Hawaii trip report - part II - Kaua'i (we truly arrived in Paradise))
Sep 28th, 2004, 02:18 PM
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Hawaii trip report - part II - Kaua'i (we truly arrived in Paradise))
Part II - day 5 - 8 of our 17 day Hawaiin adventure
Kaua?i
Day 5 ? fly from Honolulu to Kauai,
Great 20 minute flight, boy that was quick!
We arrived at Kauai at the Lihue airport,m picked up our rental car and started driving to Princeville, wow, we already knew we loved Kauai! It was so beautiful, the green mountains, the smell of tropical flowers so abundant in the air? we had arrived in paradise!!!
We pulled up to the Princeville Hotel, and were greeted with a lei (I love that)
The lobby of the Princeville is huge, and gorgeous too! The European décor throws you off for a minute, but quickly you adjust because it is absolutely stunning, and the huge glass walls with views of Bali Hai from every where you look?well? does it get any better than this?!
We arrived about 12:30 pm, our room wsant ready yet, so we had lunch at the Hanalei café, what a nice restaurant, lunch was great, service was great too, and that view of Bali Hai? too die for!
Our room was ready after lunch, and we were excited, we had a junior suite booked, our room was on the 9th floor, the same floor as the lobby, and how gorgeous! Huge room with a king bed ? pop up TV in the bedroom area (my husband loves these, we had one at the Mirage in Vegas too)
The dining area for 4 persons.. and a living room with another TV and entertainment center, but who cares about that! The huge window (that opens by the way!) had a fantastic view of Hanaleiu bay and Bali Hai? then we go into the bathroom, huge, with a huge tub/shower at the end, with a huge window! With? an awesome view of Bali Hai? do you know hao incredible it is to take a shower while watching the sunset over Bali Hai?..oh my goodness? makes the extra $$ of the junior suite worth every penny!
We were exhausted from traveling that day, so we took a late afternoon nap in our gorgeous room, how wonderful to wake up to that view and to then shower watching the sunset? Paradise!
Dinner our first night in Kauai was at Bali Hai restaurant, (located at Hanalei Resort & villas) just a couple of miles (not even) from the Princeville resort, but boy are those roads dark at night! Dinner was fabulous, food awesome, service great, and we had a romantic table right along the edge.
We walked around the Hanalei resort after dinner, it was beautiful , alittle old looking, (especially the bathroom, it was kind of gross actually? but the restaurant was great)
The grounds were beautiful and tropical. However we love the Princeville hotel (no.. ya thnk?? Lol!)
Day 6 Monday (Sept 6th)
Rise and shine?.. at 5:30 am, we had to be at the Princeville airport for our Helicopter tour, we took the one hour tour, it was amazing! Yes, I was a bit nervous that my Bonine wouldn?t work, but it did, and I was fine. It was a little scary when it rained a little, but the views and scenery we saw were worth it. All those majestic mountains, rainbows and waterfalls, the Napali coast.. oh my goodness, I am so glad we bought the DVD afterwards, I could watch that every day!
(I feel terrible for the people who just died in the recent crash this week, that is terribly tragic)
After the Heli tour, we went back to the Princeville to put our bathing suits on with some board shorts.. etc love dressing in Hawaii !! we drove to Ke?e beach, which was lovely. The water was pretty rough (s it seemed rough every where on Kauai, but we went in a little bit anyway. It was raining on and off too, but only drizzles, so we didn?t care.. we were in Paradise, and it doesn?t get that way with out rain! The most awesome part about Ke?e beach was laying on the sand and in front of you is the beautiful parcific ocean and behind you is a huge mountain that you can see waterfalls in! wow, this was amazing!
We left Ke?e beach and headed to the town of Hanalei, we walked around a bit, we loved this little town. We had lunch at Zelo?s, thank you Auntiemarie and everyone else who recommended this place! It was great, our server was so friendly, we gave him a huge tip. We had a few beers, ate some Nachos and fish tacos, very yummy , and a fun and cute atmosphere. I loved seeing gorgeous tropical flowers outside the windows? paradise! (did I say that already! Lol!!!)
