Kauai Lodging Recommendations
 

Looking for recommendations for hotels/VRBOs/condos on either the East or South shore of Kauai for under $400/night. Reviews on TripAdvisor are a little all over the place for the non-luxury hotels. We don't care too much about the pool or view since we'll be exploring the island during the day - but amenities would be a bonus!

Thanks for the help! :)

Did you post on the Kauai Destination Forum on Trip Advisor? If it different than the Reviews section. And I find the forums a lot more helpful. Also you can PM the people who did reviews, if you want to ask them specifically about something they posted. suze

Agree with suze, also post what time of year, I mostly stayed at the Marriott in Lihue, but with a few exceptions most of the beaches on the East Shore are not swimmable due to strong currents, etc. although there are a few like Lydgate and part of Kealia.

It often sells out but try for Kauai Shores. I had done some research about a year ago but decided to cancel that leg of the trip due to the car rental situation. There were some less expensive Airbnbs in Princeville. There is also the good old Tip Top Motel, Cafe and Bakery in Lihue, which also sells out since there is very little left that is affordable. It reminded me of my dorm room in college (cinder block walls which is how they built them to survive hurricanes and wood rot).

The Grand Hyatt Kauai is a great choice to stay at this hotel where you can see all the beauty of the island! The resort offers many recreational programs

Thank you for the suggestions! We will be going end of April and booked a VRBO near Poipu. We don't have the budget for the Grand Hyatt and so many hotels had such mixed reviews!