Hyatt Regency or Princeville? August 2005
 

My husband and I are taking our first child-free trip in several years and are staying in Kauia for 7 nights and Oahu for 3 nights at the end of August/beginning of September.

After reading hundreds posts, we still cannot decide which hotel to stay in Kaua--Hyatt Regency or Princeville? We really would like to be pampered and enjoy our room, the pool and the ocean. Has anyone stayed in either hotel recently?

Any constructive feedback would be greatly appreciated!

If you have reviewed hundreds of posts, you have most likely read accurate reports of the differences between these two resorts. Have you also checked TripAdvisor? There are several recent reports about both of these resorts there. Personally, I'd take the Hyatt because it is more Hawaiian. The Princeville is in a stunning setting, but the hotel itself is very European in style.

Both are beautiful properties. I agree the Princeville is more "formal" than the Hyatt. Pool may be more tranquil at the Princeville, the Hyatt can be a riot, kids on the slides etc. Which is great, but if you left your kids home....
For pampering though I can speak for the Anara Spa at the Hyatt as being a bit of heaven on earth. http://www.anaraspa.com/default.aspx
Great gym, outdoor showers, treatments... My wife gets seasick rather easily, so whenever me and the kids go on Captain Andy's she drops us off at the dock, tells us to have fun, and heads to the Anara Spa. Of course, her day costs as much as all of us on Andy's, but she assures me it is worth it ;)

Bottom line, I think you could have a great time at either property. Enjoy.

Doug

We stayed at Hyatt and visited Princeville. Both are wonderful, but we really liked the location of the Hyatt, the really great "river" like pool, and the nice location directly on the beach. The view from Princeville is stunning but I did not think it was close enough to the beach for my taste.
We were very happy we stayed at the Hyatt. We also stayed at the Sheraton just down the road from the Hyatt, which is also very nice, but not as plush as the Hyatt. It would also be a good choice. One word of caution on the Hyatt. There is a wonderful jewelery story in the lobby with an extremely nice selection of Tahitian pearls and it is hard to resist (my wife loves her pearl ring!)and could end up costing you major bucks.

I would suggest two nights at Princeville, then the rest at the Hyatt. You will want to see both sides of the island, anyway. The Princeville has a suberb setting, but I found it overly formal and the area overpriced. It's obviously an older golfer's place. Personally, I would go crazy there for seven days. The Hyatt is wonderful, but the beach is not swimable, whereas the Princeville has a nice beach for sunning, swimming, and snorkeling. You have enough time for both places. ( I found the Hyatt's jewelry store quite high pressure and scooted out of there fast) The Tidepools restaurant at the Hyatt is overrated. Go to Stevenson's Bar early and get a seat outside. You can order most anything and you will have the best views in the entire resort.

Hi

My husband and I were in Kauai last fall. We stayed at the Hyatt for a few nights and then went to the north end of the island Hyatt a few nights at a quiet cond resort. We did not stay at Princeville but did tour the resort, saw some of the rooms and had a very nice but expensive lunch there.

I can agree with the some of what all of the posters above have said.

Both hotels are very nice but appeal to different sences and likes. Hyatt was wonderfull and we hated to elave it but we did not mind the children running around teh pool areas. We joined right in and went down the slides into the pools many times :-) The Hyatt is very Hawaiian in nature and you feel like you are really in the tropics with a very casual laid back atmosphere. We ahd a very romantic dinner at Tidepools and were entertained by the koi wanting attention :-) We thought the food was great with lots of atmosphere as well. We both went to the Ansara spa and had the Hawaii lomi lomi massages. My husband was a drooling fool when he walked out of his area after the massage :-) We saw two weddings while staying there!!! It does attract lots of families though.

AS for the Princeville Resort it has a more formal european appreance and atmosphere which is nice as well if you prefer it. It is more adult and quiet with much less children there. The views from the rooms and restaurants are absolutely to die for.

I have my Hawaiian trip report and most of my pictures on my web site if you would like to see my pictures of both the Hyatt and Princeville just email me and I will email you the link [email protected]

If you doon't mind switching hotels I would recommend a few days at both.

Have you confirmed availability at both properties for your dates? August can sometimes be booked solid. Depending on your deal, why not stay at both -- 4th or 5th night free? stay 2 at the other property.

I stayed at the Hyatt a couple years ago and it is very lush and tropical but the beach is too rough to do much on. However, just down the road is a secluded public beach/cove flanked by dunes which is just amazing. You have to access it through a dirt road but well worth it.

So if you stay at Hyatt make sure you take some time to check out that beach. Also, make sure you whichever do the hike that takes you up by the Napali (I think) coast to the hidden beach (Just don't go in the water). Stay for sunset on the way back to get the "green flash."