We'll be staying at the Koa Kea next month for 3 nights; my sister & her husband will be there for 5 nights. I'll report back after our trip, early July, if that helps.

Yes, I would appreciate that very much. Thank you.

sheraton is a nice sheraton as it is right on the beach and is nice if you have an ocean view. the Koa Kea is a redo of an old hotel, very modern but not very large It has a nice restaurant - red salt -....waipouli is larger all the way around. If you are looking for more initmate then the Koa Kea might work. If you are looking for something on the Hyatt order then go with the sheraton or Waipouli. Have you tried Costco travel if you are a costco member, you can save a few hundred dollars. have used them seaveral times of a tavael engine like Kayak.com, hotels.com for some good deals.

The Koa Kea is technically a renovation of the old Poipu Beach Hotel that was damaged in a hurricane and never reopened I don't think there's really anything left of the old hotel, which was not the upscale modern hotel Koa Kea is.

We stayed at the Sheraton last November. The hotel was still being renovated -- the main restaurant was still closed -- but there were plenty of alternatives nearby and the hotel/poolside bar was great. Can't beat the breakfast buffet. The hotel is right on the beach and as Shar points out, an ocean view is great. Poipu Beach for snorkeling is nearby.
We liked the Sheraton very much. Those who are looking for a super resort with all the bells and whistles might not be satisfied. Poipu is a little bit far from the North Shore/Hanalei area, but close to Waimea Canyon and really, you can't go wrong in Kauai.

Thanks to everyone that has commented so far. I really do appreciate it.

mouseRD - are you back from the Koa Kea yet? If so, I'm anxious to see your review.

Hi, We love Mexico! Sorry, I've been so busy since we've returned & the lovely time change woes that I haven't submitted a review yet, but I will tell you that we loved the Koa Kea! My sister & her husband did too. They stayed 5 nights in an oceanview room & we stayed 3 nights. We both purchased a package through Luxury Link. Service was over the top (from valet to cleaning staff to front desk & bar attendent by the pool).

Upon arrival, I asked about upgrading to oceanfront. The only oceanfront room available was one with 2 beds instead of 1 king, but I knew how much my husband would like oceanfront and it was third floor (no one above you) which we prefer. The additional fee to upgrade was $100/night.

Well, it was a great choice! My husband was ecstatic about being oceanfront & we had in-room dining for all of our breakfasts & 1 dinner on our oceanfront lanai! It was fantastic - especially since breakfast was included in our package. We also ate 1 dinner in their restaurant, Red Salt, with my sister & her husband. The food was very good, but at the time we were there (7:45 pm), it was very busy & service was just ok for us. My sister & brother-in-law had had different experiences on other nights they had dined there as they usually eat earlier than us - 6 or 6:30, so maybe it would be better to go for an earlier or later reservation. To try to explain how much my sister & her husband liked it there, they had dinner there 4 out of 5 nights!

We also had dinner one night at Tidepools (the Hyatt) & thought that was an amazing property that if you could get a good deal, might be an nice place to stay. It was much more low key at the Koa Kea. I even said to me husband when we were at the Hyatt - "this is like Disney"! We did see some conventioners when we were there, but I guess it is to be expected with such a large hotel. Lots of shops & dining options. We loved Tidepools. We were both happy to return to Koa Kea after dinner - quiet, relaxing, few children around.

Let me know if I can answer any other questions for you.

I'd easily choose the Koa Kea over the Waipouli or Sheraton; the Hyatt may be a contender if the price was right because they have so many amazing amenities like Stevenson's Library for a drink or the Seaview Terrace for live music & a drink, but I know it would not be an oceanfront room. They have nice oceanview rooms (comparable in price to Koa Kea's oceanfront) & I believe an oceanfront suite (over $1000/night).

One thing is we really loved the southern part of Kauai. We spent our first 4 nights up in Princeville (if you go to Hanalei, you must try Hanalei Coffee Roasters & pick up some wonderful coffee to take home - the Maui Peaberry was amazing!)& were prepared to be disappointed when we moved south, but honestly, we loved it. You must do the drive along the ocean all the way to Polihale State Park (if you have 4WD you can drive all the way in). Also, the drive up to & down Waimaea Canyon was beautiful! My sister & her husband visited the coffee plantation which they enjoyed. We also went on a great sail/snorkel trip with Captain Andy's on the Southern Star (there are a lot of great choices for viewing the Napali Coast with various companies - depends if you prefer a smaller vessel that can go into caves or a larger boat (which we chose!). We rented bikes in Kapaa & rode up and down the bike path along the coast which we loved, did a doors off helicopter tour - Jack Harter - which was the thing my husband enjoyed most! Also, hiked to the first beach, Hanakapiai, on the Kalalau trail (4 miles round trip); it was a challenge, especially since my one of my Keen's started coming apart! The thick, slushy mud definitely did not help! Definitely hiking boots!

If there is someplace special you'd like to eat, call & make a reservation in advance or reserve online. We found several restaurants that were closed for a private party on a particular evening (we'd wanted to try Josselin's for tapas; it was closed on a Friday evening for a private party. Also, the Beach House was closed on the Thursday evening of our stay - I had tried to reserve a couple of weeks in advance. Chose Tidepools instead which turned out great!).

Thank you so much for your reply and for all of the information you provided. I really appreciate it. We are leaning towards the Koa Kea. The Hyatt is in the running too, but the Koa Kea gets wonderful reviews and seems much more intimate and less crowded.

Glad you had such a good time. Thanks again.

Also, if you don't mind how your hair looks, go for the convertible! I tried to talk my husband into an intermediate car or mid-SUV because I was able to get a great rate through Hotwire, but he wanted the convertible & really, it was so much fun! I had reserved one back in Nov/Dec 2011 for June & the price never went down (kept checking carrentals.com, hotwire.com & individual companies' websites) except maybe by $5/day on Hotwire & then you have to prepay, so I'll only do this if it is a significant reduction. Last time we went to Hawaii was off-season (November) & I had reserved a convertible at ~ $40/day, then, right before the trip, I was able to get it on Hotwire for $21/day which was great!

My husband really wanted the Chevy Camaro covertible this time instead of the Mustang & Budget had several nice looking ones on the lot. Initially, it would have been way too expensive, essentially doubling the price for the rate we had for the Mustang or equivalent, but the agent kept checking different rates, & with AAA rate, we were
able to get the price down so it only cost an addtl $70 for the entire week. My husband was really pleased with this!

Hope you have a great trip!