I love this resort and have been going there for 36 years. The location and beauty of the grounds (beautiful plants and koi ponds) keeps drawing me back. The grocery store, restaurants, coffee cafe, food trucks, and great jazz bar across the street are all in walking distance . This condo has easy access to many beaches surrounding it, and is fully equipped with everything you would need to have a fun day at the beach and on the ocean. They also supply the beach towels. Further, the condo has a fully equipped kitchen with everything you need to cook and the BBQ by the pool is great to grill. Enjoyed staying in this condo and would rent again.
Very easy. Property owner was easy to communicate with.
Comfortable, and useful. close to beach and on the beautiful water. resort had fun put put course and pool and close to handy grocery.
Ron/Dorothy S.
Mar 26, 2022
The Papakea resort was all I expected with the exception of no Pool Umbrellas. As a 12 time skin cancer person, I always do my best to stay out of the sun. There is no shade at the pool or in the grass area by the ocean……..disappointing
The room itself, J-104 needs updating. We ran out of toilet paper and paper towels and had to buy our own. Papakea said they would not supply. That is a first that we needed to supply everyday paper products. The unit was well stacked with beach toys which was appreciated. Many floor tiles were loose and made noise as you walked on them. Could use more lighting in the main area….1.5 lamps are not enough. The resort was a quality facility and the room was adequate making our stay memorable but not great.
The entire wedding party and guest list stayed on this property and found it wonderful for meeting at the pools or lanais or just visiting each other's condos. We will definitely be back and will defineitely stay here.
We love staying at Papakea, this is our seventh time staying here. We stayed in this same unit on a previous visit and again were very happy with our stay. The unit was clean and well equipped for cooking. It’s always a bonus that there is beach equipment available to use.
We loved the condo and the grounds.We’ve stayed at the Westin but much preferred our stay at the Papakea. The condo turned out to be much nicer than we expected. My boys especially liked the bbq’s around the pool. Will definitely recommend this place to our friends.
The condo was a great size for our two teenagers and my husband and I. The layout feels a lot bigger than the pictures with the second bedroom on the other side of the condo. Since this was on the 1st floor we were also able to enjoy the lanai which made it feel even larger. The resort is really well maintained and has a lot of activities right onsite like a putting green and shuffle board. There is a food truck spot about a block away with 5 different food trucks at night. The wait is crazy, so be ready to hang out while they make your food. Sloppy Cakes is a great breakfast place across the street where you can make your own pancakes, great for kids and always packed. A couple of things to consider when booking is the condo isn’t updated, so if you need fancy this isn’t for you, BUT it’s well priced, clean, well located, and the owner was great to work with. I would definitely stay again and highly recommend.
Papakea was a great resort and we loved the location, however as many of the other reviews state, Jan's condo could use some TLC.
Pros:
Jan is a friendly, communicative host and offers a condo with all the necessities for a great vacation.
The kitchenette and 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms were great for our family of 4.
The master bed was very comfortable and the condo was clean and ready for us when we arrived.
Check-in at Papakea is a smooth and easy process.
We appreciated the ample free parking- especially when all the nearby resorts charge a daily fee as well as the free, in-unit washer/dryer.
The grounds are lovely and the pool, barbecue grills, and outdoor dining pagodas are great.
While there is no direct beach access, you can walk a short distance and visit the tide pools in the morning or hop in the ocean for a swim (you should drive elsewhere if you plan to lay out on the beach all day.)
The condo has all you need for a day at the beach- chairs, towels, umbrella, boogie and skim boards, a cooler (with a broken lid, but it still is functional) and even snorkel gear.
I loved being on the ground floor so that our kids could run out and play and come and go as they pleased.
Cons:
The condo definitely could use some updating, especially the kitchen where the refrigerator and dishwasher are literally being held together with tape (although they still work). Our relatives were staying in an updated unit a few doors down from us, and it was amazing, so if Jan refreshed her condo it would really be a special place.
The front bedroom (on the parking lot side of the condo) is super noisy and it was hard for my kids to sleep.
The condo was really hot and it that also made it hard to sleep. There is a small, noisy window AC unit in the living room, but it didn't really cool down the condo enough and it definitely didn't reach the bedrooms. Thankfully there were some standing fans provided, but we had to switch them all out with other fans because they were so loud. If you are someone that likes to sleep in a cool, quiet bedroom, then I definitely wouldn't recommend staying here.
The online pictures need to be updated- some of the furniture and appliances are different than what is posted.
Overall we really enjoyed our stay and appreciated all of the ammenities and supplies that Jan provides in her condo, however for the price we paid, I would probably look for a different unit at Papakea next time. Mahalo!
Great experience.. Location is steps to beach and pool.. Plenty of dining options, food trucks, restaurants and a reasonably priced supermarket (You can get by a week buying groceries at this store for a good price) all in all a great location.. The condo is a bit dated but location and position of condo make up for it.. Definately recommend it..
