Hi Kathy -

I stayed at both the Hyatt and the Princeville in July 2002. Greatly preferred the Princeville and would stay there again in a heartbeat. We will not return to the Hyatt in the summer months unless we were bringing children with us.

We enjoyed having drinks, listening to the entertainment and watching the sunset every night at the Princeville "living room" bar. It was very peaceful and romantic. When we had drinks and sat outside at the Hyatt, children were running laps around our chairs. There were tons of children, but keep in mind it was July. If you are going at a different time, I would imaging that there would be less children.

We had a garden/pool view room in each of the hotels. The Hyatt was clean, but very plain. The Princeville room was much nicer. The grounds of the Hyatt are beautiful as is the pool. It really depends on what is important to you. I prefer nicer hotel rooms when traveling.

The beach at the Princeville was bigger and less crowded. One day when I was at the beach, a Princeville waiter came around and passed out pineapple (I thought that was pretty cool). Don't know if they do that at the Hyatt.

The staff at both hotels were very nice and helpful. Some people say that some of the staff at the PV are snotty. I did not encounter this at all.

Have a wonderful trip!!! I am very jealous!!!

Kathy,

I have not been to both, but a friend just returned from her honeymoon that started at the Four Seasons Maui and was to conclude at the Hyatt Kauai. She was so disappointed in the Hyatt that after two days she checked out and moved to the Princeville.

Oh, I forgot to add that she was happy with the Princeville.

Thank you for you candid opinions. I know it was very hard for us because Kauai was sandwiched inbetween Maui and the Big Island FS resorts so we were very disappointed when we arrived at the Hyatt.

We stayed at the Hyatt because we were told it's on the sunny side of the island. I was told that it rains a lot in Princeville. Is that true?

Hmmm.... maybe the FS should think about building a resort on Kauai. I guess there's a market.

We'll be traveling to Hawaii at the end of February, beginning of March. Hopefully fewer kids out of school at that time.

Any more opinions?

Hi Kathy,

I'm going on my honeymoon in mid-Feb., starting at the Four Seasons Maui and then the Princeville. Unfortunately, Feb.-Mar. is smack in middle of the rainy season and you're right in that the north side of the island where the Princeville is does have a much greater chance of rain than the south side where the Hyatt is. When I was planning my trip, I went back and forth between the two hotels because of the difference in the weather. But in the end, I heard such great things from friends and family who've stayed at the Princeville, that we decided to roll the dice. It just seemed that we'd miss out on too much not being up there if it happened not to rain.