Kauai advice for nights before and after our timeshare rental??

[tartanwood]

We just got found a good deal on a last-minute rental at the Westin in Princeville, but in order to use our airline miles effectively during spring break, we had to book flights that will arrive 4 days early and leave 4 days late. Now we are looking for suggestions on where to stay for those extra days.

We think we would like to stay in the Poipu area at the beginning of our trip, but lodging there is either scarce or very expensive in late March.

On Vrbo we are seeing a few units in Kiahuna Plantation, but I cannot find out much about this resort complex--no TUG reviews and few comments in other threads when I search.

Does anyone have suggestions for how to find the best deals in mid-to-late March?

We will also need suggestions for the end of March. After we leave the Westin, should we stay in the north part of the island for 4 more days or look elsewhere? We stayed in the Kapaa area once before and would like to try something different but we are not sure where to look.

Any advice will be welcome.

 

[b2bailey]

My first reaction was -- with 8 additional hotel nights required -- it's not going to be much of a good deal. You are landing in the timeframe of Spring Break for many.

 

[tartanwood]

You are correct. We look forward to the week at the Westin, but finding additional lodging is proving to be a real challenge. We have enough frequent flyer miles to get there and back for "free", but we would have to add cash to our points if we try to fly any later or come home any sooner. Any money saved by staying fewer nights would all go toward higher airfare. I'd rather spend that extra money in a nice place on the island rather than on a cramped plane seat. It may not be the good deal we originally thought, but now we want to make the most of what we have. The resort reservation and flights are all set, so I hope we can find a pleasant way to enjoy our extra days on the island.

Any advice on where to look would be welcome.

 

[Chrispee]

Can you give more info on the level and size of accommodations you’re looking for? Price point?

 

[tartanwood]

We normally look for a 1-bedroom, but for these extra 8 nights at the beginning and end of our trip, we would accept a studio, maybe even a hotel room. We would like to stay under $300 max per night, preferably in the $200-$250 range or even lower if possible. We understand that this is spring break for many, so we know we won't get a great bargain, but we want to be comfortable and not too far from beaches, restaurants, etc.

 

[flindberg]

We normally look for a 1-bedroom, but for these extra 8 nights at the beginning and end of our trip, we would accept a studio, maybe even a hotel room. We would like to stay under $300 max per night, preferably in the $200-$250 range or even lower if possible. We understand that this is spring break for many, so we know we won't get a great bargain, but we want to be comfortable and not too far from beaches, restaurants, etc.

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[Czahara1]

Here's a link to a Kiahuna Plantation owner rental. You can get a feel for the complex from the pictures. These are not timeshares thus no Tug reviews. They are privately owned units that owners rent.
Kiahuna Plantation

 

[tartanwood]

Thanks for explaining that KP is not a timeshare and therefore no TUG reviews. I don't see the link, but I will look for rentals online for KP.

 

[cowboy]

Kiahuna Plantation is one of the original resorts in Poipu and appears to be maintained very well, it is located between the Marriott Waiohai and the Sheraton. I have not stayed in any of the rooms but when I am in Poipu I walk through the grounds daily and am impressed with the feel of the resort. It is a mixture of individual owners and several hotel owners. It has a great restaurant on the grounds. For lesser expensive places you might try Lihue or Kapaa on vrbo. There is also a quaint boutique type hotel there called the Garden Island Inn which has access to some of the units in the Banyon Harbor complex and both are across the highway from Na Wili Wili harbor and Kalapacki beach.

 

[jacknsara]

Aloha,
There are probably at least 101 links to web sites you might try.
The following non google map links are sites that Sara and I or our adult daughter have used. We have stayed at all of hotels at the first five links and found them satisfactory to very good.
The sixth link offers many condos. It used to be (and may still be) the primary site for rental of privately owned units at Kauai Beach Villas ( https://www.google.com/maps/place/K...8e27db74ed65f1!8m2!3d22.0093447!4d-159.342521 ).

https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/lihwbgi-hilton-garden-inn-kauai-wailua-bay/
https://www.kauaishoreshotel.com/
https://kauaibeachresortandspa.com/
http://www.kauaiinn.com/
http://www.gardenislandinn.com/

www.kauaivacationrentals.com/#q=*%3A*

Jack
edited to add Kauai Shores

 

[Deb from NC]

There are several Wyndham resorts on Kauai....have you looked at the TUG ads? You might be able to find a Wyndham owner who rents their points and could reserve those nights for you....

 

[chalee94]

Club Wyndham Shearwater

A South Pacific paradise on Kaua'i's North Shore, this oceanfront location is set high above Anini Bay featuring lush gardens and breathtaking ocean views. Relax in spacious two-bedroom suites that comfortably sleep six guests. Suites include a full kitchen, dining/living area, washer/dryer, and...

www.extraholidays.com

when we went to Kauai in May 2019, we booked the Marriott KBC for a week in Lihue and then booked the shearwater for 2-3 nights on the north side of island for easier access to a morning boat tour from Hanalei (and because the TUG reviews were very positive and the price was in the ballpark for a short term stay)...

