A points honeymoon in Kauai. Westin princeville and Grand Hyatt Kauai
Oct 25, 2012, 11:45 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: LAX
Programs: Hyatt Platinum, SPG Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 290
A points honeymoon in Kauai. Westin princeville and Grand Hyatt Kauai
TRIP REPORT COMPLETED.
Introduction
Planning
3 Nights at the Westin Princeville Villas
Exploring the North Shore
2 Nights at the Grand Hyatt Kauai
Exploring Poipu
Not sure why pictures won't show up.
Introduction:
My wife and I had our honeymoon in Kauai the day after our wedding in May. I had just started collecting airline mileage and hotel points in the summer of 2011. During this time I signed up for a few credit cards and met the spending requirements by charging the wedding expenses on my credit cards. We wanted to go somewhere with a beach and not overly crowded. Since it was also mid May, the crowds would not be too bad. We narrowed our decision between Hawaii or Caribbean. Both of us have never been to the Caribbean, but the flight seemed too long for a honeymoon. Since we live in Los Angeles, we narrowed down the choice to Hawaii.
Next, we were choosing between Honolulu, Maui, and Kauai. Honolulu is nice but it seemed too crowded for a honeymoon. Maui seemed very relaxing, but my wife had already gone there before. Finally, there is the island of Kauai: a luscious and adventurous destination. It seemed like the perfect place to relax and enjoy nature.
Along the Napali Coast
Waimea Canyon
We enjoyed an awesome 5 night stay in two different hotels. We wanted to experience both sides of the island so I decided to book 3 nights on the North Shore at the Westin Princeville and 2 nights at the Grand Hyatt Poipu on the South Shore in Poipu. I have heard great things about the Grand Hyatt Kauai. It has a lazy river pool and a water slide! I have been collecting Starwood and Hyatt points for a couple months now through credit card bonuses and spending on the wedding.
Rainbow!
I was happy to use points and miles to book almost the whole trip. I will explain how I did it in the next post. Hence the title, A Points Honeymoon in Kauai. More to come...
Introduction
Planning
3 Nights at the Westin Princeville Villas
Exploring the North Shore
2 Nights at the Grand Hyatt Kauai
Exploring Poipu
Not sure why pictures won't show up.
Introduction:
My wife and I had our honeymoon in Kauai the day after our wedding in May. I had just started collecting airline mileage and hotel points in the summer of 2011. During this time I signed up for a few credit cards and met the spending requirements by charging the wedding expenses on my credit cards. We wanted to go somewhere with a beach and not overly crowded. Since it was also mid May, the crowds would not be too bad. We narrowed our decision between Hawaii or Caribbean. Both of us have never been to the Caribbean, but the flight seemed too long for a honeymoon. Since we live in Los Angeles, we narrowed down the choice to Hawaii.
Next, we were choosing between Honolulu, Maui, and Kauai. Honolulu is nice but it seemed too crowded for a honeymoon. Maui seemed very relaxing, but my wife had already gone there before. Finally, there is the island of Kauai: a luscious and adventurous destination. It seemed like the perfect place to relax and enjoy nature.
Along the Napali Coast
Waimea Canyon
We enjoyed an awesome 5 night stay in two different hotels. We wanted to experience both sides of the island so I decided to book 3 nights on the North Shore at the Westin Princeville and 2 nights at the Grand Hyatt Poipu on the South Shore in Poipu. I have heard great things about the Grand Hyatt Kauai. It has a lazy river pool and a water slide! I have been collecting Starwood and Hyatt points for a couple months now through credit card bonuses and spending on the wedding.
Rainbow!
I was happy to use points and miles to book almost the whole trip. I will explain how I did it in the next post. Hence the title, A Points Honeymoon in Kauai. More to come...
Last edited by romsdeals3; Nov 9, 2012 at 2:58 pm
Oct 26, 2012, 10:30 pm
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: LAX
Programs: Hyatt Platinum, SPG Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 290
Planning
Introduction
Planning
3 Nights at the Westin Princeville Villas
Exploring the North Shore
2 Nights at the Grand Hyatt Kauai
Exploring Poipu
This will be a series on our honeymoon trip to Kauai. Stay tuned for updates!
Planning:
I like to travel simply wherever I go. I never pay for baggage fees because I only travel using a backpack. I’ve recently been using the Gregory Z55 Backpack, which I use constantly for most of my trips. It is definitely a great multifunctional bag for a backpacking trip to Europe or a week long trip to Hawaii. The best part is it can fit in any overhead compartment, so I never have to worry about baggage fees. I also use airline miles and hotel points to travel to help minimize costs. So, you might call me a Points Backpacker. Here are the points and miles used for a points honeymoon in Kauai:
· 50,000 Ultimate Rewards Points to British Airways for 2 roundtrip tickets from Los Angeles to Lihue, Kauai. Taxes were about ~$42.
· 36,000 SPG Points to stay at the Westin Princeville Villas. Resort fees about $15 a day.
· 44,000 Hyatt Points to stay at the Grand Hyatt Kauai.
Secret Falls in Kauai!
