Well i think I've settled on the Kauai hyatt for out honeymoon in Sept. The grounds seem GORGEOUS! But I'm worried a bit about the room. We plan to spend a week there and are worried it will be too cramped in the room (no desk???). Am also considering the 4 seasons maui or kea lani which has more room but not as nice of grounds/gardens for honeymooners. Any advice here? Does anyone have pics they can send me of rooms in Kauai Hyatt?

Tom,
Go to wizardpub.com. Go into the Kauai aerial photo's. Click on Hyatt and you will see on the bottom it says take me there. Click on that and it will take you into the Hyatts web site.

Speaking from personal experience at this hotel, you are correct about the grounds. They are beautiful. We did not like the rooms only because they are rather dreary feeling. They are shades of green and brown and pretty plain IMO. The bathrooms are nice and big. We had a deluxe Ocean view so I don't know about the other catagories as far as room size. I don't remember the size of the room being a problem. I couldn't wait to move onto Maui. We had lots of rain and I hated that if we did not eat at the hotel that we had to drive to go out to eat. The restaurants at the hotel are very pricey but we bit the bullet and ate there. Why are you planning a September honeymoon at this late stage?

Are the rooms really that bad? Also, as far as the weather I heard that south side of kauai was usually sunny in september. what month did you go? where did you stay in Maui? why did you like that better?

My wife an I honeymooned in Hawaii in 1998 in September. The rooms were fine.
We stayed at the Hyatt in Kauai for 5 nights and the Maui Prince for 6 nights.
Poipu is usually sunny in September; I'm not sure how rainy the north shore is in September. We spent 1 day on the north shore and it was beautiful.

We ate 2 meals at the hotel; one lousy (the Italian restaurant) and one good (Tidepools). The prices were typical Hawaiian resort prices. However, the wonderful buffet breakfast (and my wife and I normally hate buffets) overlooking the Koi pond was included in our room rate.

We had an "oceanview" room, but could barely see the ocean through the trees.

By the way, why the heck do you need a desk on your honeymoon?

Tom,
The rooms were not really bad. They were just dark and gloomy feeling. They did not feel modern and bright. I like bright ,airy rooms. They were clean and had nice amenities but I would never go back again. From what I have read, the princeville would be more up my ally. We were there in September and like I said it rained more than not. We don't backpack and are not into outdoor sports so Kauai is not for us, but you might love it. Do a text search for Hyatt Kauai then decide. On Maui we stay at the Westin or the Kea Lani. We feel that the Westin is just too zooey for us. We always felt frenzied while there. A zillion kids, poor housekeeping and tiny rooms in the Ocean Tower. We moved to the Beach tower, which was bigger but it is just not a relaxing hotel at all. We adore the Kea Lani, which we are going to go back to in the middle of September. 36 more days and we are counting every minute.

Maui in general has so much more to do. The weather has always been great, except for last November when they had some freak Kona storms that dumpded 7" of rain on us and the hotel roofs were caving in. (the Westin) It seems to be a happier island, whereas the people in Kauai seem quieter, more sedate. If I was a hippie throwback to the 60's I think I would love Kauai. I know the feeling you are having right now. You want to know every last detail of the hotel you can get. We have done the same thing in the past. You can never go wrong with the Kea Lani on Maui. It has beautiful grounds, huge rooms and wonderful service. The rooms are bright and airy too.

Good luck and I hope my feelings with the Hyatt have not dampened your spirits.

http://www.voyagertravel.com/Kauai_Hotels/Hyatt_Regency_Kauai_Resort_&_Spa.htm

Here are some actual photos of rooms.

Yuck.

Hi Thank you for your comments!
In truth I'm really wavering between the Hyatt on Kauai (due to the beauty of the grounds and the island and the less people there) vs. the Kea Lani on Maui (due to the beauty of the rooms).
This decision is so hard- because the vacation is so important- our honeymoon!

Maui

Just read in the current issue of the
"Hawaii" Magazine that the Hyatt is undergoing major renovations. It said that they were doing a block of rooms at a time so as not to interrupt the guests. My point is maybe you will get put in a new room.

We just stayed one week at the Hyatt in Kauai and one week at the Kea Lani. In my opinion, I'm glad I stayed at the Kea Lani last because it is a big step up. The rooms are luxurious, the food is great, and you can swim at there beach. At the Hyatt, the surf is very rough, and the surface has a lot of rocks underneath. While we were there, this teenage boy smashed his head against a rock while boogie-boarding. The food at the Kea Lani is better. The pool at the Hyatt is better,but the Kea Lani has three very nice pools. The Hyatt's rooms were kind of big, and nothing special about. Kea Lani is a much better value for your money. I still like the Hyatt. Captain Andy's had a better snorkling trip than the Ali Nui. Those guys were crazy and fun! The pool was a lot of fun at the Hyatt.

We stayed at both the Hyatt on Kauai and the Princeville. The Hyatt had wonderful pools and spa. The rooms and bathrooms were below expectations. The Princeville was wonderful- the beach and view unbeatable. The rooms large and very nice and clean. The ironic thing was the Princeville was cheaper than the Hyatt! You felt like a King or Queen at the Princeville. Ocean view room at the Hyatt is only worth it if you are on the 6th floor-if not good luck seeing the ocean.

Tom:
Just got back from Hyatt Kauai, 3rd time there. Fantastic hotel. Rooms are not small at all, very nice size. I will tell you that nothing has changed since the first time I went there, about 8 or 9 years ago, and the rooms could use updating. But, the manager told me they are just about to start on that. Don't think it will be done in Sept. though.

All in all, I would recommend it without reservation. Fantastic hotel.

I've stayed at both the Kea Lani and the Hyatt Kauai...The KL is the far superior hotel...the only thing about the Hyatt that is out of this world is the pool...the rest is average Hawaii (5 star!)...the whole package at KL is much better...