 

[chellej]

You should checkout priceline...they seem to have a lot of the tmeshares for example, hanalei bay for 249 per night, kauai beach resort for 206 along with a lot of privately owned condos. I think you can link through tug and tug gets some kind of referral. there are lots of options

 

[tartanwood]

Thank you for many suggestions. I looked at almost all of the sites recommended and after examining dozens and dozens of listings, I finally settled on places found through VRBO for all but one of the nights we need at the beginning and end of our trip. Then I made a reservation for the 1 remaining night at Kauai Beach Resort by going directly to the KBR's website.

Vrbo was a bit frustrating because that site listed dates as available when, in fact, they were not. We lost time when two requests failed--one with an instant confirmation that was later withdrawn due to a technical error in the Vrbo calendar. Eventually, we did succeed and interactions with those owners has been positive, so I think we are good to go as far as lodging is concerned.

Now I just need to figure out a car.....

 

[Pathways]

Vrbo was a bit frustrating because that site listed dates as available when, in fact, they were not

This is why I don't bother with a lot of listings -VRBO/airbnb etc. A frequent poster here on TUG also does that. Lists timeshare stays as being available. Then when a request is made, they go online to 'see' if they can book those nights. There should be consequences on these platforms for this behavior.

 

[FunnyFarm]

I have points about to expire that I have to use or lose with worldmark (Kapaa Shores).
If interested I could check availability, just point cost (not sure rental points?) plus housekeeping fee.
Never done that before so if this sounds like an ad it will get dropped, wifey and I are trying figure out how to use up point after a bad health year.
Just tossing out an alternative

 

[mmthomas]

You might have to go interisland for a while; then back to Kauai.

 

[tartanwood]

Thanks again for many suggestions. As noted a couple of weeks ago, we have settled our lodging for this trip, though to do so we did have to make 4 different reservations. We started with our original reservation at the Westin in Princeville. Then because of spring break airfares, we discovered that it was best to go 4 days early and stay 4 days late. For the first 4 days we will be staying in PoiPu in a condo rented through VRBO. Our first two attempts to use VRBO failed, but we eventually found a place with an owner who has been very responsive and helpful. We also found another helpful condo owner in PoiPu who could not give us the first 4 nights we sought, but she did arrange for us to stay in another one of her units at the Kiahuna Plantation for our final 3 days. That left just one night between our week in Princeville and our final 3 days in PoiPu. For that, we explored several of the suggestions offered by people above, and eventually we settled on the Kauai Beach Resort in Lihue. We look forward to seeing 3 different parts of the island.

Again, thanks to all who offered helpful suggestions.

 

[controller1]

Thanks again for many suggestions. As noted a couple of weeks ago, we have settled our lodging for this trip, though to do so we did have to make 4 different reservations. We started with our original reservation at the Westin in Princeville. Then because of spring break airfares, we discovered that it was best to go 4 days early and stay 4 days late. For the first 4 days we will be staying in PoiPu in a condo rented through VRBO. Our first two attempts to use VRBO failed, but we eventually found a place with an owner who has been very responsive and helpful. We also found another helpful condo owner in PoiPu who could not give us the first 4 nights we sought, but she did arrange for us to stay in another one of her units at the Kiahuna Plantation for our final 3 days. That left just one night between our week in Princeville and our final 3 days in PoiPu. For that, we explored several of the suggestions offered by people above, and eventually we settled on the Kauai Beach Resort in Lihue. We look forward to seeing 3 different parts of the island.

Again, thanks to all who offered helpful suggestions.

I'm glad you're satisfied. For me, I would not be looking forward to moving four times in a 15-day period.

 

[goaliedave]

This is why you always arrange airfare before booking accom 'bargains'.

Sent from my SM-A505G using Tapatalk

 

[tartanwood]

Thanks to all of you for sharing suggestions and advice. We will tuck away the information for future reference. We have cancelled our trip for now. Since we are in our 70's and have some underlying health conditions, we decided to heed advice against travel at this time.

We feared being stranded if one of us were to unknowingly have the virus already or if we were to pick up the virus in the plane or while on the island. We were scheduled to stay in 4 different places, so I'm not sure how we could "self-isolate" if that became necessary during our trip. I'm sure no one would want us to contaminate their space. Our travel protection policy has made it clear that it would not cover any disruptions due to a quarantine since we made all of our reservations in early February, just a week after coronavirus became a "known event" at the end of January.

Fortunately, Alaska Airlines made it easy to cancel our flights and the condo/timeshare owners have been helpful. We cannot recoup all of our costs, but they have reimbursed enough so we feel OK about it.

We learned a lot while making plans for this trip, so it will be easier when we finally are ready to go some time in the future.