eltex

Wasn't too worried about the true value, but I was worried about the HH points becoming almost worthless before I could book another vacation. I do think I am current getting great value at the Grand Hyatt Kauai, as it is outstanding.

RoadWeary

There are a number of reports over on TUG that some or all of the ocean tower will be converted to a time share. Not sure if that will ever be approved, but could be way they have not renovated the rooms yet.

N_Phoenix

Just wasted over $100 on sh*t "Chinese food" at this place. Honestly, I think they take Costco items and server them. No joke as I know Costco items too well. I had multiple $10 certificates for being gold. So I read the food was overpriced and junk, understood. I had to spend the certificates so I got the kids and their friends two $30 pizzas. I was expecting the price and just bit the bullet and the pizza wasn't that bad (Costco being much better, imho). The pizza place had no issues taking the multiple $10 coupons. Then we head up to the Chinese place and I figured well might as well burn off the rest. The food was trash and cost us over $130, no alcohol. So I try and use the coupons and we can only use two. I go over the coupon and she is right and we can only use one per customer. I was pissed at my own due diligence on not checking the coupon and this thread but also mislead as the pizza place has no issues and the front desk said I could use it like cash with no issues.

Therefore, I would not recommend spending a dime at resort. The dolphin experience is a joke compared to other options and the food/shopping is an absolute rip off where ever you go. The property is unique in what it offers as far as the lagoon and size but they expect to trap you in and rip you off.

My advice is to load up at Costco for the fridge and go offsite to Kings' or Queens' courts for dining. Try and stay in the Lagoon tower for which they now charge you more for a joke of privileges. There is a free trolley that will escort you around the area but is also walkable if you feel inclined.

Need

The pepperoni pizza from the kids menu is actually better than their regular pizza. My wife and I both thought our son's pizza tasted better than our food.

We thought about going to the Chinese place, but when we saw the pizza place was completely full and the Chinese place was completely empty, we changed our minds.

Baze

I turned in 5 of the $10 certificates to the front desk at check out and they gave me a $50 credit on the final bill. So you do not need to use them in the restaurants. Only restaurant my wife and I went to was the breakfast buffet but we had $100 in resort money and used certificates so the 2 times we went it cost us $12 each time. We bought food at the grocery store for the rest of the time. Couldn't see spending a fortune on the restaurants there.

eltex

I apply this logic at almost every hotel we stay at. We stayed here this summer and totally enjoyed our stay. I spent a lot of time reading here and other places before we arrived, so I sort of knew what to avoid and what to enjoy. While we did love our time here, I am not sure we will stay again. I think we want future stays to have an accessible beach that is friendly for our kids. Hapuna Prince up the road was awesome, though points don't really work out there. As for the dolphins, our kids absolutely loved the experience. I won't compare it against other experiences though, as I haven't tried others.

Something to think about: at the airport as we were leaving the big island, we met another family leaving on the same flight. We bragged a bit about how awesome our week had been, and then they talked about how bad their week had been, mostly because of the weather on the opposite side of the island. It doesn't take much to turn a vacation sour, so I spend as much time as possible beforehand figuring stuff out.

Baze

Did you try the beach at the Marriott next door? It is a public access beach so Marriott can't prevent you from using it. Nobody can own a beach in Hawaii, no private beaches.

eltex

Yeah, we actually had to spend a night at the Marriott when the hurricane closed the eastern side of the island. I didn't care much for the Marriott beach, at least when compared to Hapuna.

Baze

I agree, Hapuna was great.

Need

It seems like not many talked about the turtles in the lagoon. I thought may be we would just spot them once in a while, but they are always there. I mean you don't have to snorkel to the deeper part to see.. they would just swim to the beach where the 3 years old would play. I have seen them at other beaches on the sand, but these swim close enough in the water for you to touch. To me, that's the best part of the lagoon.

Baze

To me, the best part of the resort was sitting on the grass at the west end at Buddah Point and watching the sunsets. We had direct views of the sunset from our room as it looked out over the ocean at the Buddah Point end, but something about sitting on the grass at the edge of lava rocks made it special. And every sunset was different. Even got the green flash as the sun disappeared on one evening.

N_Phoenix

Thanks, wish I had known that.

Baze

They didn't tell me. I just had them when checked out and asked if they wanted them back as I hadn't used them. That's when they said they would credit me the amount off the bill. Pleasant surprise.

N_Phoenix

The Hilton lagoon beach is private I think because it is man made. The lagoon is worth the stay if you have kids and don't want to worry about normal ocean conditions. The Marriott beach is ok but nothing compared to Hapuna (actually Hapuna is one of the best).

N_Phoenix

There are small turtles here. Not sure if the big ones can make it in the lagoon. I seem to always run into them on the normal ocean beaches. A full grown one freaked my 6 year old out while snorkeling, along with the eels in the lagoon.