Kauai - Coconut Beach Resort
 

We are planning on traveling to Kauai the 1st of July, with several groups of friends. We were planning on staying at the Coconut Beach Resort, due to it's location between the North Shore and West Coast, for traveling purposes. The Rants and Raves section isn't painting a very good story. Is there anyone out there who has been there recently and can either verify or let us know that it is ok, we will be doing a lot of activities outside the hotel.

My wife and I were just there a couple of weeks ago for our honeymoon. It's not a five star hotel by any means, but we thought it was fine. The workers there were nice, the rooms were well kept, and the location is really good - I think it was about one and a quarter hours from both Waimea Canyon and the Na Pali Coast, both of which have some great hikes.

My reliable Ultimate Kauai Guidebook does not like this place at all and they are usually right on about stuff. We stayed there for our honeymoon right after the sale to Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays and thought it was sorry back then. What Ulimate Kauai says about the Kauai Coconut Beach Hotel is:<BR>307 rooms, tennis courts, room service, restaurant, conference room, cocktail lounge, pool and spa, and a lu'au on the premises. A tired, neglected resort owned by the Pleasant Hawaiian Holiday people. It was for sale at press time and had been for almost 20 years according to the staff (sounds like it's time to fire the realtor) and morale, maintenance and the overall look displayed a lack of commitment. <BR><BR>Just near by so, presumably, a similar draw because of location is The Islander on the Beach. 198 rooms, pool and spa, poolside bar. Open, plantation style setting adjacent to Wailua Beach. Each building has a name. The Kaua'i and Ni'ihau buildings are fairly close to the ocean, allowing you to fall asleep to the sound of the surf.

I use the Kauai ultimate guide also and find it helpful however they are not on the mark every time. They give Hanalei Bay Resort a gem status for lodging. Do a search here and listen to the disappointments people list about that place. For us we found other things we did not agree with. Go to epinions. You don't have a lot of choices for guide books in Kauai and I would not say Kauai Ultimate guide is bad but we found some suggestions lacking and that is saying alot after only a 7 day stint on Kauai. I have also been many times so I see when they are just promoting a friend's business (people on the mainland don't understand our colors in photos go to this place to get your pictures developed). Get to know Kauai a bit better you will see it is not the guide it could be given it had some kind of competion. <BR><BR>Kauai sands is another option. I think Matt and his wife had the right idea, notion you are going to get something of what you pay for.

Go to epinions for Coconut Coast resort. Also do a search here.