At Westin Princeville, Kauai (WPORV) NOW!

We are at the Westin Princeville (WPORV). We have a large 1 Br. We purchased two years ago before they were built.

The resort has been open for about a month and two buildings are open. The rooms are all called "island view" but maybe because we are 5* Elite or because we made our reservations 12 months ago we were given an "Ocean View" room. So, there ARE several rooms that have direct ocean views. We are on the second floor in building 3 and the view is great. ALSO, in May the sun RISES directly from the ocean at this resort. SUNRISES here are something to see.

The sunsets are viewable at the Princeville hotel. There is a shuttle to the Hotel or you can drive with free parking for Westin guests.

Rooms are new with flat screen tv's and I think we are the first to use this room.

This resort is different that WKORV - Maui. It is smaller, lower rise buildings, and a MUCH SMALLER reception building. The pools are infinity pools and seem calmer than the large pools at Maui.

The restaurant, market, and bar, are more upscale and the menu lists a finer selection.

No beach here but the Princeville hotel is available. They told us we can't use the Priceville hotel pool and had to bring our own towels but we went there anyway and they offered us towels and we were able to purchase drinks at the pool and charge to our WPORV room number. The Princeville hotel seems far away (too far to walk) but we drove over.

We did not see any sales offices on premisis and nobody asked us to take an owners update. So far, they seem real glad to be open and to have us here.

Please advise on restaurants in Kauai if you have been here before?

(As 5*Elite we received a welcome letter from the resort manager and a beautiful wooden tray of Mac nuts, chocolates, and raspberrys also, because it is our wedding anniversary the concierge arranged for a bottle of champagne)

duke

Thanks for the update.

How many minutes is the drive to the Hotel?
How far/difficult is the walk to Annini Beach? Queens Bath?

What are the best rooms in B3 - view-wise?
Are the pools heated?

And... was it worth it?

Happy Anniversary.

We have a studio booked. Can you let me know if the lanais on the studio units are covered or not?

We would prefer a top floor unit but from the photos I've seen it looks like the only covered lanais are on the 1BR units and maybe the ground floor studio units.

Have a great time! Be sure and try the shave ice stand in Hanalei.

abbekit said:

We have a studio booked. Can you let me know if the lanais on the studio units are covered or not?

We would prefer a top floor unit but from the photos I've seen it looks like the only covered lanais are on the 1BR units and maybe the ground floor studio units.

Have a great time! Be sure and try the shave ice stand in Hanalei.

Click to expand...

Just returned from there. All lanais are covered. Other than being smaller, the only difference between the studio and 1BR lanais are that the studio's do not have a foot stool for the chairs. 1BR have one foot stool for the two chairs.

DavidnRobin said:

Thanks for the update.

How many minutes is the drive to the Hotel?
How far/difficult is the walk to Annini Beach? Queens Bath?

What are the best rooms in B3 - view-wise?
Are the pools heated?

And... was it worth it?

Happy Anniversary.

Click to expand...

The staff is excellent. Went far out of their way to make us feel welcome.

IMHO the best views in Bldg 3 are the 2nd floor on the 2 story (north end) They have a direct ocean view.

The third floor north end would likely have ocean views as well.

I would say that it was worth it!

duke said:

We are at the Westin Princeville (WPORV). We have a large 1 Br. We purchased two years ago before they were built.

The resort has been open for about a month and two buildings are open. The rooms are all called "island view" but maybe because we are 5* Elite or because we made our reservations 12 months ago we were given an "Ocean View" room. So, there ARE several rooms that have direct ocean views. We are on the second floor in building 3 and the view is great. ALSO, in May the sun RISES directly from the ocean at this resort. SUNRISES here are something to see.

The sunsets are viewable at the Princeville hotel. There is a shuttle to the Hotel or you can drive with free parking for Westin guests.

Rooms are new with flat screen tv's and I think we are the first to use this room.

This resort is different that WKORV - Maui. It is smaller, lower rise buildings, and a MUCH SMALLER reception building. The pools are infinity pools and seem calmer than the large pools at Maui.

The restaurant, market, and bar, are more upscale and the menu lists a finer selection.

No beach here but the Princeville hotel is available. They told us we can't use the Priceville hotel pool and had to bring our own towels but we went there anyway and they offered us towels and we were able to purchase drinks at the pool and charge to our WPORV room number. The Princeville hotel seems far away (too far to walk) but we drove over.

We did not see any sales offices on premisis and nobody asked us to take an owners update. So far, they seem real glad to be open and to have us here.

Please advise on restaurants in Kauai if you have been here before?

(As 5*Elite we received a welcome letter from the resort manager and a beautiful wooden tray of Mac nuts, chocolates, and raspberrys also, because it is our wedding anniversary the concierge arranged for a bottle of champagne)

duke

Click to expand...

There is a sales office. It is located on the west end of the reception building directly above the restaurant. We went for an owners update and the sales associate that we had was not prepared at all to be speaking with an owner.

gravitar said:

Just returned from there. All lanais are covered. Other than being smaller, the only difference between the studio and 1BR lanais are that the studio's do not have a foot stool for the chairs. 1BR have one foot stool for the two chairs.

