January 7th through 16th, 2012

The Cliffs at Princeville is a 22 acre property located on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The complex is a mix of owner and timeshare offered condo rental units. The Cliffs were originally built in the early 1980s. The complex recently underwent an 8 million dollar restoration, completed in 2001. Overall the complex is in really good shape, only needing the normal wear and tear maintenance here and there as anybody would expect in such a harsh, sea salt environment.

We stayed at the Cliffs for 9 nights in owner offered unit 5306. Unit 5306 is a typical third floor condo with one master bedroom downstairs and a large two bed loft above. This fully furnished condo rental comes with all of the following:


2 bedrooms including the loft
2 bathrooms
Fully stocked galley kitchen
Small dining area with a table for four
Small but comfortable living room
Two great balconies
Stacked Washer and Dryer


The placement of Unit 5306 is a real advantage in renting this property. Building five where it is located is set back one row of units from the Pacific Ocean. However, the unit is perfectly placed between two other units, affording it basically unobstructed views of the Pacific Ocean from the main balcony located just off of the living area. The clincher to this deal is the second, smaller balcony located off of the master bedroom which overlooks the mountains as well as the pool and other common areas. In short, for the price of one condo rental you get not only one but two stunning views. On a side note: if you’re there during whale watching season you can easily see whales from the balcony of the unit. We saw whales every single day we where there, all from the comfort of our condo rental.

We found ourselves not lacking for anything in the kitchen. Everything was there we needed including coffee grinder to grind fresh, locally produced coffee beans, wine glasses, rice cooker, etc… Between the grills, kitchen, local seafood and farmer’s markets we found ourselves set and quite able to prepare and eat a wonderful meal every single evening but one while we were on island. That is a true money and time saver afforded you by going with a condo rental.

The living area has a nice sized TV and DVD player with basic or extended cable service which was helpful for watching basics such as NFL playoff games. However, I would recommend to the owner that an updated LCD TV with all current connection options would not only be a big plus it should be pretty much mandatory. With a nice, up to date LCD TV we could’ve streamed video via the Internet utilizing our laptops.

I have only two minor issues with the unit. The first is the light outside the front door. The complex has security lights throughout the complex which come on automatically each evening and cannot be turned off. Unfortunately one of those lights is right outside the glass panel next to the front door of unit 5306. As a result when you go to sleep at night it is quite bright in the master bedroom because it is located next to the front door. This problem is quickly solved by shutting the door to the master bedroom but unfortunately when you do so you lose most of your cross breeze through the unit. So you can pick your poison; less light or fewer breezes.

The second minor complaint is there is something in the unit that runs 24 hours a day. It is a low hum that sounds exactly like a bathroom exhaust fan. It wasn’t an exhaust fan in the bathroom. Matter of fact, I looked hard for the source of the noise and couldn’t find it. This problem is easy to solve as well by simply closing the bathroom door in the master bedroom. However, if you forget to do so before going to bed you will be getting up sometime during the evening to shut that door. It’s that annoying when left unchecked.

One final minor complaint that is not directly the responsibility of the owner is the free wireless Internet. It is a nice benefit but it is woefully underpowered for the complex. Streaming video was practically impossible except during extreme off hours. Browsing was sometimes painfully slow during peak periods. This needs to be addressed by the complex.

The common areas (a big part of the recent renovations) were quite nice. We made daily use of the very nice, strategically located Weber Gas Grills, beautiful pool with waterfall and both hot tubs. There were plenty of daily activities available in the activity center next to the pool, tennis courts and shuffle ball court that we never got around to using.

The Cliffs at Priceville Unit 5306 can be rented by contacting the Kauai Vacation Rentals office located on Kuhio Highway in Lihui. They are the third party rental agency that handles the unit for the absentee owners. No down payment is required to book the unit but payment in full is due 60 days in advance of arrival. Major credit cards are accepted for payment. The owner occasionally offers discounts to fill specific dates or for extended stays so do inquire. We received an added discount for an extended stay (anything over 7 nights) and we found the discounted rate to be extremely attractive.

The Cliffs at Princeville Unit 5306: recommended to highly recommended