Princeville Golf Vacation Rental

My wife (Kathy) was beginning to tire of my checking lot listings in Princeville as part of my preparation for our family vacations to our timeshare in Lihue.  But after looking at roughly 120 lots over a two and one-half year period (we would go about every 6 months) we found the lot we wanted by accident.  I had pre-screened about 20 lots during a trip the week after Christmas 2000.  There were five or six that I wanted to show her and the realtor I was working with was available in mid-afternoon.  After vetoing all the potential lots (I wasn’t overjoyed with any of them either) we were driving back to the realtor’s office when we passed a vacant lot that really caught our eye.

Not being able to afford an ocean view lot, we were looking at lots right on the golf course hoping for a nice view of the course and maybe some of the picturesque mountains.  So many of the lots were quite narrow and had the view blocked by fairway trees.  This lot was different.  It was wide enough to be able to build a single story home (what we were planning) and had an unobstructed view of the course and Namolokama Mountains that mark the beginning of the Napali coast.  I stopped the car and asked if there was a way to contact the owner of the lot and make an unsolicited offer.  What did we have to lose?

As it turned out the lot was in fact for sale, but had been listed with a broker based on the Big Island.  The lot had just fallen out of escrow and the sellers were becoming a bit anxious.  After it was all said and done, we were able to close escrow on our lot in March of 2001.  We would wait about 3 years before beginning construction.  Had to save up some money and get hooked up with the right architect and contractor.  Thankfully that architect turned out to be Mark Eyler (808) 635-6275 and the contractor was Tom Bryan (TBryanBuilder@aol.com).  We could not have hoped for more conscientious people to design and build our dream home.

Here’s a photo of the lot before we began contruction.  In my next post, I’ll share some architect’s plans for the floor plan and details of some of the features we incorporated into the house.  Until next time - Bob

Me standing on the empty lot

It all started when my wife (Kathy) and I decided we would want to have a home in the Hawaiian Islands in which we would spend part of our retirement (scheduled to begin in 2022).  That was about 10 years ago after we had made several trips to the islands.

Our daughter was about 2 years old when we traveled to Maui for a professional meeting.  She loved the warm ocean water and my wife and I loved the tropical setting.  It was one of our best vacations for us with our young daughter.

My wife had spent part of her youth on Oahu where her father was stationed as a Marine.  I had visited the islands once as a young teenager with my parents and siblings.  From different experiences, fondness for the islands had been implanted.

Daughter Andrea at the airport on the Big Island

We wanted to make sure that Kauai was the choice for us so we systematically looked at Oahu, Maui, Hawaii (the Big Island) before confirming that Kauai was for us.  We had always gravitated toward the North Shore of Kauai.  Yes it was more rainy, but so lush and tropical.  The waterfalls, the rainbows, Hanalei Bay, the Princeville Resort all drew us north – it was decided – North Shore of Kaui and so began the search.

Aloha Lani translated to English is "Welcome to Heaven"

Welcome to our lovely vacation home on Kauai.  Overlooking the length of the  fairways of the 6^th and 7^th holes of the Makai “Woods” Course of the famous Princeville Golf Course on the North Shore of Kauai.  After searching two and one-half years for the right lot we found what we were looking for.  Then working with local architect, Mark Eyler, we custom designed a home made for sharing good time making memories for friends and family.  Our contractor, Tom Bryan, was terrific.  We couldn’t have hoped for a more conscientious builder.  His attention to detail and insistence on doing the right thing is refreshing.  We hope you have the opportunity to visit and experience what we do every time we stay there.  We make our home available for vacation rental through Hanalei North Shore Properties.

Built in a blending of Craftsman and Hawaiian Plantation styles, the home offers relaxed elegance.  Rich palm wood floors provide a warmth of red and brown to contrast the green “Esmerelda” granite counter tops.  The granite was chosen to mirror the verdant beauty that surrounds the home.  The back of the home faces west and serves as a portal to stunning views of the sculpted Namolokama Mountains, waterfalls, rainbows, and the golf course.  Two sleeping wings bracket the central part of the house with a Greatroom (living and dining room), the kitchen and a game/computer room.  The west facing part of the great room is a 24 foot wide sliding glass door opening onto a covered and screened lanai.  The custom motorized screens open to allow passage to the open lanai that includes a 7 person spa.

Golf course with Namolokama mountains behind

Some special friends helped us prepare our home for living by helping select the art work on the walls, assemble furniture, shop for supplies and stock the cabinets and kitchen and christen the spa with laughter and song.  We enjoy sharing our home with family and friends.  We also enjoy reading the comments of those who have chosen our home for their Kauai vacations.  The warmth and joy found in their writings are what we wish for their time here.

In my next posting, I’ll start the tale of how we ended up building our dream home.  - Bob