GH Kauai REVIEW - MASTER THREAD

[Weatherboy]

Final updates...

What I suppose makes a week stay at this resort unique this week is there's a conference for LPL Financial here; the 1,200 guests attending that event have been in meetings most of the daytime and have had their own meals catered at their own private terraces/ballrooms. The result is a resort that's filled to maximum capacity that doesn't use any of the resteraunts/pools/beach that normal guests would typically use.

That being said, other than a few conference attendees who played hookie, the pool facilities remain empty. I actually took some pictures yesterday of all pool areas completely empty under mostly sunny skies. Same is true for restaraunts: I ate at Tidepools last night with only 6 others (total!) And LPL guests don't seem to have status with GP or stay at Regency Club designated rates: I was one of four people that visited the Regency Club yesterday.

Anyways, Tidepools, one of two major eateries at the resort, was great. And with waitstaff actually bored at the lack of crowds, was very attentive. An appetizer, entree, dessert, and drink with tip cost me $70... putting it on the higher side of resort fare.

I spent some time at the Regency Club and they too seemed to be bored with the lack of activity. The service and attention there was also fantastic --never before have I been begged to come back to enjoy the next round of snacks/drinks because "I'm the only one around with club access and the food would go to waste." (Afternoon snacks consisted of cookies, shortbreads, and fruit/cheese platters... while additional evening food services included things like potstickers or oriental spicy chicken.)

Overall, I consider this stay to be a good one and this Hyatt to be a good, average resort destination. Not nearly as impressive as the Maui location, it is probably one of the better hotels on Kauai. (I'd say this resort and the Marriott just south of Lihue are in the same league.) I haven't stayed at the Princeville on the north side of the island ...but it rained on that side all week, so I can't imagine it being better

This place was an absolute steal with the FFN awards... but while I'd be willing to pay $300/night+ for a standard room at the Maui location, I would probably only pay <$300/night at this one.

[LIH Prem]

There's a reason why we don't all go to the same hotel all the time.

If Kauai (the island) is not your idea of paradise, then you probably won't like any hotel there.

All the times I've been there, the public areas are never crowded. During the day, guests go out on day trips. The rest of the times, the property is so spread out, you never get that really crowded feeling you can get at some other resorts.

The rooms and furnishings are pretty much classic Hyatt Regency (at the higher end).

-David



[This message has been edited by LIH Prem (edited Mar 19, 2004).]

[TakingChances]

Since I live in Hawaii, I frequent both the Maui & Kauai locations several times a year. I spent a weekend at both within the last 30 days and I have to say it is really a toss up on which one is better (my opinion varies depending on where I got the last, best upgrade). They each have their own strengths. I agree that the Kauai facilities always look underutilized (few people in the pool or gym), while the facilities on Maui are always crowded when I am there (hunting to find a lounge chair after a 1 pm check-in took some time, despite a zillion chairs around the pool). However, I think both of them are in the top 5 Hyatt's I have visited.

[UAPrmExec]

I'll add my two cents as I've been to Maui twice and Kauai twice and will return for a 3rd time in May. Was last in Kauai right before the room renovations and they needed it. Looking forward to seeing the results. At those prices for deluxe ocean view, they had better be approaching Four Seasons comfort and decor. I find the entire "tone" of the Kauai resort compared to Maui is one of more luxury and seclusion. Maui appeared to attract more families and honeymooners and required an early trip down to the pool to assure lounge chair availability. Until I was at the Hyatt Kauai, I thought Maui had one of the best pool set-ups. Kauai wins hands down. Love the idea of an adults only pool at the very top level, and the meandering lagoons down to the bottom provide enough spread out seating and privacy so you never feel crowded. Staff at both locations are fantastic.

[777 global mile hound]

I am a little concerned about the posters Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa property being typical or average .
My friends are going on their honeymoon (non elite) for 6 nights this Fall.
Their spend will easily be over 300 a night before taxes this fall.
It was my suggestion they stay there.
There is time to change this if the consensus out there is that this property is not fully up to par.
I seem to be getting quite a few mixed opinions so far.
Any more in favor ?
We would really like there trip to start off on a strong start.
This will be there first property out of 3 along the way.
Thanks all

------------------
AA & Starwood,Marriott Platinum
Hyatt, Hilton Diamond
Swissotel Club Gold
U/A 1k

[lionluv]