We went back to the Princeville, took a late afternoon nap (love naps on vacation!) and woke up to get ready for our special night! We had a romantic dinner on the beach planned!!! We met our server ? Mike ? in the lobby of the Princeville at 6:45 PM, he lead us outside to the beach to our private tent set up, we were a few feet away from the waves crashing on the black lava rocks, with tiki torches in front of us, and what else in our view but?Bali Hai.. ahhhhhhhhh! We caught the best part of the sunset, it was amazing. The dinner itself was incredible, worth every cent, comes with 5 courses, and a bottle of champagne total is $415 includes gratuity. We bought another bottle of wine (which we didn?t finish.. we aren?t total lushes!) and tipped extra, so our total was about $500, but it was so incredible and worth it. We had cpme to the conclusion by this time that there could be np place on earth as incredibly magical and dramatic as the North Shore of Kauai!
Dinner was a chefs selection of appetizers (sushi grade tuna, tom & mozz?) then we had Lobster ravioli which was delicious, then arugala salad w/walnuts and gorgonzola cheese and Japanese pears (so yummy!!!) then dh had seafood over linguine, and I had snapper w/ginger sweet potatoes, desert was chocolate tower with lilikoi mousse (tastes like banana/grapefruit)
This was such a romantic evening!!!!
Seot 7th - day 7
Woke up around 7 am, went for a run through the town of Princeville, wow, what amazing scenery, the landscaping is so incredible it looks fake. We also used the fitness center, it was the typical hotel gym, nothing great, but will do for vacation.
We ended up having to drive to Kapaa that day to do laundry! Of all things! We planned on having it sent out, but it was labor day weekend, and we wouldn?t get it back in time before we left for Maui! And dh needed clothes washed, we packed light since we were staying in 4 different hotels, so we hopped in the car w/a suitcase full of dirty clothes, and drove to Kapaa, somehow, it didn?t seem too bad, driving in Kauai is nice because it is so beautiful.!! We found the Laundromat quickly and through our cloths in as fast as we cxould, used as many dryers as we could? lol, so that they would dry fast. It worked! We were in and out of there in an hour.. no harm done, didn?t waste too much time! And we had clean clothes? gotta have that!
Stopped at Kileau light house on the way back, what a gorgeous spot. I wasn?t sure if water could be any more blue than right there!
We had luch at CJ?s steakhouse (at the Princeville center) not so great.. but we had ice-cream at Lapperts afterwards.. that made up for it! Love that Kauai pie
We bought a Hawaiin music C.D. from an outside vendor, and then headed back to the Princeville hotel. Spent the rest of the day in the Pool and on the beach. Drank lava flows at the bar in the pool. The views from the pool of Bali Hai and Hanalei bay are incredible, we never wanted to leave!
We had dinner at the Hanalei café at 7:45 pm, sat outside on the verandah, what a beautiful night it was. We had kobe beef appetizers, ahi tuna w/sesame miso & shrimp dumplings for dinner , and Princeville baby chocolate cake w/icecream and fresh strawberries for dessert, and pressed Kona coffee. Dinner was perfect, romantic candlelit dinner, great service and great prices too we thought!
Walked around the resort after dinner.. went up on the hill in front of the resort to the fort Alexander, and just soaked up the atmosphere?. As tomorrow we head to Maui
Setpt 8th ? day 8
Wake up at 6am, pack, and go to breakfast at the Hanalei café, we had omelets (they have a buffet too, but we don?t like buffets, you always eat to much, and I hate handling the spoons that everyone touches, yuck) breakfast was grea, and we sat there eating and soaking up the atmosphere and view of Hanalei bay and Bali Hai (which you can see waterfalls in if you look carefully!) we didn?t want to leave Kauai, but were excited to go to Maui. And.. we had already decided that we would be returning to Kauai, soon! (like in the spring!)
7:45 am we headed to Lihue airport, without a minute to spare? to catch our flight to Maui.
Kauai was incredible! Absolutely has to be the most beautiful place on earth and so dramatic! We?ll be returning to Kauai next year!
