# Kauai TSs



## LisaRex (Sep 21, 2011)

I'm hoping to exchange my unit for a 2 bdrm in Kauai for travel in January 2012 in II.  What TSs do you think are the nicest?  Are there any with better odds at getting a 2 bdrm than others?  Any to avoid?

Thanks for your expertise.  I've never been to Kauai; it's the last Hawaiian island that I've yet to experience.


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## Karen G (Sep 21, 2011)

Have you checked the TUG reviews?  You can get a good idea by looking at the ratings.


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Sep 21, 2011)

LisaRex said:


> I'm hoping to exchange my unit for a 2 bdrm in Kauai for travel in January 2012.  What TSs do you think are the nicest?  Are there any with better odds at getting a 2 bdrm than others?  Any to avoid?
> 
> Thanks for your expertise.  I've never been to Kauai; it's the last Hawaiian island that I've yet to experience.



Point at Poipu is almost exclusively 2-bedroom units.


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## vacationtime1 (Sep 21, 2011)

I am partial to the Waiohai.  It is the nicer of the two Marriotts on the island (we own both).  Only four stories tall, very serene, adjacent to an excellent snorkeling beach.  The Waiohai is all two bedroom units.

Westin Princeville is excellent also, but it is (obviously) in Princeville, and the weather is much wetter there in January.

The only issue for you at the Waiohai would be that as a non-Marriott exchanger you would have a risk of getting a bad view (about 25 of the 240 units have poor views; think island side of Building 4 of WKORV).


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## cbm32 (Sep 21, 2011)

I doubt they are in the class of the Westin and the Marriots but we were very comfortable in Bali Hai, The Cliffs, and Kauai Beach Villas.

I would suggest you not consider Banyon Harbor though.


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## chellej (Sep 21, 2011)

I would not stay at bayan harbor because of the location.

I would probably not stay at Makai Club just because there are better options.


We like smaller resorts and prefer the north shore and then lihue/kapaa.  We are not fans of Poipu area

Our favorite resorts are Shearwater, hanalei bay and the cliffs on the north.

Shell beachboy in Lihue.


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## rickandcindy23 (Sep 21, 2011)

There was a great bulk banking of the Westin Princeville a few months back.  Maybe there will be another one.  That would be my #1 choice for Kauai, because I love the North Shore, and the resort is fantastic.  The Marriott resorts are very nice too, so if you can get one of those, you should enter all three in your request.

For south Kauai, my favorite generic resorts are few in number.  I would take Point at Poipu or some areas of Lawai Beach Resort.  Point at Poipu is really nice, as is Lawai Beach, but only certain parts of Lawai Beach are desirable.  Some buildings have little to no ocean view, or they are near noisier areas.  Denise will probably comment on the noisy Banyan building, where she could not sleep at night, due to the people yelling at all hours of the day and night. 

Shell's Kauai Coast at the Beachboy is going to II in January.  I would try to get that one in exchange, too, but I don't know if it's an option on II's website yet.  It's really pretty, and in a more central area, Kapa'a, to enjoy all of the island without driving way north and way south.  

Pono Kai is also in Kapa'a, and it's a beautiful little resort, but it's not fancy at all.  You might not enjoy it.  We own there and love it for us, but we like having oceanfront, and oceanfront units probably go to owners.  That is why we bought at Pono Kai.


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## GregT (Sep 21, 2011)

Lisa,

Which unit are you using for the exchange?  I agree with others about the Marriotts  -- you may want to consider also offering a Direct Exchange with a Marriott owner who can book the new Kauai Lagoons for you with points (they are offering discounted points in 2012) and the Marriott owner may want to visit a Starwood property -- do you have StarOptions with your SVV?

Good luck and please share additional information as possible.   Click My Website below to find a little website where people are trying to transact with points -- you may find a Marriott owner who wants to visit Starwood.

Best,

Greg


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## cbm32 (Sep 21, 2011)

At Banyon Harber the staff was extremely nice and we had a view of the harbor where the Cruise ships dock.  

