While our unit was lovely, Unit 306 (which my mother rented) was filthy. Nani Kai Hale is mid-priced and well-located. The grounds are well kept and it is right on the beach. The trip would have been unblemished had it not been for Unit 306 at Nani Kai Hale. Unit 306 was advertised as one bedroom and two baths; however the shower was inoperable in one of the baths, the floors and the kitchen were dirty with years of grease in some places, the phone did not work, there was no screen on the window, curtains were in shreds, some places had obviously not been dusted for months, and personal junk (like old abandoned clothes) littered the closets. Finally after two weeks, the owner had the shower fixed although he never addressed the other items. He “gifted” us with a mop. After more than two days of cleaning, it became livable, but the upholstery needed to be cleaned (or better yet, replaced). This owner manages other properties - - I would suggest that folks stay as far away as possible from any of his rentals.

My family is from Maui and we usually stay with them in the Upcountry area.

With two growing kids, its easier now to get our own place rather than make a mess of aunties or cousins place. For New Years 2011, we stayed at Nani Kai Hale 407.

As far as condo complexes go, this was perfect for us. The complex is on the smaller side, only 6 floors and a few units per floor. It seems to have a good percentage of owner occupied condos and most of the renters were families and/or "mature" couples - no partiers when we where there. Its located where N Kihei Road and S Kihei Road converge, not way down S Kihei Road where theres' tons of traffic. Its across from the farmers market and ABC (Suda) store. There's also a decent plate lunch place (Kyota's) here. Its central enough so that you can get to anywhere on the island pretty easily. The grounds are very clean and everything is well maintained. There's a common area with two grills where you can cook up your food and eat outside. The pool was pretty warm but its solar heated, so on cloudy days the temperature dipped. Nonetheless, our kids loved it. And this condo is on the ocean side of the street so the beach is literally steps away. There's an elevator and convenience carts on the ground floor so you can schlep your groceries up to your room easily. Parking is on the premises and there was always a space. Coin-operated laundry on every floor with a convenient trash chute.

All units are different, since they are owned and managed differently. Your mileage may vary. We rented our condo unit directly from the owner. The unit itself was comfortable and very well maintained. Two tv's (as of this review, one was CRT, one LCD), wired internet, large bed and a pull out couch, two baths (both showers only). Everything worked. Well equipped kitchen with stone counter. Its a galley kitchen so it does get crowded quickly. There's lots of glass and mirrors so if you have young kids you'll be on high alert.

Travelers should note several things: 1) this area is called Sugar Beach and its usually on the siltier side compared to beaches like Kam II or Kam III. The appearance of the water is typically slightly cloudy/muddy; 2) storm runoff dumps right here so if there is a large rain upcountry Kula side, this is where the water comes; 3) you should watch for the box jellyfish for 7-14 days after a full moon on the west and south shores. 4) Kihei is on the dry side (west side) of the island. The weather is typically calm in the morning and the water is glass-like. The convection effect of the thermal inversion kicks up in the afternoon and the wind can howl through the valley. It usually settles down by later afternoon/sunsets; 5) If you like whales, you can sit on your balcony and scan the coastline - this area is rich with whales during certain times of the year; 6) you will be seeing some incredible sunsets from this coastline - charge up your camera

Yeah, yeah. I’m late in getting this review in but better late then never.

Stayed in #303.

If you can get this place on the cheap which in my mind in no more then $99.00 a night then go for it. Otherwise, fork out some more money and stay elsewhere.

If you think your going to open the lanai slider or the bedroom window and hear the ocean you can forget it. If you haven’t looked at a map already the Nani Kai Hale sits smack dab in between S. Kihei road and N. Kihei road/State Hwy 310 with only a handful of select condos facing the ocean dead on.

Unit #303 is much closer to the the road(s) then it is the beach. Therefore, all you can really hear is traffic which is coming from N. Kihei road/State Hwy 310. In the wee hours of the morning when traffic is light you can hear it, but only when their are no cars which is not very often and even then it’s faint.

To give you an idea as to just how much noise we are talking about. When a Harley-Davidson goes by it’s as if it’s in the room! Close the slider (using brute force as it’s difficult to move) and the bedroom window, turn on the A/C and/or The T.V. and you’ll be fine.

So, again, if you want to hear the roar of the ocean it ain’t going to happen in this particular unit.

Now lets discuss the unit itself. It’s a one bedroom two bath unit that wasn’t really thought out very well. When you open the door their is a shelf with hooks on the wall to the right which is nice. Good place to put keys, money, ipod, cell phone to keep them handy for when you leave.

The kitchen is narrow as could be but has plenty of kitchen utensils. But look out for the dishwasher door. It has nothing that slows it down and when my girlfriend opened it for the first time it came flying down and hit her on the shins at about a 100 miles an hour.

Also kitchen counter space is almost non existent.

Bath #2 is roomy enough and was very clean (kudos to the lady who cleans this place who we met OBTW).

Master bath was clean but had it’s own issues. First of which was the bath mat which is to big to close the shower room door and it is one small shower room let me tell you. Second, when you go to open the the medicine cabinet it runs into the light shade which is on the light fixture right next to it. :p

Also in this bathroom is a closet where the owners keep paint supplies and such which is not only a waste of space but a really bad idea. The coffee table has a glass surface when the sun is on that side of the building reflects off of the table and right into your eyes while sitting on the couch. Their was a knob for the fan switch which had fell off and was just sitting there.

I wasn’t happy with the selection of beach goodies either. They really need to have more useable stuff then what they have in that closet. Beach chairs, snorkel equipment, umbrella etc. Also, I like how they just taped the condo rules to the back of the door crooked with blue tape... nice touch. There’s even more I could write but I’m sure you get it by now.

Oh, and let’s not forget that as part of the deal they make you do a load of towels before you leave. To me, that’s a bad deal. Especially seeing that the washer and dryers on site obviously cost money and it takes quite a few quarters to get them dry.

On the plus side it has a very good A/C unit. One for the living area and one for the bedroom.

The grounds where well kept and you are steps from the beach. However, if you have never been to Maui or sugar beach, quite frankly, it’s not one of Maui’s better beaches. Good for a walk, watching whales or just relaxing, that’s about it.

This condo complex is located right on the beach and is very nice with ocean views from the lanai's. Only down side is, if you should need it for anything there is no open office.
I strongly recommend that you do not rent unit 306. On his ad, the owner offers low prices for Sugar Beach area and it turns out he is quoting prices for a studio. He is taking a standard one bedroom condo with two baths and dividing it into studios.
The entire unit needs a deep cleaning or better yet a remodel. You will not be able to go barefoot, the floors are so dirty, even after I mopped them myself. The furniture is old and dirty and bed and sofa so soft as to be unuseable. I slept on the floor my entire visit.
Being anxious to stay on Sugar Beach at these prices, I made the mistake of renting from this owner even though he demanded a cash deposit before providing me with a rental contract. After asking repeatedly, he never did issue a valid rental contract and refused to answer any of my questions prior to my stay.
Upon arrival I was confronted with floors that had not been swept, a key that didn't work, a tv remote that was placed in a location where it could not be seen and not sufficient lighting in living room and bedroom.
My cell phone was ruined when I was walking on the beach and a wave bigger than expected knocked me down. I than discovered that there was no working phone in the unit. When I reported this to owner, he said he would have the telephone company out the next day. He failed to do so, so I had no phone service for the remaining 5 days of my stay. After failing to follow through providing me with a phone, he never did return any of my calls.
This guy is in it for a quick buck only and know he has no chance of ever having returning tenants.