We rented an economy car for $22 a day for 5 days using Priceline’s name your own price. After taxes it ended up being around ~$180. I used the method described here. http://slickdeals.net/f/253736-How-t...-Priceline-com. Basically, you check for the lowest price that Priceline will accept and book it. Thus, our total tally minus food and other miscellaneous expenses were: $42(Flights), $45(Hotels), and $180 for the car. A grand total of ~$267! Of course we spent more than that on food and activities because it was our honeymoon, but it helped us feel less guilty having nice meals and doing fun activities.
Hanalei Valley in Princeville
I won't be posting pictures and a review of our flight because it was quite uneventful flying American Airlines coach. However, stay tuned to pictures and a review of Westin Princeville Villas!
Planning
3 Nights at the Westin Princeville Villas
Exploring the North Shore
2 Nights at the Grand Hyatt Kauai
Exploring Poipu
This will be a series on our honeymoon trip to Kauai. Stay tuned for updates!
Planning:
I like to travel simply wherever I go. I never pay for baggage fees because I only travel using a backpack. I’ve recently been using the Gregory Z55 Backpack, which I use constantly for most of my trips. It is definitely a great multifunctional bag for a backpacking trip to Europe or a week long trip to Hawaii. The best part is it can fit in any overhead compartment, so I never have to worry about baggage fees. I also use airline miles and hotel points to travel to help minimize costs. So, you might call me a Points Backpacker. Here are the points and miles used for a points honeymoon in Kauai:
· 50,000 Ultimate Rewards Points to British Airways for 2 roundtrip tickets from Los Angeles to Lihue, Kauai. Taxes were about ~$42.
· 36,000 SPG Points to stay at the Westin Princeville Villas. Resort fees about $15 a day.
· 44,000 Hyatt Points to stay at the Grand Hyatt Kauai.
Secret Falls in Kauai!
We rented an economy car for $22 a day for 5 days using Priceline’s name your own price. After taxes it ended up being around ~$180. I used the method described here. http://slickdeals.net/f/253736-How-t...-Priceline-com. Basically, you check for the lowest price that Priceline will accept and book it. Thus, our total tally minus food and other miscellaneous expenses were: $42(Flights), $45(Hotels), and $180 for the car. A grand total of ~$267! Of course we spent more than that on food and activities because it was our honeymoon, but it helped us feel less guilty having nice meals and doing fun activities.
Hanalei Valley in Princeville
I won't be posting pictures and a review of our flight because it was quite uneventful flying American Airlines coach. However, stay tuned to pictures and a review of Westin Princeville Villas!
Oct 26, 2012, 10:30 pm
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: LAX
Programs: Hyatt Platinum, SPG Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 290
Introduction
Planning
3 Nights at the Westin Princeville Villas
Exploring the North Shore
2 Nights at the Grand Hyatt Kauai
Exploring Poipu
This is the third part of our Points Honeymoon in Kauai series.
After landing at the Lihue, Kauai airport, we hopped on the car rental shuttle to our car. The car rental lady greeted us and said something like “I see you’ve been bidding for a car”. I wanted to say, “Of course, I don’t want to pay over $50 a day and get ripped off like everyone else,” but I didn’t. Since we arrived at night, we headed directly to the Westin Princeville. It was about a 45-minute drive on the one lane road. Unfortunately, I didn’t take many pictures of the room and the resort. We spent 36k Starwood points for 3 full nights. The going rate at this time was $400 plus taxes per night. Therefore, we saved over $1,200!
Chickens everywhere!
We really enjoyed this resort because the basic room is a one bedroom villa with a washing machine, fridge, kitchen supplies, large bathtub, and a rain-shower type shower. Everything was very clean and people were friendly. I am only a Starwood Gold member, so I didn’t receive any special amenities besides 500 Starpoints. The resort has one large main pool and another smaller pool that overlooks the ocean. There were chickens running around everywhere! We loved relaxing at the resort and going to happy hour to get some truffle fries and mai tais .
Pool Overlooking the Ocean
Chilling by the pool!
Unfortunately there was a $15 resort fee for parking. However, everyday we had the option of denying housekeeping and receiving a $10 voucher for breakfast. We also went to the Foodland supermarket nearby to stock up on some groceries and snacks. If you like the timeshare type kind of resort, then I would highly recommend this resort. It was great!
Next up – Exploring the North Shore
Planning
3 Nights at the Westin Princeville Villas
Exploring the North Shore
2 Nights at the Grand Hyatt Kauai
Exploring Poipu
This is the third part of our Points Honeymoon in Kauai series.
After landing at the Lihue, Kauai airport, we hopped on the car rental shuttle to our car. The car rental lady greeted us and said something like “I see you’ve been bidding for a car”. I wanted to say, “Of course, I don’t want to pay over $50 a day and get ripped off like everyone else,” but I didn’t. Since we arrived at night, we headed directly to the Westin Princeville. It was about a 45-minute drive on the one lane road. Unfortunately, I didn’t take many pictures of the room and the resort. We spent 36k Starwood points for 3 full nights. The going rate at this time was $400 plus taxes per night. Therefore, we saved over $1,200!
Chickens everywhere!
