IK in Seattle

Did yo have a look at this place.

http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/LIHWI

It is a Marriott timeshare, but it looks like you can get a room for around $200, and I'm sure if you agreed to do the presentation it would be much cheaper.

We walked through it last time we were there and it looked very nice and it is brand new.

whistler814

You can get the Starwood UA Reward Certificate for 50% off regular rates. They have the Sheraton Kauai for $173/nt and Princeville Resort for $318/nt.

Be sure to click on the link that says "Click here to get your certificate" - for the certificate that's required upon check-in.

Valid for up to 4 nights, expires 12/25/2006.

jtkauai

I like the Sheraton (Poipu) property. Somewhat motel-like, great location, and very good beach, popular with kids. Remember Princeville, which is more a traditional hotel, has no real beach access, and you'll need to drive 15 minutes to Hanalei.

gregorygrady

I didn't want to mention it previously on FT for fear of them taking back my rate, but since I already had my stay there earlier this month I can now tell you that there's actually a glitch with this UA 50% Off Certificate and you can book a Partial Oceanview room at the Princeville for $250 a night (+ tax). The link mentions a Gardenview at Princeville for $318 as the lowest rate (50% off rack), but when you actually go to book, there is a cheaper $250 rate available (and it's for a Partial Oceanview). Can't beat that for a room that is normally discounted down to only ~$505 per night. And to top it off I got upgraded to a Jr. Suite as a SPG Plat. ^ Frankly though, I'd still rather stay at the Grand Hyatt for $249 all-in, but I guess you already tried that. Possibly you can check back and see if anything opens up there in the future.

magiciansampras

Damnit! The Starwood UA reward would be perfect but that rate is not available for my week in August (12-19) . Arg arg arg!!

Edited to add: Seems true of nearly all the properties using this promo: not available.

Mary2e

Your dates are really big vacation weeks for most people. Camp is usually out and school is about to start.

IF you can change to a week or so later you'll have much better luck. It would be even better if you could go any time in Sept (excluding labor day)

magiciansampras

This vacation has been a zoo with dates from the get-go. We're using UA Around the World certificates which meant availability was a nightmare. For some reason this is the one week that did actually work! Now it's just down to the hotels. I'll continue to try Hyatt and I'll call the Starwood property to see if there is anything they can do to open up another room.

I appreciate all the suggestions so far. We've had 2 really good tries with Hyatt and Starwood; FT is great.

jtkauai

there are many, many choices here on kauai, other than the big hotels, and i'm sure you can find some availability.

more people here stay in condos than hotels anyway, which i think probably would be a better vacation (but that's just me). if that appeals, i'd start on vrbo.com, before or after giving thought to where on the island you'd actually like to be.

as you may well know, while the island is small, traffic and other driving considerations mean that you will need to be in one place or another, and it wouldn't work to spend all of your days driving from one side of the island to another.

Fishbait

I am looking at SPG.com right now and its showing the Sheraton at $229 for Garden View, you might get a decent upgrade with your Gold status. $229 seems the rate across the board, showing as "best avail", "endless escape", and the 35% off Hawaii SPG rate. There is more showing on the specials and offers site, including some free night deals. Follow the links for special offers on SPG.com, and look under Hawaii.

Robin

gregorygrady

Not sure if you want to stay there, but the Sheraton Kauai is $178 per night thru the above UA Reward link for all but the first night of your stay (8/13-8/19). I stayed there earlier this month as well and it's a pretty decent hotel on arguably the best stretch of beach on the island. You can always book it and hold it and then try to get Hyatt Stay Cert nights or something similar for as many of the nights as you can. Hyatt availability seems to come and go often, if you keep checking you might just get lucky. The Hyatt is only a 5 minute drive from the Sheraton so switching rooms once or twice during the stay wouldn't be terrible.............and think of the extra "stays" you could garner by switching.

gregorygrady

BTW, if you are interested in the Hyatt, you should nab the 1 night that is available right now. I just looked and there is only 1 room available for one night right now (looks like on Aug. 17?). If you grab it and then the 18th opens up later on, then you can grab that night as well be at the Hyatt the last couple nights at a rate of effectively ~$219 per night (tax is included in the $249 stay cert). Not bad and worst case, you just cancel and don't even buy the certs. You can make the reservation without actually buying the cert BTW. And the cancellation policy is 72 hours prior to arrival if I'm not mistaken, at least it was when I stayed there earlier this month................yeah I know, I stayed at a lot of Kauai hotels earlier this month, huh???? Great trip I had!!!!!!

IK in Seattle

Is that at least 3 different hotels? I’m sure there was some logic to that, but it sounds like a lot of work for a vacation trip.

bocastephen

You might want to grab that one room at the Hyatt as suggested and call the hotel directly to see if they will be, or could release additional dates to accomodate your entire stay. If they are not heavily booked, they might extend your reservation without releasing rooms to the general res system.

The stay certificate deal can't be beat - an effective 219/night is the cheapest you will find any 4* hotel on Kauai, and is cheaper than a no-view Garden Wing room at the Sheraton.

If you are not already a Gold Passport member, sign up for their program and you can get an upgrade upon check-in subject to availability. Last fall, we were upgraded to a partial oceanview room. We have stay-cert reservations at the Hyatt for this fall as well. I would love the Starpoints, but the Hyatt's price and quality beat the Sheraton hands-down. Buy the stay certs with an Amex SPG card and you will get points for the cost of the stay anyway, just no stay credit.

gregorygrady

Nah, it wasn't really that much trouble. I've only been SPG Plat for 2 years and never stayed at the Princeville or the Sheraton Kauai before (and always wanted to try them), instead I always have stayed at the Hyatt previously. But EVERY time I've gone to Kauai I always drive from the Hyatt up to Hanalei Bay/Princeville area. For an unbeatable $250 rate at the Princeville, I figured I might as well save myself the drive back and stay there for a night. Then I just came back and stayed at the Sheraton Kauai my last night to try it out...................and of course 2 extra stay credits didn't hurt my SPG account either..............just don't tell my wife that was the reason I had us switching so often. I just used the "convenience" of not having to drive to NW Kauai and back in one day and sold her on that. BTW, after visiting all three, I think the Hyatt was the nicest, followed by the Princeville and then the Sheraton. I'm surprised the Princeville gets such great reviews. The grounds aren't nearly as nice as the Hyatts, the beach isn't fantastic, the rooms/furniture are showing their age, the Spa/gym is 2 miles away. The only thing they have going for them over the Hyatt is the fabulous view/scenery and possibly the elegant lobby area. And I guess those "magic" windows are pretty cool too. ^ OK, and the pop-up TVs in the Jr. Suites.

BiziBB

Just a bump to ask if you can recommend any apartments/condos, cabins or well-located B&B's suitable for a romantic and hiking/surfside couple of weeks in May?

(I'll look at some of the suggestions already here, so thanks!)

Cheers ^