Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - TRIP REPORT - Kauai 7/11

Sorry it took so long but work has been crazy.
Here is my trip report from our two weeks on Kauai 7/11 - 7/25 at The Cliffs in Princeville.
Here is also a link to some pics I downloaded to Picasa.
Hope you enjoy. Drop me a line with any thoughts.
Aloha
…google.com/richinpa1950/Kauai2008July11thTo…

Trip Report – Kauai 7/11/08 to 7/25/08
I am going to try not to list every day’s activities as we really just tried to relax most of the time and having been here twenty times, that is what we enjoy the most. I will hit the high points and the restaurant experiences as best as I can. However, once I start, I get carried away with memories.
Friday 7/11/08: We flew American Airlines from Newark NJ to Dallas, then on to Honolulu with a connection on Hawaiian to Lihue, Kauai. Left Newark at 6 AM EST and arrived Kauai about 5:30 Hawaiian time………do the math………a very long day of travel.
Had a reservation for a Malibu or Pontiac G6 at Budget, but got a Jeep Compass upgrade which served us well as we have two large bags each plus two golf bags. The Compass was very comfortable to drive for two weeks. And all at a very reasonable rate of $384 for two weeks.
Made the traditional stop at Lihue Walmart for some staples and then drove to The Cliff’s at Princeville. Arrived shortly before 7.
Dropped the bags and groceries at the condo, building #8, unit 8304, just remodeled and a great view. The Cliff’s has really improved their services, site, landscaping and overall satisfaction for me. The new Manager, Kimo has done a great job.
Drove over to the Princeville Center and went to The Paradise Bar and Grill for some food. We met our friends from Colorado there (they were also staying at the Cliffs and have their own timeshare: they stayed in building9). They had arrived a few hours before we did and we had pre arranged to meet here for dinner, a first night tradition, good fish sandwiches and fish and chips.
Saturday 7/12/08: Attended the Cliff’s orientation meeting as we usually do to see what new has appeared on the island and in the drawing for the attendees, we won a 2 for 1 Napali Cruise with Bali Hai Tours (more on that later), and our friends won a 2 for 1 Napali / Niihau snorkeling trip also. This was followed by breakfast at Hanalei Wake Up with my wife having her fav, “over the Falls” French toast and I had a wonderful omelet with Cheese and Portuguese sausage. We did some more grocery shopping at Foodland in Princeville, set up all our tee times and the Napali tour time and then lunged around the pool.
OK, that is how we started our two weeks. Now I’ll compile a bit for brevity starting with restaurants we ate at.
RESTAURANTS
Hanalei Dolphin: We ate here only once in 2007 and had a terrible dining experience. This was always one of our favorite places to eat, so we decided to give it one more try. SOOOOOOOO glad we did. They are back to their old standards if not better IMO. Ate here twice and had wonderful ONO, OPAH, Teri Shrimp and Calamari entrees. Their family style salad and homemade dressings are still the best. Our two waitresses could not have been more helpful, pleasant and professional. Two great experiences.
Prince Golf Course Restaurant: Had breakfast here once, good quality breakfasts and good service, slight pricey.
Polynesia Café Hanalei: Light dinner here once. We love this place; gourmet food on paper plates is their ad. Had good Ahi Sandwiches and chicken quesadillas, salads, etc. Relatively inexpensive also.
Poipu Bay Golf Course Restaurant: Had breakfast there twice. Excellent fruit pancakes and very good frittata.
Café Portofino: My wife and I ate here the evening after our first round of Golf at Poipu Bay. One of our regular haunts. My wife had the Veggie Lasagna and I had the Penne salciccia and a wonderful Caesar salad.
Saffron’s: Located in Princeville at Pua Kea complex where the old Beamreach used to be and most recently Sabella’s. We had been given some good reviews of this place, but our experience for 5 people was very disappointing. All 5 meals were blah at best and very much over priced. They had just put out a new menu that evening according to our waiter and when I compared it to the older one, the prices per entrée increased $3 to $6 per entrée. I can accept that if the food would have been good, but it was not. My wife and I had Pasta Primavera without any taste whatever and minimal vegetables mixed in, one friend had the seafood Paella that was dry and the seafood tasted old, and their daughter had a 9 inch personal size pizza that cost $20 and was very boring at best. No blemish to the wait staff as they were very attentive.
