We are planning to visit Kauai in early December and have it pretty much narrowed down to 2 hotels. I need some advice from fellow travelers who have visited these hotels before. The choices are the Kauai Marriot or the Hyatt Regency Kauai. At the Hyatt Regency...how far do you have to go to get to a swimable beach? I have read several posting about roaches and water bugs in the rooms at the Hyatt, have others experienced this??

I understand the weather is less rainy in the southern half of Kauai. Is there any difference between rainfall in Lihue and Poipu that you have experienced? Thanks so much for your valued input!

We stayed at the Marriott on our honeymoon in Oct. 1999. It was great! The pool and beach areas are beautiful. The room and service were wonderful. I've heard many people rave about the Hyatt, but haven't heard about the bugs or beach. I would definitely recommend the Marriott.

We stayed at the Hyatt Kauai this June for our honeymoon. The beach on Hyatt is really rough, but they have a very nice swimming pool as well as an artificial salt-water lagoon. The Poipu Beach is swimable and is just few minutes drive from Hyatt. Hope that helps!
David

In 92' a friend of mine had parents that could not use their timeshare. He offered 2 free weeks and we jumped on it. It was in Princeville up on the cliffs. Just beautiful. Did you know that you can rent these. Just call and see what is available. It is usually cheaper than a hotel with a kitchen and patio. Also, all beaches in Hawaii are public domain which means you can go through any hotel and use the beach. Just an idea. The island is small so it is easy to get around. Watch out for those wild chickens.

We stayed at the Hyatt in August 1995. It is a beautiful hotel. I think I did go into the ocean although it is rough with lots of larger rocks in the water. The pool is great, waterslide etc so I did not care. Several of the rooms smelled moldy although they looked nice. My DH got lots of mosquito bites. No roaches as far as I could see.

The princeville is beautiful but the weather is not as good and unless you are a big golfer there is not much to do other than veg. It is far from everything unless they have opened a new road. The ocean there is very calm at least when we went. The Marriott was not open yet but it is supposed to be great

Hi, Lisa -

If these are your only two choices, the Hyatt is your better choice. Lovely hotel located on the "sunny South shore." It has wonderful restaurants and is close to many good swimming beaches. I much prefer this part of the island as compared to the location of the Kauai Marriott. And, yes, you should have less rainfall in Poipu than Lihue in December - statistically speaking. I also think the South shore has more to offer IMHO.

However, as another poster stated, there are some absolutely wonderful condos and even B&Bs on the island as well.

Oh, what good choices you have made! I preferred the Marriott--it seemed more romantic. You will be happy either way! Congrats!!

We stayed at the Marriott on our honeymoon and are going back! Would definitely recommend it. Huge pool, great beach, beautiful grounds.

We stayed at the Marriott on FF points last spring. Really enjoyed the hotel. We checked out the Hyatt and it was very nice. We felt it catered to more groups. It seemed like there were three or four conferences going on and some of the areas we toured were closed off for private parties. As to the beach question, neither the Hyatt or the Marriott would be my choice on this beautiful island. For out trip we found the Marriott to be more centrally located for our adventures. There were many great places to eat both north and south of the Marriott, where your choices from the Hyatt will be limited to a Popui unless you want to do the drive back thru Lihue north ( approx 30-45 mins). Bottom line, you can't go wrong with either one, but if I were to go back in December, I would pick the Marriott.

Thanks so much for your feeback. It is so helpful to hear from others who have actually visited!