ndser
February 22, 2022
We stayed at the Sealodge Unit G9 in Princeville for a week in mid-Feb ($204/night). The Sealodge is completely underwhelming at first sight. The buildings have the ramshackle look of weathered old boxes piled haphazardly on top of each other. Much of the look comes from the unfinished wood siding that, exposed to the sun and winds along the bluff, has aged to varying shades of gray, brown and black. But it is the bluff that makes the place special, giving many of the units unrivaled views along the coast and out to sea. Our well-maintained and updated 1 bedroom unit was on the top floor of 3-story Building G, one of the closest to the edge of the 200 foot bluff down to the ocean. There was no elevator, and the climb up the stairs was a bit challenging with all of our luggage, but the spectacular views when we walked in the door more than made up for the effort. The unit was large & spacious with 10 foot ceilings throughout. The sitting area was furnished with a couch, coffee table, wall-mounted TV, long cabinet with decorative shelves and the unit's electronic equipment. The front of the room had a nook with 2 rattan chairs set by both front and side windows giving us those spectacular views. On the other side, the sliding glass doors opened to a deck with a tall table and stools open onto those views, an ideal place for breakfast and afternoon drinks. Behind the sitting area was a large round table with 4 chairs, and a utility closet (beach chairs, boogie board, umbrella but no beach towel, a few games, books) with the clothes washer & dryer on the other side. Behind was the kitchen with the stove/oven, full refrigerator, dishwasher. To the side at the back was the bedroom with a king bed, closet with a chest of drawers, and a full window with sea views. The bathroom, to the side with entrances from the bedroom as well as the kitchen, was stocked with high quality toiletries. There was no AC in the unit, but the central ceiling fan and the constant trade winds kept it cool. The grounds were mostly lawn with very little landscaping and few amenities – the only BBQ facility available was 3 small charcoal grills (no gas barbecues here), and the single pool was fairly small and quite dated. A trail led down to Sealodge Beach, quite steep and a bit arduous on a hot afternoon. Princeville itself had a couple of restaurants and a Foodland grocery store but, be warned, the food prices at this end of the island were astronomical. We bought almost all of our food in Lihui, but when we looked for a watermelon to replace one that had gone bad, the cheapest price was $10 for a quarter of a melon. The market in Hanalei was no better. We had one minor complaint about the condo. When we lost the live feed for the TV (other things like Netflix still worked), we contacted the rental agent (Kauai Pacific Realty) and left a message as instructed. No one ever returned our call - not impressive. Overall, Sealodge G9 was a comfortable, well maintained condo p