tommyd

Looking at 5 days on Maui & 5 nights on Kauai. Any comments on these properties? Maui-Aston Kaanapali Villas, Maui Kai Condos, Aston Papakea Resort. Kauai-Aston Kaha Lana, Radisson Beach Resort, Aston Wiamea Plantation Cottages, or Outrigger Kiahuna Plantation? Also, has anyone used hawaiivisitorcenter.com for reservations? They seem to have pretty good prices-all inclusive including inter-island. Reputable??

bquarre

Kiahuna has a great beachfront location on Poipu Beach. Nice grounds and nicely located in Poipu. Can't comment on the others, however there are threads about Papakea that you might find interesting.
Have a great trip.

Kal

tommyd, We've always wanted to stay at the Waimea Plant/Cotts on the west side of Kauai but find it hard to leave our CocoCoast location.

WPC is basically a rural location for Kauai. Rustic setting as are the cottages. The sky is on fire it's so dark out there.
Good points-Close to Waimea Canyon and Polihale, Barking Sands and att. to the Waimea Brewing Co.!

Down side is it's about 60-90 mins to Napali Coast hike, Hanalei, Pville on a good traffic day. But OH the scenic drive! Beach there is very murky.

Someone must like the place. Everytime we try and book a few days over New Years it's booked.
Never used HVC.com.

Mucho mahalos

DB

We enjoyed the Radisson back in February , you can also check:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/

~gt;

kikahead

We will be at the Kiahuna Plantaion on Kauai for ten nights in January. If you are leaving after that I can report back. We used vrbo.com for the Kiahuna Plantation.

Last year on Maui we stayed at the Aston Kaanapali Villas. Nice resort, great staff, and the activities desk in the lobby books activities for the same price as you booking yourself. Just a note--the beach in front of the resort was NOT swimmable for us (too many rocks hitting your feet with each wave). Other people have found it okay. All in all a nice, inexpensive resort.

catrd73

We really liked the Radisson as well. They have decent rooms, nice grounds, a nice pool area, good food at their poolside bar, & free mai tais, wine or beer during happy hour everyday! We got triple upgraded on our room so we had an ocean view room for $130 a night.

Kal

Just be careful about swimming at the beach by the Rad. They lost 2 people, Father and Son, there last year right around this time.

Hoof it down to Lydgate. Great walk and a nice beach.

RachelG

Have stayed at the Radisson on Kauai. The price was definitely good, esp. for Hawaii. Nice public areas, decent quality wine during happy hour which is complementary (Rosemount Shiraz), ok breakfast which really saves money as food prices in Hawaii tend to be high. Of course, the Hyatt is much more elegant, but it is way more expensive. I stay at the Hyatt when on expense account and the Radisson when on my own. Also we saw whales from our room windows!

DB

Agree with Kal. It is generally well known that one really shouldn't swim in the ocean near the Radisson, or even outside Lydegate Park (even small 3 foot waves are too rough with all the lava flows and rocks). The Radisson has some nice pools and a great walking beach.

However, since Kauai pretty much demands you have a car, finding great places to swim/snorkel is much of the fun.

Does anybody know if they still have shark nets in *Hawaii* generally? I remember hearing about them when I was young, and they came to mind recently while swimming near the Princeville Hotel where they have a series of orange buoys out in the bay. I swam/snorkeled out pretty close to them (but not to them) in 15'-20' deep water and wondered later if the buoys might be supporting a shark net?

The previous visit, while snorkeling near Brennecke's with seals sunbathing on the beach, at certain places the water gets to about 12'-15' and I began wondering about the meal opportunities for sharks as regards mistaken identities (big puffy white things).

pspercy

DB
You don't even need to be IN the water
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...eries/sharks1/

pspercy

tommyd
Maui Kai sits between the Embassy Resort and (Aston) Mahana. It gets great reviews & looks OK from the outside. It's oceanfront, couldn't get much closer. I stayed at the Mahana next door last month and liked it a lot. It's not an area for those who want lots of nightlife etc. Depends what you like to do. I did a lot of checking and finally booked condo only thru' American Airlines'
aavacations.com they had a good rate and "bribed" me with 11K miles too ! See pics at http://www.themahana.com/ also, some owners rent directly, try vrbo.com (Aston is a property management company).
On Kauai, the Waimea cottages are in a nice setting but the sea there is dirty & it's not a swimmable/safe beach. I personally think they charge too much but maybe you can find a "special".
Good hunting
Paul
Good hunting

carbogilligan

We stayed at the Maui Kai last August and thoroughly enjoyed it. Our unit was a 2 bedroom on the sixth floor. Each one is different as the units are individually owned. The staff was very attentive. For the price and location, you can't beat it.

BobBarb

We stay at the Aston Mahana during the first week of March every year. Really love it. Open the front door in the morning and watch the sun rise. Go out the back door and sit on the lanai and watch the sun set in the evening -- and the whales prancing all day long. Beautiful condos reasonably priced - lovely pool.

petal

My husband and I stayed at the Waimea Plantation Cottages on our honeymoon 7 years ago and went back again. I loved it there. The cottages are very nice, private with a porch and a yard. Ours was a studio with a bed in one corner, a tv (nothing much on it as I remember nor cared to watch).. and a kitchenette with everything we needed.
The towels were thick and fluffy, everything charming and spotless. Very very peaceful. The water is not good for swimming, but it sounded great from our room and the nightly rain on our tin roof just added to the coziness somehow.
It's very rural, but the little town of Waimea is an easy walk and lovely albeit shabby as I remembered.
Not a good place to take kids except for the fact that the larger cottages were actually a very good deal for families.
We did a lot of hiking in the canyon which made it a great place to stay.

lahainaluna

I have stayed for years at the Maui Kai unit #402. I too think it is a great bargin and it just feels comfortable. Instead of a giant complex you feel a little more comfortable. With only about 60 units is is very easy to meet the other guests at the pool and make some great friends.

The ocean front privacy cannot be beat.

hmmm

Very interesting article in the March/April 2004 issue of Hawaii Magazine concerning Waimea Plantation Cottages, a 50 unit group of restored/replicated sugar plantation camp houses still owned by the Faye family, descendants of a sugar plantation manager and mill owner. Never stayed there but seriously considered them. For better or worse, they're off the beaten path in the west and away from the better beaches in south Kauai. Aston has a very good reputation in Hawaii as a management company.