We are planning a trip to Kauia in mid-August for our Honeymoon and can't decide whether to stay at the Sheraton in Koloa or the Marriott in Lihue. Anyone been to both -either? Any recommendations?

The Sheraton reminds me of a Holiday Inn. The Marriott looks like a Las Vegas nightmare. The best hotel on Kauai is the Hyatt which is next door to the Sheraton.

How about the Princeville Resort? Stayed there in May. Out of this world

How about the Princeville Resort? Stayed there in May. Out of this world

For the best location with regards to activities, restaurants, and weather I vote for the Hyatt. Otherwise if you don't mind being a little more secluded and in a rain forest, the Princeville wins. Generally we stay at the Hyatt due to its proximity to Lihue.

I have to agree with Kelly. The best place to stay in Kauai is the Princeville Resort. I highly recommend it. We have stayed there three times and wouldn't go anywhere else. The north side of the island is the most beautiful.

I did alot of research back in Feburary on hotels in Kauai for our honeymoon. There are only three hotels that we considered, the Hyatt, Princeville, and the Sheraton. All the others either had poor reviews or have never quite gotten "up to speed" after the hurrican a few years back (such as the Marriott). It may be different now, but we finally decided on the Hyatt because of its location and because of the excellent reviews we kept reading. Princeville was just TOO stuffy, and the Sheraton had just re-opened and there wasn't much info about it at the time. From what we did read, the Sheraton sounded nice being remodeled (and rebuilt)and on the beach, and it also was cheaper, but the rooms sounded smaller, it seemed more "motel" like, and I read that the surf at the beach made it uncomfortable to swim. Unfortunately our plans changed and we ended up going to Paris and different places in the U.K. for our honeymoon, so I can't give you any first-hand info.

We are going at the end of September and decided to split the time. We are spending 3 days at the Hyatt and then 5 at the Princeville. We almost stayed at the Sheraton instead of the Hyatt. The beach at the Sheraton is supposed to be the nicest and swimmable, the Hyatt not - but the Hyatt has those interconnecting lagoon pools. The Princeville scenery looks phenomenal.

The Princeville Hotel ... Without a doubt!!

We stayed at the Sheraton in June and absolutely loved it. Personally, I don't think that it is anything like a Holiday Inn. We had an oceanfront room in the Beach Wing that had a gorgoeus view of both the beach and the attractive pool area. I would not stay in the Garden rooms-- they are actually across the street and quite inconvenient to the rest of the hotel. If you want a slightly quieter location, go for the oceanfront rooms in the Ocean Wing. They're away from the pool and beach area, have beautiful views also. We visited the Princeville Resort for dinner one night and were very impressed. We also visited the Hyatt for Vince's astronomy show (great show by the way if you want to see some amazing sights). It had more of a formal feel to it than the Sheraton. The Sheraton is very open and airy. I would go back in a heartbeat!

The most recent Reader's Poll in Conde Nest Traveler had the Hyatt Regency Kauai as #6 most popular resort in the world. That's quite a accomplishment.
The hotel is fashioned after a luxurious plantation house. It is plush and casual at the same time.
It's next door neighbor, the Sheraton, is a nice hotel. Its plain and simple and appeals to those on a more limited budget.

I've stayed at Holiday Inns and I've stayed at Sheratons, and you will not be confused as to which is which. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Holiday Inns, generally, but they are not in the same class as Sheraton. I would not agree that the Sheraton Kauai is "plain & simple, for people on a limited budget." It's a lovely hotel, with rates starting at slightly less than the Hyatt. Everyone is not looking for the same thing in a hotel, and sometimes I'm afraid we concentrate too much on "which ritzy hotel is the ritziest" and not enough on other properties where people will not need to spend as much. I'm sure there's a wide variety of people who frequent this Forum, and everyone can't afford to pay $350 a day for their hotel room! Just my thoughts ..............

I have a friend who is staying at Sheraton Kauai and Princeville (some time at each) next week. When she returns, I'll ask her to post her opinions.

Ruth, did you friend enjoy the trip?

I stayed at both the Hyatt and Princeville Hotel in January. The Princeville is quite formal and very expensive. The rooms are large and lovely -- only thing I didn't like was not having a balcony. I don't know what the weather is like here in August, but keep in mind that this is a rainy island, and Princeville is located on the rainy side of the island. That's what makes everything so lush and green. The Hyatt was delightful. Had a great Hawaiian feel to it; the Princeville Resort had more of a European feel to it -- lots of marble, French antiques, etc. I also stayed at the Marriott, and outside of the pool, I can't say I was overly impressed, although I found the service to be excellent. Another note: the Princeville Resort has its own movie theater showing first-run movies, I guess in case of rain. And, one more thing: the spa at the Hyatt was incredible; I was not so impressed with the one at Princeville.

Just heard from my friend who stayed at the Sheraton Kauai for three nights, and the Princeville Hotel for two nights in July. She was disappointed in the Sheraton - said they received two double beds instead of the king requested, the breakfast buffet ran out of food everyday, and they could not get the tennis courts unlocked! Said the place was not well-run, and the staff was not very pleasant. On the other hand, the Princeville Resort was heavenly, and she loved the North Shore! Wouldn't expect that kind of news about a Sheraton, would you?

The Marriott is up to speed since the hurricane; I stayed there in May 1998 and had a great time!! I was able to stay for free, so I'm not sure about the value, but I thought it was just super.