But, it is not all timeshare.  There are a good number of units that are owned or rented by locals and .....well.....not exactly middle class folk.  It didnt bother us a whole lot but I can see where some people wouldnt appreciate the traffic and noise some of the other things that went on while we were there.


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## DeniseM (Sep 21, 2011)

Lisa - In January you have to really consider the weather - the Princeville area is far wetter in the winter than the Poipu area.











These would be my top choices:

Marriott's Waiohai Beach Club






Lawai Beach Resort - Ali'i Bldg. only (separate code in II)






Westin Princeville - if you don't mind the rain






Pahio at the Shearwater - if you don't mind the rain






Marriott's Kauai Lagoons - 






Personally, I don't like Marriott's Kauai Beach Club - it's just too BIG for us.  But if you don't mind mega-resorts, you might like it.


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## LisaRex (Sep 21, 2011)

GregT said:


> Lisa,
> 
> Which unit are you using for the exchange?  I agree with others about the Marriotts  -- you may want to consider also offering a Direct Exchange with a Marriott owner who can book the new Kauai Lagoons for you with points (they are offering discounted points in 2012) and the Marriott owner may want to visit a Starwood property -- do you have StarOptions with your SVV?
> Greg



Greg, I do have StarOptions with my Starwood, but I'm hoping to get an exchange via my 2011 SVv 2 bdrm.  My preference is a nice oceanfront property.  It's ok if it's not Westin standards.  

Thx for all the advice.  I'm going to expand my ongoing search to include a few of the Poipu recommendations.


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## Kona Lovers (Sep 21, 2011)

Pono Kai, Kapaa.


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## slip (Sep 21, 2011)

I obviously like the Pono Kai also. Kapa'a is a great location. The rainfall amount is 
in the middle of Princeville and Poipu and so are the drive times. With the
resorts you own, I think The Point at Poipu would be a better fit. I've never
stayed there but I have been through it and it is really nice. The only 
disadvantage is the drive to Princeville is longer, when you want to go there.
You can't go wrong with any of the suggestions here. One of the nicest things
about Kauai is that your usually not too far from good weather but it depends
on how much driving you want to do. I'll be there in February.


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Sep 22, 2011)

Lots of references above about Kapa'a being "middle" of the island.  But that all depends on what your interests are.

For ourselves, we find that Po'ipu is centrally located, whereas Kapa'a is incovenient and Princeville is way out there.

Heresy???  It takes just about as long to get from Poipu to the prime areas in Waimea Canyon and Kokee Park as it does to get from Poipu to Hanalei.  It takes as long to get to Polihale as it does to Princeville.

Fact is that Princeville is remote for almost anything on the island except for North Shore activities.  Kapa'a is "central" until you start heading up the canyon or going out toward Barking Sands.

If you're going to do a power boat cruise (Na Pali tour or whale watching or scuba/snuba) your departure will almost always be from Port Allen, which is a lonnnng way from Princeville, but not that inconvenient from Poipu.

*****

We've done about 12 trips to Kauai, and have stayed in all parts of the Island.  And we find that we spend less time in the car when we stay in Poipu than anywhere else on the island.  When we do two weeks on Kauai (which is about every other year) we almost always divide our time between the north shore and the south shore.  But given one week on the island Poipu area is an easy first choice.


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## slip (Sep 22, 2011)

T_R

I think you nailed it. It depends on what they are going to do while they are
there. Another great thing about Kauai is that even if you do have a long drive,
who cares it's beautiful there.


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## LisaRex (Sep 22, 2011)

So I went to add 5 resorts to my request and now they want an additional $35.  Is this normal?


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## DeniseM (Sep 22, 2011)

LisaRex said:


> So I went to add 5 resorts to my request and now they want an additional $35.  Is this normal?



If your previous request was only for Starwood resorts you got a discount.  When you add non-Starwood resorts, the fee goes up.

$139 - regular domestic trades
$104 - Starwood to Starwood trades
$35


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## LisaRex (Sep 22, 2011)

Okay, thanks for the info.  

P.S. Man, is II buggy!


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