Trying to narrow down hotel choices for Kauai in March. Two "very nice and reasonable" places were recommended by my inlaws: Radisson Kauai Beach Hotel and the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort. Looking on the net, the only places that looked real nice were the Princeville Resort and the Hyatt, maybe the Marriott, altough the Princeville is a tad pricey. The central location on the east coast makes sense, and I'm not sure what the weather will be in early March on the north coast. We ant a good to great place to stay, very nice grounds and rooms, and a great setting. Any input or ideas would be helpful. Thanks.

If you are interested in the Priceville resort consider staying at the Hanalei Bay Resort. It is about half the price as the Princeville Resort but they share the golf corse and the beach. The rooms have full size kitchens and decks that look towards the ocean or the mountains. Nice restaurant and bar, multiple pools.

I have stayed at the Hanalei Bay it is a find for the money you can also walked down to Princeville for dinner, afternoon hula, Luau at night. In March I am not sure I would risk the rainy weather on the North Shore though unless you are someone that can appreciate stormy waves. Whales are leaving in February that would be nice to see.

I love the Kauai Marriott. There is a giant gothic type pool where you can swim under the stars at night. It is in a secluded setting. Sunspree it is an upscale version of the Holiday Inn never stayed but know it as a family hotel. I believe it is right at lyngate state park which is great if you are out of the swing of snorkeling this can happen if it has been a few years.

I would recommend either the Princeville or the Marriott. The Princeville's location is spectacular, with great views from almost every room. The Marriott is very nice, and slightly less expensive. The Princeville offers good deals, however, especially if you are a member of Starwood Preferred. It's free to join. With that, rates can be under $300 per night for a good room.

Having stayed at the Hanalei Bay Resort, I would attest that this is NOT a LUXURY hotel; it is a time-share complex that has some hotel units. The only thing going for it is the views; otherwise there is NO comparison to the Princeville Resort. I would say it would be comparable to the Holiday Inn Sunspree, but a step DOWN to the Radisson, which I also stayed at, and I enjoyed, and that was BEFORE the total renovation to hotel had when it switched affiliations from a Outrgger hotel to a Radisson.
Brock, if you are looking for 4/5* accomodations, it would be either the Princeville in the north shore or the hyatt on the South shore (depending on how many days you stay on Kauai, a nice thing to do is to split the stay on the South Shore and the North); however, you will pay over $300/nt for those accomodations. The next step down would be the Sheraton or the Marriott. After that, it would be places like the Radisson. As I said, for a value stay, the Radisson can't be beat. It is a newly renovated hotel, and located about half-way between the South and the north shores. The beach at the Radisson is not really swimable, but you just jump into the car and drive to a nice, calm beach. The Radisson has a great pool, and you can check if they retained the free laui (sp) show at the pool, which was lots of fun when we were there (about 4 yrs ago) when it was an Outrigger property.

Let me know if you have other questions.

Agreed regarding Hanalei Bay Resort. It is a well kept,beautiful site and setting but be darn sure you know what you're paying for when it comes to your room/unit. I didn't check, just booked based upon American Airlines' Vacation site, and we did NOT get a kitchenette.To be fair,the property's own website makes the distinction between which units/rooms have kitchenettes and which don't, but AA (still) doesn't. A colleague stayed at the Princeville last August and was very, very pleased - should be at those prices
Have fun, it's magic any way you look at it !
p.