Marriott’s Kauai Resort

[elked12]

Can anyone tell me about the Kauai resort? We are thinking of going to Hawaii next January and staying at Maui, ko’olina and was wondering if we should try Kauai as well? Also never been to Hawaii before. Thank you

 

[TXTortoise]

How many days/weeks? What is the composition of your party? What do they like to do? Every island is different and less than a week on each seems to be counter-productive. You can come back. ;-)

That said, Maui is the place for whales in January.

 

[Steve Fatula]

Well, we're staying there (Kauai Beach Club) in March/April, never been to that Island, been to the others. From what I hear, every island is different. Thus far, that has held true of the others.

We love Ko Olina. I know many (most?) love the Maui MVCI, but, we like Ko Olina better. Depends what you like I suppose.

 

[elked12]

How many days/weeks? What is the composition of your party? What do they like to do? Every island is different and less than a week on each seems to be counter-productive. You can come back. ;-)

That said, Maui is the place for whales in January.

Just Wife and I. We love the beach/pool, having drinks and good restaurants

Was thinking of 5 days at ko’oloni and 5 days at Maui with the Friday and Saturday at the new holiday inn express in Waikiki on IHG points to save on the weekend DC points at MVC. Then maybe adding Kauai for 5 days as well. What’s weather like in early January?

Thank you

 

[aland0524]

Rainy season in Kauai is technically Nov to March so your January trip is during the rainy season. Kauai is also known to the be "rainiest" of the Hawaiian islands. However, if you stay around Poipu Beach (Southern part of island) at the Marriott Waiohai Beach Club (which I'd recommend instead of the KBC), you're guaranteed a lot more sun than other parts of the island. Kauai has some very interesting microclimates -- for example, the Princeville area (north part) will be very rainy but Poipu Beach will be sunny and warm. KBC is near the airport (Lihue) and also gets its fair share of good sun. There will likely be some rain - usually late afternoon - but it goes away relatively quickly. Waimea canyon for example can be rainy and foggy even when its nice in Poipu. But we go to Kauai/Waiohai Beach club usually end Jan/early Feb and always have very good weather. As other TUGers have indicated though, you're doing a lot of islands in 15 days but what the heck - go for it! There are many great things to do in Kauai - including checking out where they filmed Jurassic Park and Indiana Jones/Raiders of the Lost Ark...

 

[ljmiii]

Are you limited to MVC resorts? If I were going to Kauai for the first time (particularly in January) I would stay on the South Shore near Poipu Beach. KBC is nice...but it’s wetter and a bit of a drive to the better beaches.

My other suggestion would be to add 3-ish days in Honolulu. Most of the Oahu sights are a long way from Ko Olina.

 

[brentw52]

We are at Kbc right now and I’m writing this sitting on our deck. We are loving it here. Beautiful resort. The only thing missing is a full kitchen. The weather was beautiful today but it’s Kauai so it can change from minute to minute. This is our favourite island so we have stayed at the Westin Princeville, Point at Poipu and Pono Kai several times but not the Waiohai or here before. This came available so we added it on to our 2 weeks at the Westin and are really happy we did. We traded for a one bedroom which seems to have given us two slightly different units stuck together. It’s great but not sure I would be happy if we just had the studio or what they call a parlour unit alone. I agree probably first choice would be Poipu for a first trip to Kauai but we are very happy here.

 

[Steve Fatula]

We are at Kbc right now and I’m writing this sitting on our deck. The only thing missing is a full kitchen.

Yeah, I am *really* going to miss that kitchen. It was a devastating realization.

 

[Travel1]

Last February, we spent a week at the Marriott Kauai Resort first and the next week at the Marriott Ko Olina resort.

We liked them both, but preferred the Kauai resort because of the outstanding views from our 1 Bedroom unit. We also liked the island of Kauai better too...less developed than Oahu and stunning natural beauty. In addition, you have many restaurants within walking distance of the Marriott Kauai Resort, in particular Duke's.

You can't go wrong with either one...we had a great time at both!

 

[chalee94]

A helicopter trip (we did Jack Harter) and morning sailing trip with snorkeling from the north shore are especially recommended, if possible. The Kauai Revealed book/kindle was a very valuable resource for information.

Here is a great 4k view from a “doors off” helicopter trip in Kauai – 10 minutes or so in, it gets to some nice waterfalls - 14 minutes or so in, it gets to the Waimea Canyon – 23:30 they get to the coast and the Na Pali coast has some pretty unique scenery:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JL3NA2lyDYM

I thought the best snorkeling was in Poipu but the rocks on the coast are sharp so be wary.

Duke's was a great dining option.

Even if you are mostly beach/pool kind of people, take a day to drive west over to the Grand Canyon of the Pacific and check out the overlooks, and do an afternoon boat tour like Captain Andy's to see the Na Pali coast (despite the risk that it may get rained out in January). The scenery in Kauai is too unique to miss when you have the opportunity. It’s an amazing place to visit…

 

[brianfox]

You've got three Marriott choices for Kauai:
Kauai Beach Club (converted hotel rooms, great beach front, fantastic pool)
Kauai Lagoons (Great view, no beach, poor pool, rooms nearly identical to Ko Olina)
Waiohai Beach Club (No real good views, okay pool, rooms nearly identical to Ko Olina)

Beach Club and Lagoons are walking distance from one another.
I would recommend Waiohai. The rooms are all 2BR (no lockoffs). It fronts Poipu Beach - cannot do better than this. Nearby Old Koloa town feels like Hawaii. 2BR may seem too big for just the two of you, but we did not like the rooms at Beach Club at all.

 

[caribbeanqueen]

We stayed at Kauai Beach Club and loved it! Granted no real kitchen but we had no plans of cooking anyway. The pool was fantastic, the beach area is smaller but still great. Plenty of restaurants within walking distance and two good ones on site, Duke's and the restaurant by the pool was good. We rented a car for two days and drove all over the island and that worked out very well.

 

[b2bailey]

We are at Kbc right now and I’m writing this sitting on our deck. We are loving it here. Beautiful resort. The only thing missing is a full kitchen. The weather was beautiful today but it’s Kauai so it can change from minute to minute. This is our favourite island so we have stayed at the Westin Princeville, Point at Poipu and Pono Kai several times but not the Waiohai or here before. This came available so we added it on to our 2 weeks at the Westin and are really happy we did. We traded for a one bedroom which seems to have given us two slightly different units stuck together. It’s great but not sure I would be happy if we just had the studio or what they call a parlour unit alone. I agree probably first choice would be Poipu for a first trip to Kauai but we are very happy here.

I was there recently and pondered one side vs. the other. Came to conclusion I need both sides.

 

[elked12]

Thank you all for the great information.