brendamc

I agree, the Makena Surf is gorgeous & right on the beach. I love the location too - not as crowded as Wailea, but within walking/biking/driving distance.

BDLORD

Thanks for the input, has anyone stayed at the Kapalua Villas?

CentralPark

I would stay where you are unless you get a solid recommendation, as quality varies widely.

mplanner

Our family of 4's (kids 6 & 10) original plan called for 5 nights at the new Westin on Maui in a one br, followed by 5 nights at Hilton WV on the big island, followed by two nights at Hilton HV on Oahu. However, we just discovered that the best pool -the Kona pool will be out of commission at the HWV.

We now are looking at other options. Since we are gold, we are thinking that we may just stay at the HWV and take advantage of the small perks - lounge breakfast and all. Or we could go to the Princeville resort on Kauai. It would cost $200 to change our reservations but for only 48K Starwood points, it is attractive.

Or we could stay in a condo and have lots of space which is very attractive since we haven't done a hotel room in a while. However, without paying $500 night, we would not likely have a great view or a good pool.

Will someone be willing to offer me their opinion. Do you have another option that may be better. We have Marriott points, SPG and Hilton points. Thanks so much !!!

dhuey

When staying anywhere with kids for more than a few days, a condo sure is nice. I'd be surprised if you would need to pay $500 per night for a big condo with nice rec. facilities -- take a look at www.vrbo.com. In Wailea (a pricey spot) on Maui, we just rented a very nice 2 bdrm. for a week at about $275 per night.

jtkauai

unless you are just going to spent all of your time at some hotel, it would seem that your decision should be based on what your travel desires are.

if a fantastic pool is #1, consider skipping hawaii and heading for las vegas.

big island's kohala coast couldn't be more different than north shore kauai.

so where do you want to be and what do you want to do?

JerryFF

Princeville is great. In my opinion, the scenery is the most spectacular of any place on the islands I've been. There is a very nice pool at the hotel, but the beach is a bit small. It does rain quite a bit on the north shore - a hour or two almost every day - but it usually clears up. The beach is a bit small around Princeville, but there are some very impressive condos in the area.

The Kauai Hyatt on the south shore at Poipu is also one of the nicest resorts on the island and there are also some excellent condos in Poipu. The main advantage is that it is much more sunny and rains a lot less there.

faithng

Wow! Kona pool at the HWV is going to be out? Bummer, but really what's there? A slide (great for the kids but long lines during the weekend), a few jacuzzis, and freezing water.... We were just there last month and the pools at the Ocean Tower were being worked on. My kids really enjoyed the lagoon pool with snorkeling and renting the paddle boats.

Princeville, I heard, is nice but the pools are not as impressive. We rented a house in Poipu and loved it. It was within walking distance to the Hyatt and the house was part of a company that also rents condos, so we were able to use the pools at the condo. Not as nice as a resort, but the kids were okay with it.

jtkauai

princeville pool is near 20 years old and just so-so. beach there is not swimmable because coral extends to the shore, and you need to drive 15 minutes to hanalei (or swim across the river (joke)).

hyatt pool is only somewhat more interesting, and the beach there is not swimmable. just south (walking distance), shipwrecks is a good bodysurfing beach, but be aware that there are dangerous rocks in the water and the surf can be dangerous if you aren't experienced.

slippahs

With the Princeville pool, I think so many are just fascinated by the way the water comes up to the pool's edge. Nothing special IMHO. Better pools can be found at the Hyatt Kauai and on Maui.

brendamc

Yes, they are dated, but very efficient & again, decor depends on the owner. We did find that ocean view was about the same as beach front, as there is no beach & you are on a cliff. You definitely need a car here.

BDLORD

Thanks Brenda, I will show this to my wife. Right now we are planning on spending 5 days in Wailea and 5 in Kapalau. We always rent a car. Did anyone know this, the past two times it was cheaper to keep a car for a week return it and rent another instead of keeping the same car

MBM3

I have found a range of opinions regarding Kauai hotels but not so much about condos. Anyone have any recent opinions?

IK in Seattle

There are a lot of timeshares in Kauai. One option you may consider is renting one of these. The advantage is that most Timeshares have more amenities (nicer pools, on site restaurants/bars etc.) than stand alone condo complexes. A good source is redweeks.com.

dawei

We recently stayed in two condos on Kauai -- one on the North Shore and one on the South shore. We found both style and quality to vary a bit (our first condo was speculator – and at $165 a night for a 2br 2 bath so much cheaper then 2 hotel rooms) the second one was more then adequate and we had no complaints but paled in comparison to the first. This may be more of a reflection on the quality of the first and not anything remiss with the second. We booked through http://www.remaxkauai.com/ and were happy.
The one thing to note is that most (all?) condos charge what I thought was a rather steep cleaning fee but amortized over a multi-night stay is still much cheaper then a hotel and the option of cooking for yourself is great.

Active flytertalkers can pm me for details on the first condo we stayed in (Princeville areas) that was just amazing. Stunning views & well mainteaned. I will definitely stay there again on future visits.