Stay tuned for Part III ? Maui
(consisting of 3 nights at Hotel Hana Maui, and 6 nights at the Grand Wailea)
oh.. and thanks again to everyone who helped me plan this amazing trip!
Kaua?i
Day 5 ? fly from Honolulu to Kauai,
Great 20 minute flight, boy that was quick!
We arrived at Kauai at the Lihue airport,m picked up our rental car and started driving to Princeville, wow, we already knew we loved Kauai! It was so beautiful, the green mountains, the smell of tropical flowers so abundant in the air? we had arrived in paradise!!!
We pulled up to the Princeville Hotel, and were greeted with a lei (I love that)
The lobby of the Princeville is huge, and gorgeous too! The European décor throws you off for a minute, but quickly you adjust because it is absolutely stunning, and the huge glass walls with views of Bali Hai from every where you look?well? does it get any better than this?!
We arrived about 12:30 pm, our room wsant ready yet, so we had lunch at the Hanalei café, what a nice restaurant, lunch was great, service was great too, and that view of Bali Hai? too die for!
Our room was ready after lunch, and we were excited, we had a junior suite booked, our room was on the 9th floor, the same floor as the lobby, and how gorgeous! Huge room with a king bed ? pop up TV in the bedroom area (my husband loves these, we had one at the Mirage in Vegas too)
The dining area for 4 persons.. and a living room with another TV and entertainment center, but who cares about that! The huge window (that opens by the way!) had a fantastic view of Hanaleiu bay and Bali Hai? then we go into the bathroom, huge, with a huge tub/shower at the end, with a huge window! With? an awesome view of Bali Hai? do you know hao incredible it is to take a shower while watching the sunset over Bali Hai?..oh my goodness? makes the extra $$ of the junior suite worth every penny!
We were exhausted from traveling that day, so we took a late afternoon nap in our gorgeous room, how wonderful to wake up to that view and to then shower watching the sunset? Paradise!
Dinner our first night in Kauai was at Bali Hai restaurant, (located at Hanalei Resort & villas) just a couple of miles (not even) from the Princeville resort, but boy are those roads dark at night! Dinner was fabulous, food awesome, service great, and we had a romantic table right along the edge.
We walked around the Hanalei resort after dinner, it was beautiful , alittle old looking, (especially the bathroom, it was kind of gross actually? but the restaurant was great)
The grounds were beautiful and tropical. However we love the Princeville hotel (no.. ya thnk?? Lol!)
Day 6 Monday (Sept 6th)
Rise and shine?.. at 5:30 am, we had to be at the Princeville airport for our Helicopter tour, we took the one hour tour, it was amazing! Yes, I was a bit nervous that my Bonine wouldn?t work, but it did, and I was fine. It was a little scary when it rained a little, but the views and scenery we saw were worth it. All those majestic mountains, rainbows and waterfalls, the Napali coast.. oh my goodness, I am so glad we bought the DVD afterwards, I could watch that every day!
(I feel terrible for the people who just died in the recent crash this week, that is terribly tragic)
After the Heli tour, we went back to the Princeville to put our bathing suits on with some board shorts.. etc love dressing in Hawaii !! we drove to Ke?e beach, which was lovely. The water was pretty rough (s it seemed rough every where on Kauai, but we went in a little bit anyway. It was raining on and off too, but only drizzles, so we didn?t care.. we were in Paradise, and it doesn?t get that way with out rain! The most awesome part about Ke?e beach was laying on the sand and in front of you is the beautiful parcific ocean and behind you is a huge mountain that you can see waterfalls in! wow, this was amazing!
We left Ke?e beach and headed to the town of Hanalei, we walked around a bit, we loved this little town. We had lunch at Zelo?s, thank you Auntiemarie and everyone else who recommended this place! It was great, our server was so friendly, we gave him a huge tip. We had a few beers, ate some Nachos and fish tacos, very yummy , and a fun and cute atmosphere. I loved seeing gorgeous tropical flowers outside the windows? paradise! (did I say that already! Lol!!!)