Click to expand...

Thanks! I can live without a foot stool as long as I have shade from the sun.

Have a very happy anniversary! :whoopie:

duke said:

Please advise on restaurants in Kauai if you have been here before?

Click to expand...

Duke-

The Beach House Restaurant is a haul from Princeville but is a great restaurant in a beautiful oceanfront location. It would be well worth a visit if you are headed to the south side of Kauai.

Have a great trip!

saluki said:

Duke-

The Beach House Restaurant is a haul from Princeville but is a great restaurant in a beautiful oceanfront location. It would be well worth a visit if you are headed to the south side of Kauai.

Have a great trip!

Click to expand...

It's right across the street from the Lawai Beach Resort (below Poipu) and you need a reservation.

I don't think it's worth a special trip, unless you have other activities in the area.

DavidnRobin said:

Thanks for the update.

How far/difficult is the walk to Annini Beach?

Click to expand...

I'd like to hear more about access to Annini. I've read several comments on Trip Advisor (and here) complaining about no beach access. My understanding is it's about a 0.3 mile walk down to Annini. I'm not sure if access is closed, if people don't know about it, or if that's just too far for people to consider "access." If I remember correctly, I read in my documents that the resort had to include some "public parking" for access to Annini.

DeniseM said:

It's right across the street from the Lawai Beach Resort (below Poipu) and you need a reservation.

I don't think it's worth a special trip, unless you have other activities in the area.

Click to expand...

That's why I wrote "It would be well worth a visit if you are headed to the south side of Kauai".

We had a fantastic meal there & it's a great spot to see a beachfront sunset. I would not drive there from Princeville just for dinner. Well, actually I might drive there if I did not have to drive back!

Duke, could you please build a swim up bar while you are there?

Seriously:
1. Beach access description
2. How often are the shuttles between St. Regis (Princeville) and villas
3. Room numbers to request
4. Any restaurant recommendations in Princeville

Thanks for the updates!

Westin5Star said:

Duke, could you please build a swim up bar while you are there?

Seriously:
1. Beach access description
2. How often are the shuttles between St. Regis (Princeville) and villas
3. Room numbers to request
4. Any restaurant recommendations in Princeville

Thanks for the updates!

Click to expand...

1. There is no beach access and you will need to drive your car or take the Resort shuttle to get to the beach. The only beach is at the Princeville hotel. There are many beautiful beaches in the area but you have to drive at least 15-20 min. Annini is 30 min away.

2. There are shuttles every 15 or 30 (not sure) min to the hotel and to the nearby shopping center. Since this is a newly opened resort things are still in process.

3. Don't bother requesting room numbers as they are allocated by timestamp and Elite level. As well, most views are island. We got really lucky to have the direct ocean view we got. But, it is nothing like Maui.

4. Most restaurants require you drive between 15 - 45 min. However, the restaurants at the Princeville Hotel are awsome. Great views and good food. I can tell you that the lobby bar is real nice and fun!

NOTE: The area (Princeville) this resort is located is quite upscale and is really nice.

We went to Hanalei bay yesterday and today to Wiamea canyon. There are lots of restaurants on the way. We ate breakfast at Gaylords today and took a horse drawn carriage ride.

Regarding the "swim up bar"; The pools are small enough that it would take the same amount of time to get out and walk to the "walk up" pool bar. Iam sure that as time goes on they will have persons available to bring drinks to you if you so choose. At this point, there are not many guests here and that is really nice!

duke

There is a great fresh fish store in Hanalei bay if you are at all interested in cooking in the unit. The fish is fabulous there, There is also a great frozen ice "truck" that is only open at specific hours of the day. It's worth a stop - it's not like frozen ice treats in the mainland. It's up the road from the fresh fish store, if I remember correctly.

There are so many beautiful beaches in the Princeville area. Are you going to walk the Napili coast at all? The beach at the trail head is wonderful - we swam with turtles there last summer.

Hmmm, the lack of any beach access makes me want to use SPs to stay at the St. Regis instead. I loooove the beach and would really like to have it close by.

You were "lucky" to get your great view -- or your PFL status helped a lot.

Katherine

Thanks for the updates Duke. It sounds like you are having a great time!

Ok, based on Duke's comments...... this sounds like a bomb. Beach is FAR FAR FAR..... what genius put a resort in a place where you could not get to the beach? Views are "nothing like Maui". And the pools are very small...... sounds like great fun once all the buildings are finished. SVO cheaped out. Again.

There is a hiking book that says there is a trail

to Anini Beach from Wyllie Road...
"At 2.8 miles the road ends at Anini Stream. You can wade across the stream and hike to Princeville up the old wagon road." See Map.

