Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa

When you book here, ask what is included or you will be surprised. There is an unbenounced $18 per day resort fee tacked on for such banalities as the two small bottles in your room, self-parking, and fitness center -- even if you don't use these amenities. Want a pad for your beach chair? That'll be $50. Room service? There's another $4 charge (on top of, say $20 for a personal size cheese pizza) to deliver it to your room. We were told by the on-site management that most people used low cost package deals booked through mega travel websites and 'didn't mind' the extra charges. Unfortunately, we vacation very infrequently and so, we go with high end luxury resorts where we feel we can vacation with confidence if we pay a bit more. Our Deluxe Ocean View room (over $700 per night) had no mini-bar and no turn down service. The room was very standard, but it did have a great view. Breakfast buffet is included, but was very standard too. The grounds: gorgeous. The beach: very small. The on-site manager was very responsive to our inquiries about all the hidden fees, and did waive them for the rest of our stay. So if you are paying top dollar at this Grand Hyatt, inquiry early!

For a total beach-front resort package, this place can't be beat. We spent five nights here in February. The grounds are fabulously landscaped, and include pools and lagoons. There's lots of bird life. You'll never forget the view from the terrace bar. The beach is great. The entire resort is classy and quiet. Service isn't always the best--they could use some lessons on running a breakfast buffet. The cable TV system is poor. The place sprawls out so that you have long walks from your room to the restaurants. Be careful picking a room, there are a lot of rooms without good views. But if we were coming back to the island, we'd stay here.