Hawaii - Kauai Marriott Resort or Sheraton? Worth saving some money?

I had previously booked part of my honeymoon in November at the Sheraton Kauai, the hotel + car costing ~$230 a night on Orbitz.

We checked yesterday, and the Kauai Marriott Resort is on sale for $143 a night, which is far, far cheaper than it has been the past few months. This is for hotel + car as well.

Cancelling the sheraton package would be $25 bucks, so we'd stll save a significant amount of money.

Both rooms are the garden view, which, to my understanding, is across the street from the main part of the Sheraton hotel.

All things considered, should we cancel the Sheraton and book the Marriott? I understand that in November, the Sheraton might be considered as being in a better location. But the Marriott seems like a nicer hotel, and would be saving us around $90 a night.

Thanks!

I understand that in November, the Sheraton might be considered as being in a better location. But the Marriott seems like a nicer hotel, and would be saving us around $90 a night.


Since it's your honeymoon, the hotel might be more important to you. The Sheraton is definitely in a better location. There is really nothing in Lihue worth seeing other than the view from Duke's, which happens to be at the Marriott. But for $90 a day that you save, you could rent a nice convertible and drive back and forth. All of the nice restaurants are in Poipu, if that matters to you. :)

ILP is right. We like going to the Lihue Marriott before our flight back because they have a nice bar and view.... that's about the extent of it. Sheraton is in a much MUCH better location. ^

Sheraton had soem very nice rates (129) recently - perhaps you can get your rate adjusted if your dates are included

I appreciate the responses.

Basically what I've read that it comes down to is, nicer hotel vs better location. What exactly does 'better location' entail, though? I understand that in November the weather may be better on the south side, as well as the Sheraton having the better beach. However, looking on google maps, the hotels are only about 20 minutes away from each other. We have no issues with driving that distance to get to a better beach (or to escape rain, if necessary)..so would the Marriott be the better choice for us?

20 minutes is only during non-rush hours, which essentially is almost all day. Traffic between Poipu and the Marriott could be heavy doubling the time needed for the trip.

The weather will almost be the same at both properties.

I would avoid the North Shore in the winter as it could be cloudy and/or rain.

We usually go in early November and the weather in Poipu is nearly perfect.

20 minutes is only during non-rush hours, which essentially is almost all day. Traffic between Poipu and the Marriott could be heavy doubling the time needed for the trip.

The weather will almost be the same at both properties.

I would avoid the North Shore in the winter as it could be cloudy and/or rain.

We usually go in early November and the weather in Poipu is nearly perfect.

The weather will "almost be the same," but there have been many times that we have been out on the island for several hours in the rain and as we approach Poipu the skies brighten and it's bright blue at the beach. As a matter of fact, when you go elsewhere and people ask where you're staying, you will invariably get comments from locals like, "Oh, the sunny side," or "Where the sun always shines." While it's not true that the sun "always" shines at Poipu, it's pretty obvious that it is the sunniest place on the island.

I appreciate the responses.

Basically what I've read that it comes down to is, nicer hotel vs better location. What exactly does 'better location' entail, though? I understand that in November the weather may be better on the south side, as well as the Sheraton having the better beach. However, looking on google maps, the hotels are only about 20 minutes away from each other. We have no issues with driving that distance to get to a better beach (or to escape rain, if necessary)..so would the Marriott be the better choice for us?

"Better location" is a bit misleading; it's more a question of crappy location vs. great location. Do you want to be next to the airport or on one of the nicest beaches in the world?

And the drive is not inconsequential.. it's farther (in time and distance) than it looks on the map given the roads/traffic on Kauai.

The Sheraton is currently undergoing renovation/construction, which is why cheap rates have been popping up there. The beach pool is closed so only the garden pool is open. Please double-check to make sure the renovation will be done by November because I've read that people are bothered by the construction noise even when sitting on the beach so it's not like you can say I can deal with it-I'm not in my room much because it's majorly effecting the overall hotel experience.

Thanks again for your responses.

I was actually mistaken - the Marriott room is a standard 'no view' room. I don't even see that listed on their website.