Globex

Thanks! That's what I will do then...

Since parking fee is still listed, I'm not sure what the resort fee is for. I can't find any details online and the new reservation on the website makes no mention of it except being in the price details.

Globex

Ah, just looked on Expedia and the fee is there too. Details as follows...

Not sure what welcome amenities are, but I guess parking is now included so it's "only" a mandatory $6 for everything else. Most or all of which I'm pretty sure I won't use...

SkiAdcock

Oops - answered my own question. Pulled up the property on the website & it shows it as a resort. My bad.

I would definitely fight it.

What he said.

Cheers.

beckoa

Fight it tooth & nail.

This property doesn't justify a resort fee. IMO none do... but there isn't anything remarkable. Probably a money grab due to BRG's is my guess

Globex

Thanks all, will do! I'll give an update, but maybe there will be other input before then in May.

Unless, of course, I find another place, but I got their special Oceanview special rate a month or so ago for <$140/nt.

As an aside, any recommendations for alternative places to look out for?

SkiAdcock

That's a great rate! They should waive the resort fee, but if not still sounds like a good deal.

gardener

They added the resort fee to my existing res also. I have a printout showing no resort fee but $14 parking. So I guess it is only a $6 bump since the resort fee includes free self park and (per their website) 2 free Mai Tais a day.

Booked the stay under my wife's account using two of her Cat 5 certs. I will flash my Lifetime Platinum card and see if they still offer breakfast certs. Not too upset about the $20 resort fee as I was prepared to pay $14 per night for parking.

mcgahat

Arrival: Rented a car and drove to the hotel which was really easy as it is basically exit that airport and turn right and just drive until you reach the hotel. It took about 10-15 minutes with little traffic but I could easily see it taking longer if traffic was bad or an accident etc. The hotel is not visible from the road really and kind of a small sign so keep a close eye as the entrance will be on the right side of the road if you are coming from the airport and just past the coconut marketplace shopping center.

Check In: This was a little hectic as people tend to arrive about the same time when a fresh flight just comes in but the staff actually processed people pretty quickly. I was a little confused about the resort fee as the reservation said it included parking but there was also verbiage about a parking fee and that was cleared up as the front desk told me we could either take the resort fee and get the other items or not take the resort fee and just pay for parking. I took the resort fee as it seemed like a good deal with parking, drinks and a few other things that I cant remember but in hind sight we only used parking. My gold status was recognized by saying thank you for being gold but in no other way.

Room: We had an ocean view room which is basically the rooms that are farthest back from the ocean but still give a full view. The view was nice but due to the distance I did not find it that great. If you want to feel like you are on the ocean then get an ocean front room as it is much closer and basically right on the beach. The balconies or lanais are pretty small and about enough room for two people standing or one person sitting so not much use in my opinion. I believe the ocean front rooms have bigger balconies also. The room itself was not as dated as I was expecting based on other reviews but it was dark and I think they could have done a much better job on the color scheme. I think the blue carpet with the dark furniture just make it too dark in the room. The room was clean and comfortable though.

Dining: A bit hit and miss here. We had breakfast at the restaurant one morning and while it was not overly expensive for a hotel restaurant it was pretty boring...not bad just boring. We also had drinks in the evening in the lounge and also ate there one evening and again the choices were just underwhelming. Service was good with the exception of the bar area where it was slow but the restaurant was fine.

Location: This was our first trip to Kauai so we really had no idea what the best location and after touring the island for several days I am not sure there is a best location. This was really good to get to the airport and found it good enough to get to other areas of the island for sight seeing etc. I guess I would say this location is as good as any for our tastes but depends on what you plan on doing.

Facilities: The hotel is right on the beach and while the area is not great for swimming it is a really good beach for lounging and the grounds are setup nicely for it. I really like the lounge chairs out on the beach and it was never overly busy even though I am sure the hotel was pretty full. I also noticed some tennis courts on the premise so you have that also.

Conclusion: I thought the hotel was nice for the price and the location fit our needs. If I can get a decent rate I will likely stay again.

SkiAdcock

Thanks for the update - and the pictures!

Cheers.

Westcoaster

I can confirm that the executive ocean front rooms do have a bigger balcony. We stayed in one of these rooms in May and found our balcony to be a good size for the two of us. The balconies for other room types did appear to be substantially smaller.

As reported by others we were pleased to be given a choice between the resort fee and the parking fee at check-in. We chose the parking fee as we did not expect to use the other services covered by the resort fee.

msp3

Stayed here last October with a paid stay and loved it, great value and great location, want to come back but book on points. Is the resort fee paid for when booking with points or something extra?

SkiAdcock

My guess is it's something extra. You can call the property & ask though.

Cheers.

msp3

Thanks. I called Marriott Rewards and they also mentioned resort fees are seperate when using points to book. But if this just replaces the $14 parking, that's not really that big of a difference.

astroflyer

Ugh, looks like this is now a Category 6. These damn certificates I keep getting are absolutely useless.

astroflyer

So now that this property is a resort, does that mean they won't do elite upgrades? It looks wide open for my dates in a week and a half, and I'm hoping they upgrade me from an ocean view to something a bit nicer.