Banyan Harbor is a condominium project in Lihue, Kauai. Located across the highway from Kalapaki Beach. Close to the Sonesta hotel, Nawiliwili Harbor and Harbor mall.
About Banyan Harbor
Banyan Harbor allows vacation rentals, long term rentals and even owner occupancy. There is a front desk at Banyan Harbor therefore it is considered a condo-tel. Banyan Harbor has a wide mix of use. There are many vacation rentals there however there are a good amount of long term renters (6-months plus) and owner-occupants.
Location:
Banyan Harbor is located in Lihue about a 5 minute drive away from the airport. It is located within walking distance to restaurants and shops and Kalapaki Beach and Nawiliwili Harbor. Most people that I have spoken to either love the location or dont.
What we like about Banyan Harbor
1. The Price:
For a vacation rental and for the size of the units Banyan Harbor has a great price! See available Banyan Harbor units here.
Right now I cant think of any condo project that will have a better price for a 2 bedroom vacation rental. Often units are outdated and can come on the market for a good price.
2. Flexibility with property management:
Banyan Harbor allows outside management companies to manage units or for an owner to self manage. I love a condo project that does not punish or discourage outside managers.
However I do recommend checking out their in house management company. When I inquired with the manager Lyle Otsuka he said that their charge is only 11%. Most in house management companies charge 35-50% of the profits made.
3. Reasonable HOA fee:
In the past Banyan Harbor has been a condo project with a realtively higher HOA fee. Now their fees are considered reasonsable with the heavy increase that other condominium projects are seeing.
Banyan Harbors HOA fee did not increase in the past year and it sounds like financially they are doing well. (This is always subject to change and can be monitored through their condo documents.)
What we dislike about Banyan Harbor
1. Older Project:
I actually love old things however they often come with a price tag. Older projects usually end up having more special assessments, etc. Right now Banyan Harbors HOA fee of approx. $1,200 for a two-bedroom is reasonable in my opinion.
2. Lots of Stairs:
Lots of stairs and NO elevator due to being an older project. There are single level units are Banyan Harbor however these are rare to come by. Most of the units there are split-level with the living room, kitchen and half bathroom being on the first level. Then a flight of stairs and the bedrooms and full bathroom being upstairs.
Some units even have a few flights of stairs to get up to the unit. Which can equal to 3 flights of stairs.
This can be a deterrent to vacationers who can’t do stairs.
3. Highway Noise:
Some units at Banyan Harbor experience road noise. The units in the back F, G, H, I & J experience the least amount of noise.
I’ve noticed some people are highly sensitive to road noise and others are not.
Views from our Banyan Harbor listing in G building
Bedroom view