We stayed at the Kauai Hyatt March 12th & 13th. It is a wonderful resort. It would ONLY be disappointing, IMHO, if you expect total opulence. My husband and I enjoy this property due to its proximity to the ocean. In the "Shipwreck" wing, you can easily listen (and view, except on the 1st floor) the ocean at night as you fall asleep. The rooms are spacious and very comfortable, with big, comfortable beds, with Hawaiian motif designs on the bedspreads and throw pillows. Also, the DO make an attempt to decorate it as a Hawaiian hotel - with Hawaiian pictures, etc. This Hyatt has one of the most incredible pools I personally have ever seen. A man-made swimming "lagoon" (saltwater) down close to the ocean, and a huge, multi-level, meandering swimming pool with waterfalls. There is a wonderful waterslide which adults and kids enjoy, and there are at least 3 hot-tubs that I know of. As stated previously, there is almost always a choice of pool/lagoon lounge chairs. The pool fronts a beautiful beach, but this beach is rarely swimmable by most of us. It is adjacent to a beach that many locals use for boogey-boarding, but the water here has a very nasty shorebreak, and is filled with lava rock.
The resort has beautiful Koa tables and huge bowls and vases, as well as other artwork and flower arrangements throughout. The grounds and gardening at this Hyatt are some of the most impressive I have ever seen, complete with black swans out front. Two of the restaurants, Tidepools and Dondero's are very good, with Tidepools being the romantic favorite. (Ilima Terrace was only open for breakfast and two nights a week for a prime-rib buffet during our stay). They have free entertainment at their beautiful, open air lounge (can't recall the name)each evening beginning at 6:00pm, and a beautiful, classic evening lounge with jazz most nights.


My only gripes: I am from a small town, so I am not fond of parking fees - esp. an $8.00 per night fee for "self-parking", when you are already paying high rates for the rooms, and a $15.00 per day "Resort fee". Also, if you don't enjoy listening to someone else's partying, I would request a room away from the region (over by the Shipwreck wing) where they have the Luaus on Tues. and Thurs. nights, as you will be listening to this sometimes beyond 10:00 pm, rather than the ocean. One further thing, on occasion when we have stayed at this property, they have closed the lagoon area at 3:00 pm for a big, corporate "private function". This stinks when you are paying $340+ per night!

Does anyone know if there are any discount programs accepted at this property? We used to use the AA award coupons where you paid for one night, and got one night free, up to 6 nights - boy, how I miss them! Anything similar to that available out there that anyone knows of? I have checked at least 20 internet travel sites, and they all returned the same rate, which was not a discounted rate as compared to Hyatt's "Aloha Rates".


Thanks.

[IK in Seattle]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by 777 global mile hound:
I am a little concerned about the posters Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa property being typical or average .
My friends are going on their honeymoon (non elite) for 6 nights this Fall.</font>

If the primary activates they are looking for are scuba diving and night life, or they normally stay a Four Season Resorts, they may be disappointed by Kauai. Otherwise I would guess they will be very happy. A resent poll showed that Kauai is still a favorite of the posters on this site:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum60/HTML/002089.html

The property and Spa are constantly the highest rated of the Hyatt Resorts on the various rating systems like Conde Nast. You are always going to have dissenting votes, but reading through this thread even Weatherboys average review made the resort sound pretty good to me.


[This message has been edited by IK in Seattle (edited Mar 22, 2004).]

[777 global mile hound]

Thanks for the feedback
Did very well also in the 2004 Zagat Hotel and Resort survey overall.
Out of 1-30 with 30 considered perfection
24 rooms
24 service
23 dining
28 public areas
Someone is liking this place
Awfully high scores

The bar keeps getting raised as more and more properties go to hi luxury bathrooms,
pillow top beds, plasma tvs,cd/dvd players.
They are becoming standard at some hotels. Making quality hotels seem like more common experiences these days.
Perhaps that has something to do with it.

[Flyer1965]

We just got back from the Grand Wailea, a former Hyatt, and while it was fun, we prefer the quieter and more authentic Hyatt Kauai. Compared to Maui, and the Hyatt there, Kauai wins hands down.

If you want action and busy-ness, go to Maui Hyatt, if you want relaxation and "real" Hawaii, come to Kauai Hyatt. Either one is good, just different. Kind of like the difference between Naples and Miami as cities. They're both good cities, it just depends if you want sophistication and style (Kauai) or "action and excitement" (Maui)

Spring for a helicopter ride on Kauai, but don't bother on Maui.

[travelovingnurse]

Well, I love both the Maui and Kauai Hyatt properties. We have stayed at the Maui property more often, but that is because we always go to Maui when we go to Hawaii and have only been to Kauai twice. The Kauai property is definitely more laid back, but I think Kauai as a whole is more laid back than Maui. I disagree that the Hilton Waikoloa is as nice as the Hyatt Kauai though. We did not care for the Hilton Waikoloa and never want to stay there again. I don't think it compares to the Hyatt Kauai IMO though. Hope your stay gets better!

[hindukid]

This is taken from the Hyatt Kauai webpage.

Effect 3/1/04: RESORT FEE:
All guests will be charged a Resort Fee of $15 per day. To include:
Local and 1-800 and 1-888 Phone calls (normal cost is $1.00 per call)
Self and Valet Parking (Self is $8 and Valet is $10)
Incoming Faxes (Fax charge is .50 cents per page)
One-Hour Court Time per day at the Tennis Garden (Court time is $30 per hour. Reservations are required.)
Daily Fitness Access for Two People at the ANARA Spa (Access to Fitness area is $10 per person per day. Minimum age requirement is 16 years old. Lockers, steam, Jacuzzi, pool and sauna are not included.
Wellness classes (Each class is $10 per day per class)
Daily Times Digest
10% off selected merchandise at ANARA Spa
10% off selected merchandise at the Tennis Center
10% off Business Center Internet Access
10% off selected merchandise at Captain Andy's Lagoon side hut

SO what does it actually include. It seems to read that the resort fee includes parking, but that it is still $8 per day. Same thing for faxes, tennis, and the spa. Are these things in parenthesis just the old prices, or does the resort fee really include nothing.

