,000
My good friends Robin and Kim have an oceanfront home at Kahaluu and its off to my right as I paddle out into the bay. Vacation renters are there…I see a light in the kitchen. No one else seems to be up this early. It’s pristine and I never can figure out how in the half light of dawn the reef underwater beneath my board has more light than the atmosphere around me. The fish are all visible – yellow tang, angle fish and puffer fish too. The manta ray is over there… I see her wing tips and mosey over for a better look. The black and white pattern on her back is a mind blower – I am cautious when my eyes see that long tail behind her! The finishing touch is the whale 800 yards off! What a show! I am pinching my self… is this for real?? And it was this morning! Unlike any other, every morning in Kona is magical.
MLS#199756, asking $710,000
I spend a hour or two nearly every morning like this and then head to work selling Kailua-Kona real estate. The oceanfront home owners see my regular routine – often they’re in the water with me! I have the joy of marketing and selling the most incredible oceanfront and nearly oceanfront properties in Kona. Through the years I’ve been blessed to know many owners and understand the idiosyncrasies of these very special properties. And it is what I love to do more than anything.
I see Gloria jogging by and mention a showing today at her Vintage Cottage next to Magic Sands beach. That listing is so close to my house, I’ll probably ride my beach cruiser down for the showing. Lucky I live Hawai’i!
Pool area Kauai Beach Resort in Wailua
Looks like more change is afoot at one of Kauai’s east side luxury resorts and condo-tel properties, the Hilton Kauai Beach Resort. Aqua Hotels and Resorts took over management of the property a couple of months ago and was negotiating with the Hilton franchise for the continuation of using the Hilton moniker. According to the reports of several owners at the resort, Hilton had a list of improvements they were requesting including redoing the bathrooms in each unit. The upgrades would have created additional costs for the owners. After a couple months of conversation, word came out this week that effective Jan. 1, the hotel would no longer be a Hilton.
The Kaua‘i Beach Resort will operate with a new, Hawai‘i-based identity beginning on Jan.1, 2010 The hotel, which completed a full renovation in 2006, will continue to offer its full dining and entertainment amenities. This change will allow the Kaua‘i Beach Resort to establish a more local and unique image, promoting its 350 deluxe hotel guestrooms, four pools/spas and waterslide and Kauai’s longest strolling stretch of white sand beach.
The stability of the Kaua‘i Beach Resort was made possible in July when the commercial real estate finance company iStar Financial acquired the commercial and many hotel units at the Resort through foreclosure and appointed the highly regarded Aqua Hotels & Resorts to manage the property under the direction of iStar’s local company, SFI Kaua‘i Owner LLC. iStar Financial currently owns 145 hotel units and 16 commercial units at the Kauai Beach Resort as well including the lounge, restaurants and ballrooms. Occupancy for the resort has been around 65% this fall which is extremely good for the current tourism climate. It’s hard to tell whether iStar actually provided the loans for the original developer so iStar could wind up in the hotel business, or it’s more profitable for iStar to hold onto the rooms and rent them rather than selling into a distressed market.
While the loss of the Hilton brand may possibly effect revenues (like travelers who come to Kauai on their Hilton points) for the owners, Aqua is an excellent brand, with a commitment to make this resort one of the finest in the islands. Aqua manages a number of hotels on Oahu and their reputation is stellar. From what i hear, the condotel owners have been impressed and pleased with changes to the resort in Aqua’s short time of managing the property.
Most of the units currently available for purchase at the resort are Kauai short sales or Kauai REO (bank-owned) units. At the sub $100,000 pricing, these units are some of the most affordable oceanfront units available on the entire island of Kauai and in the state of Hawaii.
You can download a list of the current units for sale along with a property map of the Hilton if you’d like to learn more about this project.
In our 3rd part in a series of Where to Find Oceanfront Condos on Oahu, we leave Waikiki and head clockwise all the way to Ko Olina before we run into more oceanfront condos. A number of harbors take up a good portion of prime real estate along the way… Ko Olina is a resort along Oahu’s leeward or west shore. The climate is very similar to the resorts on the western shores of outer islands like Maui’s Kaanapali and the Kona side of the Big Island. It is also a relatively new resort and kind of reminds me of what Kaanapali was like when I was a kid there in the early ’80’s… There’s a number of newer construction condo projects there, however only 2 oceanfront complexes: Kai Lani (built by Armstrong builders in 2003) and The Beach Villas at Ko Olina (Recently built by Centex). Although both on the ocean, they are quite different. Kai Lani is more of a low rise, townhome style & The Beach Villas are in a high rise on one of the man made lagoons. Some of the other properties that front the ocean in Ko Olina are the Ihilani by JW Marriott, a timeshare project by Marriott and Hawaii’s soon to be built Disney themed hotel.
Ko Olina real estate has been hit harder than other areas of Oahu because the majority of the people that bought were speculators and second home owners. There are a number of short sales & foreclosures on the market there. This in my opinion is a good time to buy within the next year. In addition to the Disney hotel going in, there are now going to be retail shops and a convenience store so you won’t have to drive all the way to Kapolei to pick up some necessities. Once these projects are built, there won’t be a whole lot left there, especially when it comes to oceanfront!
Here’s a gallery I put together of Ko Olina oceanfront condos. Enjoy :)
Waikiki Shore Condo
Following up on a series of Where to Find Oceanfront Condos on Oahu, we work our way clockwise on Oahu from Diamond Head to Waikiki. Believe it or not, there is only 1 true oceanfront condo building in Waikiki, which is the Waikiki Shore. When you think about it, the reason why is all the prime real estate in Waikiki is taken up by the hotels. Waikiki Shore is adjacent to the newly renovated Outrigger Reef and fronts a beautiful white sandy beach. One of the great things about the building is the maintenance fees are relatively low because the commercial spaces on the bottom floors offset some of the operating costs of the association. In addition, the 2 most recent sales sold at $1,062 and $1,598/square foot and active listings average $1,580/square foot. This is a great price for prime oceanfront property, given the new Trump Waikiki isn’t even on the ocean & is selling for $2,000/square foot… If you’re looking for an oceanfront condo in Waikiki within walking distance of great shops, restaurants and the only 5 star hotel on Oahu, this is it! Here’s a gallery I’ve put together of available listings. Enjoy!
