Stayed one week after reading all the great reviews - was not disappointed, views and central location cannot be beat. Stayed in unit 402, middle penthouse. The A/C is a plus during the hottest part of the day but the afternoon trade winds did a decent job with the cross ventilation. Beautifully appointed, comfortable King Bed. Two small beaches just steps away or you can walk half a block away and enter Charley Young Beach. The one negative - very tight parking spaces, half the time I parked on the street. Terry is very knowledgeable and amicable. There was a nice bag of Hawaiian coffee left for us as a starter. The only thing missing would be maybe having a weekly BBQ or breakfast for the guests to smooze and get to know each other. Will stay again

We stayed in #205, a 2 bedroom second floor southernmost corner unit. The unit has no A/C but even for August, it was no problem as Kihei gets RATHER windy from noon until 4pm or so and we had lanais or balconies on both the west and the north side of the unit.

The unit was very nicely stocked, the kitchen had everything you could ask for, including a great blender which we put to good use. We had an issue with the DVD player which was replaced the same day my wife mentioned it to the managers, Terry and Lori, they are great and take good care of you, offering suggestions on what to see and where to go eat and well as keeping the place looking great.

Didn't even bother trying to park in our designated spot; we had a Sebring convertible and opted for the street which was no issue. There is an elevator which we used to bring up the luggage when we checked in, a big help.

The best thing about this place is indeed its location, it's right on the water so you get the excellent views, the small sandy beach in front is perfect for swimming, or you can walk to the end of the street and Charles Young beach, a 3 minute walk. Each morning we'd have coffee and watch the surfers catch the waves at Cove Beach, immediately north of the unit. We even took surfing lessons and an outrigger canoe ride was was one of the highlights of our trip, all on Cove beach. Also and this is big, it is not on Kihei road and its constant traffic which was huge in the decision making process.

We found Kihei actually quite pleasant a town, unlike all the negatives you read in the travel books, it had more of a Hawaiian feel than some of the more manicured towns, Wailea, Kaanapali, I guess it depends on what you are looking for but we wanted a 2 bedroom unit on the beach and we could not have picked a better place. Just make sure you take the wind into account and manage that accordingly, then you will have a great time using Punahoa as your base to explore the southern Maui beaches and Haleakala.

We stayed in unit 403 (one of three "penthouse units"). Let me restate some of the pro's about Punahoa Beach Apartments.

Pro's:
1. Location - the rest of the island is very accessible to this location in South Kihei, but the best thing about this building is that it is right on the coast--25 yards. Sound of the surf is delightful and the views are spectacular.
2. Affordable - of course it's still expensive, but relative to pricing on Maui, this is a good price for a beach-front property.
3. Building manager - Terry is very helpful, makes time to answer your questions, and is readily available.
4. Our unit was equipped very nicely--including beach chairs, a cooler for picnics, beach mats, beach towels, all we needed for the kitchen, binoculars, maps/guidebooks, several CDs for the stereo, flatscreen TV, and wi-fi (not very fast, but we appreciated having it).

I hesistate to say "cons"--maybe better to say "be aware of this":

In general:
1. The units are all different. Some have been updated; some less so. If I were you, I would speak to Terry directly about the units that are available before chosing one. He'll give you helpful feedback.
2. The building is kept nicely, but was built in 1970. Just realize that this is an older property (still a great location).
3. Parking is very tight. A small compact will do just fine, others will be quite tight. If squeezing into the car-port area makes your nervous, you can usually find parking on the street not far away.

Specific to Unit 403:
* This is the only unit on the top floor that still does not have A/C. The top floor gets more sun exposure and is not as well insulated as the floors below. We stayed in mid summer, and even with the strong trade winds and fans-a-blowing, it was still uncomfortably warm in the afternoon. We didn't want to be in the unit from about 2 pm until 6:30 pm--it was that warm. This was the very time when we most wanted to rest and recuperate after enjoying water activities which are best in the morning (snorkling, etc). IMHO, the owner of this unit needs to make an investment in his/her property and add A/C soon. Note: my guess is that this unit is comfortable without A/C for 9 months of the year, but still, for the sake of guests paying over $100 a night for the other three months I would put it in.
* In terms of decor, the unit is quite dated. Of course, each will have their own opinion, but I thought the place look "tired". It does have new tile flooring throughout--that's nice--but the kitchen countertops, cabinets, artwork, and furnishings are dated.
* Here the best thing about the unit's interior--the bed is excellent.
* The icemaker was not working, but we were quickly supplied with ice trays and did just fine with those.
* Unit 403 is slightly smaller than the other two units on the 4th floor, because of space needed for the elevator.

While there, Terry showed us a couple of other units on the second floor. They were much nicer that 403, and I would have been very happy to have stayed there (heck--I was happy to stay in 403, but just wanted to give you honest feedback as you might choose a unit yourself).

Overall, the set of condos is excellent. I rated it "very good", because I couldn't give Unit 403 top marks. I'd stay here again, if a more updated unit was available.

We loved this place. We stayed in unit 304 which accommodates 2 people. It was essentially 1 room with a kitchenette, dressing area and bath. The main room had a murphy bed and was nicely decorated with wicker furniture and glass dining table. The lanai had 2 lounge chairs with ottomans and a table. The unit looked like it was recently updated and had lots of built in shelving, storage drawers and closets. It was easy to find places to stow clothing and luggage during our 4 night stay. It was so well equipped that we were continually discovering things throughout our visit. The owner has taken great care to equip this condo with all of the necessary creature comforts, from pads of paper and pens, to binoculars, coolers,beach chairs and towels, music cd's, dvd's, books, even a hand crank emergency flashlight/radio. There was a half pound of Kona coffee waiting for us, and the kitchen had everything needed for way more cooking than most folks plan to do on vacation. I could go on and on, but as we all know, location is everything, and this place has it. While the beach directly in front of the building is rocky and not swimable, the view is awsome and you will see amazing sunsets from the lanai. The sound of the waves is all you hear and we slept like babies. There is no air conditioning here, but there is good cross ventilation and a ceiling fan. I am sensitive to heat and was very comfortable as the tradewinds blow every afternoon. The building and grounds are immaculately clean and well kept and there is an elevator so you can easily haul your heavy luggage to the upper floors. The parking area was tight for anything but compact cars, but we just parked on the street and that was never a problem. My only problem with this unit and it was no different anywhere else we stayed in Maui, is the ceiling fan would be better located directly over the bed. Great beaches are a dime a dozen in Maui and this area has some truly great ones beginning just 100 yards south at Kamaole I. To sum it all up, we were very impressed with Punahoa apartments as were our friends who stopped by for a visit on their way to one of the high end resorts in Wailea. You can spend a lot of money for a night at a fancy resort in Maui, but we got everything that Maui has to offer for a fraction of the price. We'll be back!