One can walk to Anini beach via Wyllies beach. Take Wyllies road [2nd left when leaving the Cliffs Resort and heading toward the highway on the main Princeville road] toward the Puamana Condo Complex. Walk a quarter mils to a few hundred feet before the construction zone for the new Starwood. Look for a casual footpath paralleling the road and for a spot to cross onto the footpath. [This footpath is actually the historic old road that circum-navigated Kauai] Leave the pavement and walk along the tree lined footpath. Soon it will descends. About 500 steps [1/3 mile] will bring you to Wyllies beach. Head east across the stream and you're on Anini Beach. Note: the opportunity to walk to Wyllies beach and enjoy the tranquility of this pristine setting may be soon lost to the development of the Sheraton.

rocky said:

Ok, based on Duke's comments...... this sounds like a bomb. Beach is FAR FAR FAR..... what genius put a resort in a place where you could not get to the beach? Views are "nothing like Maui". And the pools are very small...... sounds like great fun once all the buildings are finished. SVO cheaped out. Again.

Click to expand...

???
Beachfront resort in Princeville...
???
That was never claimed...

You need to see the area - try Google Earth...

Beaches in Princeville Area

Beaches in Princeville Area

I agree

rocky said:

Ok, based on Duke's comments...... this sounds like a bomb. Beach is FAR FAR FAR..... what genius put a resort in a place where you could not get to the beach? Views are "nothing like Maui". And the pools are very small...... sounds like great fun once all the buildings are finished. SVO cheaped out. Again.

Click to expand...

I agree! This does not sound like $40-50K timeshare units/resort.

I would scream for a shave ice at Jojo's at the base of Waimea Canyon. Almost worth flying over there for...

I'm curious if the folks who aren't that "thrilled" with the description have even been to the Princeville development? It's a special area in many ways but beach access isn't one of them. As an owner, it was clear that Beach access was limited at best. I'm far from a SVO cheerleader but so far I am very pleased with what I have read concerning WPORV. I don't think WKORV is a fair comparison in terms of the setting, it's a very different location and environment which is part of the reason we were attracted to WPORV in the first place.

As for beaches, Tunnels is an amazing beach, one of the best in Kauai, with a reef so large you can see it from space and it's maybe 15 minutes away, just past the town of Hanalei.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g29218-d207414-Reviews-Tunnels_Beach-Kauai_Hawaii.html

More Detail on Beaches

DavidnRobin said:

Beaches in Princeville Area

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Hideaways Beach -- 5 min 1 mile from Cliffs Resort--
This is an intimate 300 ft long beach used mostly by Pali Ke Kua Condo guests, but open to anyone. It is accessed by an improved footpath down 200 vertical feet [about 300 steps]. There is calm water, nice swimming, great snorkeling, and good shade. The beach is neither crowded nor big. I think the most we've seen is 6 groups enjoying the fine golden sand and tropical blue waters. More info and photos....

http://www.djhome.net/kauai/beaches/Hideaways.htm

DavidnRobin said:

???
Beachfront resort in Princeville...
???
That was never claimed...

You need to see the area - try Google Earth...

Click to expand...

ummmmm. thanks. have had google earth since beta, use it daily. Unlike other posters, I have BEEN to the WPORV site (which has been referenced in prior posts when I clarified to YOU that WPORV was not "connected to" the St. Regis, etc.) and I attended painful meeting at Princeville where a PATH to the BEACH was routinely referenced. So DRIVING to the beach for 15+ minutes sort of sounds like a material difference in "story".

I remain unimpressed. And I remain unimpressed BECAUSE I have spent many weeks over the last 15 years visiting the North Shore of Kauai. I have stayed at the Princeville, time and again I used my partner's home in Haena (virtually across the road from Tunnels), etc. And given the beauty, the beaches, etc. of the area, I find SVO's choices for this resort somewhat odd. You can rent a nice house ON Anini beach for a little more than annual maintenance at WPORV. And for $1400/week you can get a house with amazing jungle/mountain views across the road from Tunnels.

And now our walk down memory lane, I guess I could have told you to get Google Earth then -

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57184&highlight=wporv

Quote:
Originally Posted by DavidnRobin
I do not think WPORV is allowed to expand. It is also connected to the St Regis Hotel.

Originally Posted by Rocky in response to DavidnRobin
I have been to the Princeville for the WPORV sales presentation. (long story about why we were there) The WPORV property is about 1.5 miles from the St. Regis, very close, if not adjacent to, the Pahio timeshare complex. You can use the ammenties at the St. Regis just like anyone else who has the time and money to burn in the restaurants, at the luau, in the spa.... and WPORV owners are definitely NOT allowed to use the pool. The WPORV complex is relatively close to the entrance of the Princeville area, and is a right turn off the main road. When we were there, it was a great big red dirt mud pit with excavation equipment everywhere..... I'm sure it looks quite differently now.

The argument that WPORV is exclusive is sort of eh to me...... the Pahio properties have somewhat better views, are less fancy, and are extremely cheap on the resale market.

But don't get me wrong. This is my absolute favorite part of HI. I look forward to renting my WKORV unit and using the cash to rent a home right on Anini Beach....... no worries about what view I get that way.