We really enjoyed this resort because the basic room is a one bedroom villa with a washing machine, fridge, kitchen supplies, large bathtub, and a rain-shower type shower. Everything was very clean and people were friendly. I am only a Starwood Gold member, so I didn’t receive any special amenities besides 500 Starpoints. The resort has one large main pool and another smaller pool that overlooks the ocean. There were chickens running around everywhere! We loved relaxing at the resort and going to happy hour to get some truffle fries and mai tais .
Pool Overlooking the Ocean
Chilling by the pool!
Unfortunately there was a $15 resort fee for parking. However, everyday we had the option of denying housekeeping and receiving a $10 voucher for breakfast. We also went to the Foodland supermarket nearby to stock up on some groceries and snacks. If you like the timeshare type kind of resort, then I would highly recommend this resort. It was great!
Next up – Exploring the North Shore
Last edited by romsdeals3; Oct 30, 2012 at 9:42 pm
Oct 26, 2012, 10:31 pm
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: LAX
Programs: Hyatt Platinum, SPG Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 290
Last edited by romsdeals3; Nov 5, 2012 at 5:13 pm
Oct 26, 2012, 10:32 pm
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: LAX
Programs: Hyatt Platinum, SPG Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 290
See my pictures here.
We had an awesome 2 Nights at the Grand Hyatt Kauai! The drive from the north to the south was very peaceful and had some amazing scenery. We stopped at various places along the island, including a shaved ice place where they give you a huge $3 shaved ice.
Shaved Ice
After an hour drive, we arrived to the South Shore. It seemed a lot more lively than the North Shore, which was a nice change. We had lunch at Puka Dog, which I highly recommend.
We then drove down the road to the Grand Hyatt Kauai. We could not believe how big the resort was! The hotel greeted us with leis and water. As a diamond member, we were offered free parking, spa access, Regency Club access, and a couple options as a diamond amenity. We ended up choosing a free full day cabana rental which was valued at $100 Our room had a very nice view looking out to the ocean. We did not get a suite upgrade but the champagne in the fridge made up for it.
We enjoyed laying by the pool and using our cabana. The hotel grounds featured a lazy river and a water slide. It was relaxing sitting on a raft flowing down the river. We rode the water slide a few times because there was no line. The salt water lagoon was aesthetically pleasing. The hotel also gave us spa access. The spa had nice facilities and a nice rain shower in an outdoor rock garden. However some of the outside facilities such as the pool were showing some age. Unfortunately, I don’t have many pictures of the hotel grounds.
One of the highlights of the hotel was the regency club. As diamonds we got free access. For the evening they had meal options like miso soup and fried rice. They also had tasty pineapple kimchi, lots fresh pineapple, and unlimited Hawaiian sun drinks (out favorite). Breakfast was good but don’t remember anything that stuck out.
Regency Club
Dinner
Overall it was probably the best Hyatt I have stayed at in the states. The regency club was great and the hotel grounds were awesome. We were sad to leave such a great place. At checkout, the front desk said “You’re all set”. I love seeing $0 on the bill
We had an awesome 2 Nights at the Grand Hyatt Kauai! The drive from the north to the south was very peaceful and had some amazing scenery. We stopped at various places along the island, including a shaved ice place where they give you a huge $3 shaved ice.
Shaved Ice
After an hour drive, we arrived to the South Shore. It seemed a lot more lively than the North Shore, which was a nice change. We had lunch at Puka Dog, which I highly recommend.
We then drove down the road to the Grand Hyatt Kauai. We could not believe how big the resort was! The hotel greeted us with leis and water. As a diamond member, we were offered free parking, spa access, Regency Club access, and a couple options as a diamond amenity. We ended up choosing a free full day cabana rental which was valued at $100 Our room had a very nice view looking out to the ocean. We did not get a suite upgrade but the champagne in the fridge made up for it.
We enjoyed laying by the pool and using our cabana. The hotel grounds featured a lazy river and a water slide. It was relaxing sitting on a raft flowing down the river. We rode the water slide a few times because there was no line. The salt water lagoon was aesthetically pleasing. The hotel also gave us spa access. The spa had nice facilities and a nice rain shower in an outdoor rock garden. However some of the outside facilities such as the pool were showing some age. Unfortunately, I don’t have many pictures of the hotel grounds.
One of the highlights of the hotel was the regency club. As diamonds we got free access. For the evening they had meal options like miso soup and fried rice. They also had tasty pineapple kimchi, lots fresh pineapple, and unlimited Hawaiian sun drinks (out favorite). Breakfast was good but don’t remember anything that stuck out.
Regency Club
Dinner
Overall it was probably the best Hyatt I have stayed at in the states. The regency club was great and the hotel grounds were awesome. We were sad to leave such a great place. At checkout, the front desk said “You’re all set”. I love seeing $0 on the bill
Last edited by romsdeals3; Nov 5, 2012 at 5:11 pm
Nov 9, 2012, 2:59 pm
#13
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: LAX
Programs: Hyatt Platinum, SPG Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 290
TRIP REPORT COMPLETED. Check out my pictures of the Napali Coast! Highly Recommended to visit!