Postcards, Hanalei: Another favorite that did not disappoint. We ate there two nights and both evenings were very memorable. Had good ONO and Wasabi Encrusted Ahi entrees, with wonderfully different accompaniments to the meals.
Hukilau Lanai: Enjoyed another fine meal there with wonderful scenery from the back deck. I had the mixed grill with ONO, Hebi and Grilled Shrimp over a fine risotto and my wife has a wonderful Opah dish.
Gaylords: Again a one evening tradition for us. Love the courtyard setting, so peaceful at sunset. A little pricey, but still worth the trip from the North shore.
Kilauea Fish Market: A new find for us for lunch, excellent very fresh salad and great mahi Mahi Fish tacos.
Kauai Pasta: Ate at both locations, Kapaa and Lihue and had great pasta dishes and good service both times and very affordable.
Happy Talk Lounge: We were supposed to meet our friend Auntie Maria here on Tuesday 7/22, however she came down with a severe stomach bug, so we missed her dearly and raised a few fruity drinks in her honor. Our order of nachos was outstanding too.
ACTIVITIES:
This year we won a “buy one get one free” Napali Boat tour at our Resort Orientation meeting. It was with Bali Hai Tours on a solid hull Zodiac boat, 30 ft long. The trip was scheduled for 3 ½ hours with snorkeling and lunch on the Napali. We had not done this in perhaps 15 years so we agreed to go. Also, it is one of the few trips that leave from the North shore where we were staying. This was one of the best trips we were ever on. The Zodiac had about 5 rows of padded seats for those who wanted to use them and the rest of the passengers sat on the sides. I chose a seat as my back is not the best, and my wife sat on the side as did our friend. Our Captain, Rick and his mate Josh, were very much fun and very well informed. They gave great detail about the sightings on the way up the Napali, and the best part was their ability to get us into all the sea caves on the coast. We traveled all the way up the coast to about a mile of Polihali Beach and then we pulled in to snorkel for about ¾ of an hour and also have lunch if we wanted which consisted of wraps, fruit, salads and drinks. All pictures we taken on the way up to the end of the Napali and after snorkeling, we placed everything in dry bags as Captain Rick told us we would have fun on the fast trip back, but we would get very wet………..and we did, but it was great fun. I would not say it was a smooth ride, but at no time, was it extremely rough. I felt very comfortable and even opted to sit on the side of the boat at times. We saw plenty of sea turtle and a Monk seal but because this was the afternoon trip, we saw no dolphins. This company was very professional and very much fun and I would highly recommend them to anyone and the 3 ½ hour trip was extended to 4 ½ hours with no extra charge.
GOLF:
Played the Kauai challenge which offers a round at each of the 3 premier courses, Poipu Bay, The Prince, and the Kiele. The Kiel was being reworked so Poipu Bay offered us the chance to play 2 rounds there.
Also played the Makai in Princeville our last day there and then went to the Prince Spa to take a shower before getting on the plane.
BEACHES:
This year we spent several days just lounging and snorkeling on Tunnels. We have our special tree we sit under and enjoy the beauty and peace of this beach. We walk a little down from the crowds, so we never feel that it is too busy here. The last day there, Kareem Abdul Jabaar sat under the tree near us. We got to view some wonderful fish and I even saw a small octopus the last day.
We did spend one very pleasant day on Hanalei Bay soaking up some sun. It was a very windy day and the first time I ever saw rough water posting on the beach there during the summer.
That pretty much was our vacation. Lots of rest, some quality beach time, Read several paperbacks each. very good dining and we got to spend two weeks with our best friends. This is the only time we get to see them as they join us every other year from Colorado. We took in some old sites we hadn’t visited in a few years….. the Spouting horn, Waialua Falls, The Lighthouse at Kilauea.
We are booked back at the Cliff’s for the first two weeks of May in 2009. This will be only the second time we have traveled there other than mid summer, but we heard the weather should be fine at that time of year.
Hope I didn’t bore too many of you. ALOHA