[gregorygrady]

Originally Posted by Live4Miles

Report?

Sorry, pretty much everything had been said about this hotel already and I agreed with it. It was an OUTSTANDING RESORT. I was at the Princeville as well and I think the Hyatt was nicer. Great hotel, great service, great location, everything was fabulous. I did manage to check out the fitness center at Kauai. It was decent, but the machines were a little older than I expected. It was completely empty when I went in (~ 7pm, an hour before closing). The fitness center at Hyatt Maui is much nicer (MUCH newer equipment, MUCH better view.....ahhhhh doing the Stairmaster with a fabulous oceanview just doesn't seem so bad at all). I also had my resort fee waived (they gave me the option if I wanted to pay it or not since it included valet parking, etc). I opted for them to waive it though since most perks included with the Resort Fee (minus parking) were already included with my Diamond/Regency Club room. If you got it waived then you just pay the charges "ala carte" ($1 for phone calls, $8? for self park, $10? for valet, etc). However at both at Kauai AND Maui I got Valet parking the first night and then decided to do self-park the next 3 nights. Both places I was charged for the one night of valet parking but I was NEVER charged for any of the self-parking. So I'd recommend self-parking and maybe you won't get charged. But definitely get Valet at least the first night (or when you check-in) since getting "lei'd" when I arrived was one thing that will always stand out in my mind as special. Well, you definitely CAN'T go wrong with the Hawaii Hyatts. They are OUTSTANDING HOTELS and I really loved them!!

[787]

I would ask nicely at checkin about using points to upgrade to RC access. I've met people in that RC who got in that way, and they were on discounted rates, with no status. It will really depends on how full they are, and how nice the check-in person is.

Edit: If you are so inclined the Poipu Beach Broiler has a great Happy Hour. $3.50 for a Mai Tai that blows away the ones you buy at the Hyatt for $9.50. It is only a 10 minute walk down the path from the Hyatt.

[the phoenix]

OK,

so our stay at the Regency Hyatt in Kauai was our first on any Hyatt property and I guess reading this forum may have heightened my expectations a bit too much.

We were new Gold Passport members, so we did accrue miles. Our rate for a "Partial Ocean Room."

We had asked for a HIGH floor, instead we were upgraded to a "DELUXE OCEAN ROOM", room 3002 which was right on land.... I don;t know what happened to a high floor. Oh well.

I question how truly different a Partial VS Deluxe Ocean View room is, but what do I know.

The daily parking fee of 8 dollars was public rape. I mean, I could have easily just told them I took a cab from the airport, as they had no idea what car was mine. And when the front desk gal who checked us in asked if we wanted the $10 valet parking fee instead, which I declined, she neglected to tell me that our room was 50 feet from the employees side parking lot. (My thanks to the BellCaptain for being honest with us.)

To be honest, I paid over $275 a night for a 2 pools, a lagoon and a mediocre room.

I can't understand why so many honeymooners I know rave about it .....actually, I do....unfortunately, its probably that they ONLY stayed at that property and thus had no reference for comparison, unfortunately.


At lease when I stayed at the W in Honolulu, I can see why the rate was 485 a night. Now THAT is a room and we even bought their pillows. Premium comfort from check in to check out.


I'm not ranting but why is it that so many people rave about this place??

Please, I would really like to hear the various points of view here.

Also, the trip netted us over 15000 points. What is that good for?

[Mary2e]

Originally Posted by the phoenix

I question how truly different a Partial VS Deluxe Ocean View room is, but what do I know.

The daily parking fee of 8 dollars was public rape.

To be honest, I paid over $275 a night for a 2 pools, a lagoon and a mediocre room.

Also, the trip netted us over 15000 points. What is that good for?

I've never been to the Kauai property, but can give you some insight from our experiences in Hawaii....

A partial ocean view room means you have to look to the side to see the ocean. In some hotels, you may have to hang over the side of your lanai to see it. A deulxe ocean view means a direct view of the ocean from your room or lanai. Those are some of the most expensive regular rooms available in Hawaii. The price differential most often is about $100 per night.

Several years ago most hotels in Hawaii started charging for self parking EVEN if they were in the middle of nowhere with a huge parking lot. We expected to pay in Waikiki, but were dumbfounded when hit for a parking fee on the North Shore or at the Ihilani.

The 15,000 points will get you 1 night free at a similar (premier) property. Basically, for every 6-7 nights spent in a Hyatt, you get 1 night worth of points free.