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Pono Kai Questions

slip

slip

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2011
Messages
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Location
U'alapue/Kaunakakai, Hawaii
Resorts Owned
Pono Kai, 16 wks; Maui Schooner, 1 EOY Wk; 1 week Ke Nani Kai; WaveCrest Condo, Molokai, HI
I've seen links for the mini suite and the 2 bedroom units but I haven't seen anything for the one bedrooms. I'm thinking of making Pono Kai my first timeshare purchase.
Is there an advantage to having a deeded oceanfront compared to the other buildings? How would the freedom choice work if I went with every other year? Would it change from even to odd years or does that plan only apply to annual ownership?:shrug:

Thanks
Jeff
 
slip said:
I've seen links for the mini suite and the 2 bedroom units but I haven't seen anything for the one bedrooms. I'm thinking of making Pono Kai my first timeshare purchase.
Is there an advantage to having a deeded oceanfront compared to the other buildings? How would the freedom choice work if I went with every other year? Would it change from even to odd years or does that plan only apply to annual ownership?:shrug:

Thanks
Jeff
Click to expand...

It doesn't really matter what unit you are deeded because units float. It does matter what unit size you own. No matter what you own, you can upgrade for a fee. But, the fee is pretty high. If you know you want a 2br every year, it's best to own a 2br rather than upgrading a 1br unit every year.
 
The 1 bedroom would be fine for me and my wife but the one thing we go to Hawaii for is the ocean view and these ocean front units look great. I've seen 2 bedroom units in the F building EOY have MF's of about 550 a year and 1 bedroom annuals in the B building with MF's at 675 a year.
I know they float but I thought being deeded ocean front meant something. I even thought the ocean fronts would have higher MF's
I'm thinking of a 1 bedroom EOY but I do like the idea of the freedom program.
Decisions,decisions.

Thanks
Jeff
 
Regarding the mini-suites, they're a smaller version of a 1 br, but they do not have a full kitchen. Their MF's are also a couple of hundred less than the 1br, and they're all in the K building, at the front of the resort. Hope that helps.

Marty
 
Thank You for your response. I have ruled out the mini suite and want a 1 bedroom but I have never seen the layout anywhere.

Thanks Again
Jeff
 
slip said:
The 1 bedroom would be fine for me and my wife but the one thing we go to Hawaii for is the ocean view and these ocean front units look great. I've seen 2 bedroom units in the F building EOY have MF's of about 550 a year and 1 bedroom annuals in the B building with MF's at 675 a year.
I know they float but I thought being deeded ocean front meant something. I even thought the ocean fronts would have higher MF's
I'm thinking of a 1 bedroom EOY but I do like the idea of the freedom program.
Decisions,decisions.

Thanks
Jeff
Click to expand...

I am not deeded oceanfront and I get oceanfront all the time. Unit type, not view class is important.

Also, you need to be careful what management group you buy from. Pacific Fantasy is different than Pono Kai.
 
Pono Kai would be better? I know they have more units. That would help me get ocean front more often?

Thanks Again
Jeff
 
Pacific Fantasy I think is a Friday to Friday reservations and Pono Kai is Wedesday to Wednesday and Saturday to Saturday. I own a 2 Bedroom in Palm Springs that can even exchange (pseresorts.com and split week too) with no fee with Pono Kai or Pacific Fantasy and I had no problems getting Pono Kai 1 bedroom 60 days out, School Vacation weeks with Oceanview...
 
First click on www.ponokai.com and read all the information about the resort. There is a resort layout in the location/maps area.

We purchased a deeded 1 bedroom oceanfront and have always received reservations in buildings A - D though we usually vacation in November. We have also upgraded to a 2 bedroom when we took our daughter and granddaughter and only paid for the difference in maintenance fees. Sales people have tried to get owners to convert their deeds to points but didn't seem to have much luck on our last trip. Traders usually end up in the K building at the back of the resort with the chickens and roosters and go away with an unfavorable opinion of the resort.

Pono Kai is a wonderful family resort that doesn't have the high maintenance fees or special assessments. Maintenance fees are under $700 for a 1 bedroom and the units are managed by BlueGreen. Nice timeshares, sandy beach, sandy ocean bottom, walking distance to town and groceries.
 
Thanks for all the posts. I checked the website and printed out the resort layout. I found on another thread the room layout for the 2 bedrooms and the mini suites but not the one bedrooms.
If I could find a one bedroom EOY, I probably would have bought it by now. I'm still thinking the every year would be alright because of the freedom program. I could see us going 2 weeks at a time every other year.
It looks like there is pretty good trade value with Pono Kai. We do like to go to Caribbean islands also. Has anyone had any problems with trades? Do you go through Bluegreen for that or RCI?

I've also seen some points plans for sale for Pono Kai 44,000 RCI points a year for $670 MF's. Is this a good option or not. I'm not an RCI member so it sounds like I have to add another $124 a year for that.

Thanks Again for all the responses, it really helps alot.
I think Pono Kai will be my first timeshare.