We went back to the Princeville, took a late afternoon nap (love naps on vacation!) and woke up to get ready for our special night! We had a romantic dinner on the beach planned!!! We met our server ? Mike ? in the lobby of the Princeville at 6:45 PM, he lead us outside to the beach to our private tent set up, we were a few feet away from the waves crashing on the black lava rocks, with tiki torches in front of us, and what else in our view but?Bali Hai.. ahhhhhhhhh! We caught the best part of the sunset, it was amazing. The dinner itself was incredible, worth every cent, comes with 5 courses, and a bottle of champagne total is $415 includes gratuity. We bought another bottle of wine (which we didn?t finish.. we aren?t total lushes!) and tipped extra, so our total was about $500, but it was so incredible and worth it. We had cpme to the conclusion by this time that there could be np place on earth as incredibly magical and dramatic as the North Shore of Kauai!
Dinner was a chefs selection of appetizers (sushi grade tuna, tom & mozz?) then we had Lobster ravioli which was delicious, then arugala salad w/walnuts and gorgonzola cheese and Japanese pears (so yummy!!!) then dh had seafood over linguine, and I had snapper w/ginger sweet potatoes, desert was chocolate tower with lilikoi mousse (tastes like banana/grapefruit)
This was such a romantic evening!!!!
Seot 7th - day 7
Woke up around 7 am, went for a run through the town of Princeville, wow, what amazing scenery, the landscaping is so incredible it looks fake. We also used the fitness center, it was the typical hotel gym, nothing great, but will do for vacation.
We ended up having to drive to Kapaa that day to do laundry! Of all things! We planned on having it sent out, but it was labor day weekend, and we wouldn?t get it back in time before we left for Maui! And dh needed clothes washed, we packed light since we were staying in 4 different hotels, so we hopped in the car w/a suitcase full of dirty clothes, and drove to Kapaa, somehow, it didn?t seem too bad, driving in Kauai is nice because it is so beautiful.!! We found the Laundromat quickly and through our cloths in as fast as we cxould, used as many dryers as we could? lol, so that they would dry fast. It worked! We were in and out of there in an hour.. no harm done, didn?t waste too much time! And we had clean clothes? gotta have that!
Stopped at Kileau light house on the way back, what a gorgeous spot. I wasn?t sure if water could be any more blue than right there!
We had luch at CJ?s steakhouse (at the Princeville center) not so great.. but we had ice-cream at Lapperts afterwards.. that made up for it! Love that Kauai pie
We bought a Hawaiin music C.D. from an outside vendor, and then headed back to the Princeville hotel. Spent the rest of the day in the Pool and on the beach. Drank lava flows at the bar in the pool. The views from the pool of Bali Hai and Hanalei bay are incredible, we never wanted to leave!
We had dinner at the Hanalei café at 7:45 pm, sat outside on the verandah, what a beautiful night it was. We had kobe beef appetizers, ahi tuna w/sesame miso & shrimp dumplings for dinner , and Princeville baby chocolate cake w/icecream and fresh strawberries for dessert, and pressed Kona coffee. Dinner was perfect, romantic candlelit dinner, great service and great prices too we thought!
Walked around the resort after dinner.. went up on the hill in front of the resort to the fort Alexander, and just soaked up the atmosphere?. As tomorrow we head to Maui
Setpt 8th ? day 8
Wake up at 6am, pack, and go to breakfast at the Hanalei café, we had omelets (they have a buffet too, but we don?t like buffets, you always eat to much, and I hate handling the spoons that everyone touches, yuck) breakfast was grea, and we sat there eating and soaking up the atmosphere and view of Hanalei bay and Bali Hai (which you can see waterfalls in if you look carefully!) we didn?t want to leave Kauai, but were excited to go to Maui. And.. we had already decided that we would be returning to Kauai, soon! (like in the spring!)
7:45 am we headed to Lihue airport, without a minute to spare? to catch our flight to Maui.
Kauai was incredible! Absolutely has to be the most beautiful place on earth and so dramatic! We?ll be returning to Kauai next year!
Stay tuned for Part III ? Maui
(consisting of 3 nights at Hotel Hana Maui, and 6 nights at the Grand Wailea)
oh.. and thanks again to everyone who helped me plan this amazing trip!
