Originally Posted by dlaue

Just finished a week stay at HGI Kauai. In reviewing the past posts, I am in agreement with the pros and cons listed. Here are a few of my observations as a diamond member:

This facility was built to be an Aston hotel, so it is quite different from the cookie cutter Hilton Garden Inn design. The use of wood, especially in the rooms, reminds me more of the Mauna Kea resort on the big island. Very elegant. But, a bit dark. It is difficult to make the room light enough for our tastes. Large windows which opened fully, but nobody dared since there were flies, moths, and other critters (no mosquitoes) around. No screens on the windows, just like almost all the rest of the world outside of north America. I think this level of architectural sophistication would merit a Doubletree moniker, but am always amazed by the overlap of Hilton brands worldwide.

Although we were acknowledged as diamond members, there was no upgrade offered upon check in. We were given shell or nut leis (probably given to every guest), free breakfasts, and seven drink coupons for 2 drinks each. Although these were labeled and promoted as free mai tais, they could be used at the lobby bar for well drinks, such as gin and tonic. The coupons were limited to mai tais at the pool bar.

Diamond parking- a separate lot which used to be a shuffleboard and other games area. Unstriped, often near full, and flooded in downpours. We used this lot frequently. If the main parking lot in front is full, find the one to the right of the building down a dimly lit driveway.

Breakfast was served to 10am. It consisted of the normal HGI items plus pineapple and occasionally some good papaya (but no lemon). It also lacked oatmeal, but this could be ordered from your server. Your server will also bring omelets, pancakes, etc. plus a special of the day (crepe, breakfast burrito, etc.) Normal charge for breakfast is $24. No extra charge for the roosters which wander through.

Room- a king on the top (3rd LOL) floor. Small elevator but just one flight of stairs up from the lobby on 2nd floor. Unusual barn door to bathroom which covered up the closet when opened. TV stored the channel you were watching when turned off. It did not revert to the hotel channel – a plus. Although we were told we qualified for premium wifi, there was no way to access it. The wifi was adequate (18mbps down and up) and you only had to log in once for the whole stay – a BIG plus. Wifi is important here if you are a Verizon subscriber since the cell service was almost nonexistent around this facility. Diamonds were given 2 bottles of water in the refrigerator.

Air Conditioning – unusual in that the thermostat bottomed at 68 degrees and really only cooled the room to 70.5 degrees. It is not the best sleeping temperature for us, but not the worst either. With the A/C on low fan, the room was a very quiet 31 dbA – similar to a quiet library.

One more diamond benefit - a box of local cookies delivered along with a note from the manager thanking us for being diamond. This occurred on our third day. I don’t know what would happen if we checked out earlier. Also noon was the late checkout time. Status did not seem to matter.

As others have described, the traffic on Kauai is wickedly slow. Many times we could have walked faster than the traffic was moving. Also, you cannot make a left turn onto the highway during the morning hours. Finally, use your GPS to find the hotel if you are checking in at night. It is difficult to see the sign and the lighting is bad. We nearly drove by.

Hope this helps. I can try to answer any other questions.