Jeff
 
Last edited:
Pono Kai Points

Pono Kai points is not a good option. Points to maintenance fee is not at a very good ratio. Most people are looking for $.01/point or less for RCI points.
An option is if you can buy a Pono Kai points week cheap because of lack of interest due to bad maintenance fee to points ratio, buy week and then cancel RCI points agreement and it will revert to week usage.
If you do this make sure you know what you are buying. Most resellers do not have a clue what they are selling.
I have bought a week at Pono Kai advertised as a 2 bedroom lockout, They do not have lockouts.
I have bought a 2 week contract advertised as fixed weeks. They were floating.
I bought a Pacific Fantasy week which was actually a Pono Kai Interval Owners Association week.
I did the research to know what I was buying but the seller did not have a clue.
 
Thanks for the info. Where did you look to get the info about what was for sale.

Jeff
 
I own a K unit, long story on that one, but it was cheap. When I make my reservation I request an upgrade to a 1 bedroom ocean front, which is $40 per day, $280 per week. That makes my total for the year $757 or $108 per night, plus the HI taxes. Not bad for room that is about 150 feet from the water.

A few years ago Bluegreen bought a bunch of units for their vacation club and paid the MF on units that hadn't been paying. In addition to other changes, they upgraded the K unit, still limited kitches, but the interiors are now remodeled.
 
Thanks Gary. I haven't heard many positive things about the K building.
But I see what your doing makes sense.

Jeff
 
The PK is our favorite Kauai resort

There is no advantage of owning an ocean front unit as they all float/float. Any true 1 bedroom ( Imperial suite) can be used in any 1 bedroom or 1 bedroom with loft in the resort any week of the year.

Here is a link to a 1 bedroom floor plan. scroll to the 3rd page,

https://bluegreenowner.com/resorts/... RESORT&ResDetailPopupWeather=LIH&ResortID=16
Email me and I can send you a pdf of the one bedroom suites.

fwiw,

Greg
 
Thanks Greg, that's just what I was looking for. I did end up with a one bedroom annual. If it isn't enough time I can always buy another week.:D

Thanks Again
Jeff
 
Pono Kai bonus time

Bonus time is another great perk for the owners of the Pono Kai. We own a 1 bedroom unit and have gotten extra days or weeks to add on to our stay or rented nights or weeks for our family and friends. The cost is $65 per night for a 1 bedroom and $75 per night for a 2 bedroom. A 2 night minimum is required for bonus time. Enjoy your new timeshare week, Nina
 
I didn't know about the bonus time. Do you have to take a full week so check-in/out is still Sat/Sat or Wed/Wed or can you get 3 bonus days for a 10 day stay? How do you get it? Just ask for availability? I can definitely see using that.


Thanks
Jeff
 
Bonus time

slip said:
I didn't know about the bonus time. Do you have to take a full week so check-in/out is still Sat/Sat or Wed/Wed or can you get 3 bonus days for a 10 day stay? How do you get it? Just ask for availability? I can definitely see using that.


Thanks
Jeff
Click to expand...

Bonus time minimum is 2 nights. Bonus time is not available until 90 days from check in. This makes it hard to schedule fights from the Midwest. I have noticed that as flight dates get closer desirable flights and departure times are not available at a doable price.
The in air times are long enough without flying from the Midwest to Kauai in a center seat thru Atlanta.
We have made use of bonus time a couple of times for 2-3 nights by making a hotel reservation nearby and hoping for bonus time to be available when it is within bonus time reservation period.

Maybe others can comment on their experiences with bonus time. We have had good luck in early January and spotty results in Feb.
Friends of ours that we introduced to Pono Kai go at Xmas/ New years every year for 2 weeks. They have had great luck adding 2 nights to the end of their reservation to avoid expensive flights Saturday after New Years.
They also have a split week option, which I have not researched enough to comment on how it operates.
 
Bonus Time

We had no trouble booking 2 extra O.F. nights in May this year and even had several O.F. units to choose from. I booked 6 nights in a 1 bedroom O.F. unit for June and also had a few units to choose from. In October 2009 we had 2 OV bonus units and in October 2010 we had 1 OV bonus unit and did not have any trouble with availability for our dates. I realize all of these dates are shoulder season but if you call 90 days out from your traveling date there is usually at least OV available. The one time we had to book a garden view unit we were upgraded to OV when we arrived. We love the Pono Kai!
 
Thanks for all the info on bonus time. I can see it may work out for us once in a while.

Jeff
 
Last summer we were booked into a 2BR/loft and got lucky enough to extend 2 nights with bonus time. This year we are in a regular 2BR, but in bldg. D, the kids are excited to be that close to the Ono Shave Ice! Can't wait to go back.

Enjoy Pono Kai!
 
Just received my documents to sign from the closing service. Everything is moving along well so far. Sounds like late June early July to be totally done.
I'm really happy with all the communication so far. They've been great.

Jeff
 
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