Dukey1

Having lived in Hawaii waaaaaaay back in the 1960's (yeah it was VERY different then) and having vacationed several times since, we have not yet been on Kauai.

The situation will be coming off a 19-night cruise from Sydney, arriving in Honolulu in early May. Plan to fly from HNL to Lihue immediately, rent a car, and spend a total of five nights.

We prefer a hotel for this particular segment of the trip and despite some folks' belief that "all the reviews on Trip Advisor are fake" and knowing all the ones I have written certainly were not, I notice the Grand is far and away the most highly-rated property.

Will use the rental car to explore other parts of the island and perhaps to eat some meals "out."

I'd appreciate any comments as to the choice of hotel and/or activity/sightseeing recommendations and thank you in advance

sf7307

We stayed there a few years ago. It's a very grand resort-style hotel -- the common areas are gorgeous, the pools are great. The rooms themselves are pretty standard stuff. It's not your low-key 60s era Hawaii hotel.

Dukey1

Thanks for the reply.

jamie99

Sounds like a great trip, have fun Dukey.
Here are my must sees after 15+ trips:
North Shore Day: Visit some of the beaches like Ke'e and Tunnels (park at Haena and walk back to Tunnels), stop for lunch in Hanalei at Kalypso's or Hanalei Gourmet, visit the lighthouse in Kileaua.
Canyon Day: Drive up to Koke'e State Park first, above Waimea Canyon, to see the Kalalau lookout before the fog rolls in, then work your way down to the Canyon. Hiking in both places if that is of interest, then late lunch in Waimea.
Na Pali Boat Tour: Since you are staying at Grand Hyatt take the boat from Port Allen to avoid long drive up to Hanalei. I've had good trips with both Captain Andy's and Holo Holo. They also have smaller rafts, etc. but those are out for me with my back.
Have fun. Merry Christmas.

Dukey1

Jamie99, Thanks very much for these thoughtful suggestions. They are helpful in terms of planning.

ekscrunchy

Can't imagine who would think that ALL the reviews on TA are fake,, although there are clearly SOME that are fake, just as on other review sites. It's not difficult to distinguish some of the fake reports; just discount these as you see fit.

ekscrunchy

oh, sorry to forget to mention that I have seen the public areas and they looked more than just fine in a big resort, splashy way; did not stay there, however.

Dukey1

I've probably been more than "hard" on that Fodorite who declared the "fake" stuff re Trip Advisor and I actually should have simply accepted it as an obvious erroneous opinion but I've been kinda terrier dog with it so I'll stop.

Yes, as to the "look" of the place as well as the rooms: I've seen a couple of fairly recent YouTube videos and from what I've seen I would tend to agree with your assessment, Ekscrunchy as well as SF7307's comment about the rooms.

As always, I don't mind the cost of accommodation as long as I think overall it is/was worth it but I suspect most feel the same as I do. Whether or not it is "the" place to stay, or "hip" or "chic" and all the rest of that I usually ignore as useless.

Thanks again for these comments; they are helpful.

Songdoc

I've been in the lobby and on the grounds of the Grand Hyatt many times and they seem fabulous. My personal preference is Kauai's North Shore. For me, Poipu and the rest of the South look like "generic" beach resort; the North Shore matches my fantasy of the lush beauty and jagged peaks of Hawaii.

On the North Shore (if money is not an issue) check out the St. Regis. Wow!

But as long as you drive to the North Shore and Waimea Canyon and explore the rest of the island it probably won't make that much of a difference where you stay. If you stay at the Grand Hyatt be sure to do the beautiful Mahalu'epu walk which starts at the Grand Hyatt. It's very unique scenery that looks like nothing anywhere else on the island.

BuffaloGirl

We stayed there last year. The property was stunning!!! We loved sitting in the open air area where they would have a musician playing Hawaiian music with the ocean as a backdrop. Our room overlooked the waterfall and
garden area (partial ocean view).

This is not the type of place we normally stay but I wanted to stay in a beautiful resort for that portion of our trip. We then went to the north shore for the 2nd week and stayed in a condo.

Be sure to join their loyalty program. You may get an upgrade or early check-in by being a member. We did. If you get the Hyatt credit card and spend a couple thousand dollars in the first 3 months you get two free nights at any Hyatt hotel in the world. We did and used it to stay in Kauai.

Kauai was the most beautiful place I've ever seen, especially the north shore. But I absolutely loved stying the in the Grand Hyatt on the south shore as well. Enjoy!

Dukey1

Songdoc, thank you for your rec. Unfortunately the St. Regis is not nearly as highly-rated as the Hyatt BUT I will research it further. This is obviously where subjectivity and "what's REALLY important" comes into play.

BuffaloGirl, thank you for your thoughts as well.

Inakauaidavidababy

I haven't been on property in years, so have no idea what work they have done on the pools. I recall back in the day being disappointed that the whole pool system was at 4 ft. I like to swim and tread water in a deeper pool. Perhaps they have deeper lagoons between the lazy rivers, but if that is something you expect, ask.

I am likely one of the people who preferred The Princeville before St Regis took over and changed the space. The hotel lacks lanais in most of the rooms but the ever-changing views of the pali and tides and sky is breathtaking.

Ironically, we also preferred The Lodge at Koale on Lanai much more before the 4S took over and renovated. Now that Uncle Larry oversees his fiefdom, I have no desire to return.

Dukey1

I'm sorry, but I am totally unfamiliar with who "Uncle Larry" is so that doesn't have a lot of significance for me in making decisions but I do appreciate your talking the time to add your thoughts to this thread.

Dukey1

Allow me to again, emphasize, that one of the goals of this trip is to spend time on an island we have yet to visit.

jamie99

By "Uncle Larry" inakauai probably means Larry Ellison who owns the Island of Lanai. Lodge at Koele is closed right now, only Manele Bay and Hotel Lanai are open at present.
I liked the old Princeville Hotel, but besides the price, the deal killer for me was most rooms lacking lanais.

Dukey1

Oh yes, Mr. Ellison the real estate(?) magnate. Didn't he build a bunch of houses in San Antonio or somewhere which fell down?

Anyway, thanks for that further information.

Lanai? What else do you DO there. Ni'ihau might be more fun if the Robinsons would allow you to land. I hear there are naturist, or are they hunting, expeditions there now.

BuffaloGirl

Consider taking a boat ride along the Napali coast. There are no words to describe how beautiful the Napali coast is from the water. We used Captain Andy's.

sf7307

Larry Ellison is the mega-rich founder of Oracle - I don't think he's ever been a real estate developer.

Kathie

I think you will be happy with the Grand Hyatt. Personally, I prefer the Poipu area to Princeville. If you like gardens, I highly recommend a garden tour of the Allerton gardens at the tip of Poipu, entrance is across from the Spouting Horn.

We spend a month on Kauai every year now. Some favorite restaurants: Roy's 1849 Eating House, Plantation Gardens, Merriman's, Brenneke's for casual dining.

Enjoy paradise!

Dukey1

SF7307, thanks for that clarification.

BuffaloGirl and Kathie, thank you for the recommendations. We definitely plan on using the rental car to do something besides the ride from and to LIH airport.

Yeah, I know about the "paradise" part; I'm in my own on the beach right now but it isn't the same as The Garden Island for sure.