Sep 28th, 2004, 02:47 PM
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Thanks for your detailed report! I love knowing all the juicy details! We stayed at the Princeville last Dec/Jan and thought the views were to die for also! We are returning next June. Glad to hear you had a great time. Looking forward to hearing about Maui next!
Sep 29th, 2004, 02:41 AM
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you're funny Kal... 
actually, we were thre for 3 days and it only drizzled one morning, by 1 pm it was sunny as could be, and the whole rest of the days were sunny! yes, the sun does shine in Kauai
actually, we were thre for 3 days and it only drizzled one morning, by 1 pm it was sunny as could be, and the whole rest of the days were sunny! yes, the sun does shine in Kauai
Sep 29th, 2004, 03:09 AM
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Lasjas, sounds like you have it bad for Kauai - I know the feeling!!! North shore Kauai is my favorite place on earth also (ditto to Kauai Pie ice cream at Lapperts.) Thanks for helping me start my day with a little Aloha. I can almost smell the fragrant balmy breezes now...
those North Shore Kaua`i details sure are making us 
amp;
Sep 29th, 2004, 10:09 AM
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hmmm.. Kal.. I think I have figured you out! You want to keep Kauai to yourself! ah ha!
no way... I'm right there!
bonniebroad..... I would accept the job offer.... without hesitation!
thanks for the compliment
I am so glad you all are enjoying my reports. I wish I had time right now to right the next part on Maui!
I will get to it as soon as I can, hopefully by the end of the week. It is 9 nights to go, I might have to break up the report to 2 more parts, 3 nights Hana and 6 nights Wailea..
I just get so into it and can write forever!
no way... I'm right there!
bonniebroad..... I would accept the job offer.... without hesitation!
thanks for the compliment
I am so glad you all are enjoying my reports. I wish I had time right now to right the next part on Maui!
I will get to it as soon as I can, hopefully by the end of the week. It is 9 nights to go, I might have to break up the report to 2 more parts, 3 nights Hana and 6 nights Wailea..
I just get so into it and can write forever!
Sep 29th, 2004, 10:22 AM
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lasjas.....I have a feeling you will not be back in Hawaii this time next year...cause with this much romance you are bound to be rocking a 3 month old!
Seriously, have loved your parts I & II. Our trip is still 226 days out..boo hoo.
Isn't Kauai the most magical place ever? We were like you..we knew we loved Kauai the minute we got there. The first day it rained and rained and rained while we were on the north shore. Didn't dampen our spirits one bit!
Seriously, have loved your parts I & II. Our trip is still 226 days out..boo hoo.
Isn't Kauai the most magical place ever? We were like you..we knew we loved Kauai the minute we got there. The first day it rained and rained and rained while we were on the north shore. Didn't dampen our spirits one bit!
Sep 29th, 2004, 11:21 AM
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iceeu2 - nope... we have been married over 6 years and the reason we are so romantic.. is because there is no baby to rock.. and still wont be by next year.. too much fun going on here!
definitely going back to Hawaii next year! Kauai was love at first sight!
definitely going back to Hawaii next year! Kauai was love at first sight!
Sep 30th, 2004, 03:14 PM
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thanks for the report lasjas, hope you don't suffer from withdrawals, went there for the first time a month ago and I still picture it everyday! Kauai surely is a tropical paradise like no other (IMO at least!) The suite and beachfront dinner sounded amazing, you two sure know how to travel in style.
Sep 30th, 2004, 04:49 PM
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ggrtist, we do suffer from withdrawals, I dream abotu Kauai and Maui every night! and cannot stop thinking about it, we will be home 2 weeks tomorrow...
we are lucky to travel in style... the thing is, the more you travel and do it high end.. the more spoiled you get!
we are planning to go back to Hawaii soon, hopefull within the next 6 or 7 months, we just can't stay away.
hope to get the 4th (and final) part of my trip report done by tomorrow or Monday the latest.
we are lucky to travel in style... the thing is, the more you travel and do it high end.. the more spoiled you get!
we are planning to go back to Hawaii soon, hopefull within the next 6 or 7 months, we just can't stay away.
hope to get the 4th (and final) part of my trip report done by tomorrow or Monday the latest.
