Kauai hotel and activities report
Jun 29th, 2005, 10:20 PM
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Kauai hotel and activities report
Princeville Hotel, Princeville: Gorgeous, clean, unbeatable location and fabulous sushi overlooking the sunset! We got an oceanview room (we consulted with the front desk person and she said that the junior suite didn't come with a better view)and the view was spectacular. Great service, except for the concierge who gave us some not so useful travel advice. Nice pool, nice beach for both snorkelling and sunbathing. Good food at the Hanalei Cafe but expensive.
Marriott, Lihue: We booked a King bed and got two twins. After much complaining on my end, we got the two twins pushed together and a discount on the room. The manager explained that when you reserve a room, it's only a "request" and they don't guarantee whether you get the bed you want! Other than that, great service - excellent valets and very personable front desk person who remembered our names when we came back to get extra keys. The beach isn't very nice. Food at Duke's was terrible and overpriced. The italian restaurant there was OK.
Bali Hai restaurant: Overpriced, poor service and not fresh food. The view is just as good, if not better from the Hanalei cafe or outside on the deck at the Princeville.
Kauai Kayak: We did the Napali cost kayak trip. Very beautiful and worth it. It also wasn't that strenuous - I think most people of average athleticism can do it. Two recommendations on how to make the trip better. The trip can be a lot less time intensive if they make a couple of changes. 1. They should have the van waiting to pick up the kayakers at the end of the trip sooner. We made excellent time on the trip and wasted a good two hours at lunch and then after lunch because the van only comes at 4pm. 2. The van ride back doesn't need to be prolonged by two stops - one at the shower and one at the grocery. People were more eager to go back to their hotel and take a real shower and have a real meal.
Kalalau trail: OK, we read about this in all the guidebooks and oohed and ahhed about it. I think that unless you are going to do the entire trail, the first couple of miles isn't really worth it. It's an unpleasant climb up a rocky trail for the first two miles and the view is OK, but not stunning. We did the first two miles and then turned back. If you had time just to do one hike on the island, I'd choose something else. I heard great things about the hikes through waimea canyon or Kee state park from other travellers.
Interisland Helicopter Tour: Phenomenal. Really stunning. I brought ear plugs and used then in addition to the noise-cancellation headphones they gave us. I would recommend you definitely do that. You'll still be able to hear the narration even with the ear plugs. The narration wasn't all that great - our pilot didn't have much to say.
Tropical Taco: Totally over-rated. Average at best.
Traffic: Terrible. We were stuck in a traffic jam everyday. One of the most surprising things about Kauai is how much traffic there is! We were stuck in Hanalei for 4 hours when there was an accident on the road. If you are going from the north shore to the south shore, you should double your time because there is consistently bad traffic through Kapaa and around Lihue.
Marriott, Lihue: We booked a King bed and got two twins. After much complaining on my end, we got the two twins pushed together and a discount on the room. The manager explained that when you reserve a room, it's only a "request" and they don't guarantee whether you get the bed you want! Other than that, great service - excellent valets and very personable front desk person who remembered our names when we came back to get extra keys. The beach isn't very nice. Food at Duke's was terrible and overpriced. The italian restaurant there was OK.
Bali Hai restaurant: Overpriced, poor service and not fresh food. The view is just as good, if not better from the Hanalei cafe or outside on the deck at the Princeville.
Kauai Kayak: We did the Napali cost kayak trip. Very beautiful and worth it. It also wasn't that strenuous - I think most people of average athleticism can do it. Two recommendations on how to make the trip better. The trip can be a lot less time intensive if they make a couple of changes. 1. They should have the van waiting to pick up the kayakers at the end of the trip sooner. We made excellent time on the trip and wasted a good two hours at lunch and then after lunch because the van only comes at 4pm. 2. The van ride back doesn't need to be prolonged by two stops - one at the shower and one at the grocery. People were more eager to go back to their hotel and take a real shower and have a real meal.
Kalalau trail: OK, we read about this in all the guidebooks and oohed and ahhed about it. I think that unless you are going to do the entire trail, the first couple of miles isn't really worth it. It's an unpleasant climb up a rocky trail for the first two miles and the view is OK, but not stunning. We did the first two miles and then turned back. If you had time just to do one hike on the island, I'd choose something else. I heard great things about the hikes through waimea canyon or Kee state park from other travellers.
Interisland Helicopter Tour: Phenomenal. Really stunning. I brought ear plugs and used then in addition to the noise-cancellation headphones they gave us. I would recommend you definitely do that. You'll still be able to hear the narration even with the ear plugs. The narration wasn't all that great - our pilot didn't have much to say.
Tropical Taco: Totally over-rated. Average at best.
Traffic: Terrible. We were stuck in a traffic jam everyday. One of the most surprising things about Kauai is how much traffic there is! We were stuck in Hanalei for 4 hours when there was an accident on the road. If you are going from the north shore to the south shore, you should double your time because there is consistently bad traffic through Kapaa and around Lihue.
Jun 30th, 2005, 06:15 AM
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perlitana,
Where did you have the good sushi? Was it at the Living Room?
Can't wait to hike the Kalalau trail! Thanks for your point of view. I've heard nothing but good things about this as well. It's hard not to have high expectations.
-Bill
Where did you have the good sushi? Was it at the Living Room?
Can't wait to hike the Kalalau trail! Thanks for your point of view. I've heard nothing but good things about this as well. It's hard not to have high expectations.
-Bill
Jun 30th, 2005, 07:37 AM
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Wow, We're set to stay at the same 2 hotels this August (2 nights Princeville and 7 nights Kauai Marriott). We've booked a suite at the Princeville on their "special Package"...now I'm wondering if I should change to an ocean view.
*Did you go on the Package Plan?
*Did you play golf at the Princeville?
*Did you take any boat excursions of the Napali?
We were in Kauai 2 years ago and also loved the interisland helicopter ride -my advice to anyone is to take your video camera - and girls tie your hair back (if you go on the copter w/o doors, your hair flies everywhere.
We liked Dukes at the Marriott - they had grea mai-tais and the fish was always good - we had bad service at the Italian restaurant - the beach bar was great next to their pool.
Now we have to deal with traffic in paradise???
*Did you go on the Package Plan?
*Did you play golf at the Princeville?
*Did you take any boat excursions of the Napali?
We were in Kauai 2 years ago and also loved the interisland helicopter ride -my advice to anyone is to take your video camera - and girls tie your hair back (if you go on the copter w/o doors, your hair flies everywhere.
We liked Dukes at the Marriott - they had grea mai-tais and the fish was always good - we had bad service at the Italian restaurant - the beach bar was great next to their pool.
Now we have to deal with traffic in paradise???
