Westin Princeville

[Bill4728]

Just traded into WPORV for our 25 anniversary ( early next year). We have been to Kauai before but never Princeville anything I should know?

TIA

 

[glypnirsgirl]

The resort and units are gorgeous. There are beautiful views of the ocean.

The pool is lovely.

It isn't on the beach. They claim to have a trail to the beach ... and they do if you consider a steep hike to be a "trail." I had more of a leisurely stroll in mind.

If you are the type that enjoys cooking on vacation (I do) the grills here are the nicest I have seen. There is a grocery store very near the entrance to the resort.

It is a wonderful relaxing vacation as long as you weren't picturing yourself walking out onto the beach.

I enjoyed the Lamuhului Gardens.... which is near the end of the road and close to the trailhead for Napili Cliffs.

Most of the beach entrances on the north side are rough. Many have severe dropoffs and you need to be aware of when the tides are coming in and going out.

Have a great trip!

elaine

 

[Maui_ed]

Depending on where you stayed on your other trip(s) to Kauai, you might find Princeville (and the northern end of Kauai in general) to be "remote". Not much up there other than scenic beauty. Limited shopping of any kind. Be prepared to just kick back and enjoy peace and solitude, and nature at its finest.

 

[WalnutBaron]

It's Paradise

I'm an owner at WPORV and absolutely love it. Princeville is--as pointed out by others here--a more remote location on Kauai. But there is plenty of shopping in the little scenic town of Hanalei, which is just a few miles away.

As guests at WPORV, you will also have beach privileges at the St. Regis Princeville--a five-star resort about a mile away.

The Foodland supermarket is also very close to the resort. If you want to save money, stop in at the Costco in Lihue before you make the drive to Princeville after your arrival. The Costco is very close to the airport, and you'll definitely save money on groceries.

One other tip: be sure to make a dinner reservation at Makana Terrace at the St. Regis, timed to see the sunset during your dinner. It will be one of the most sublime and romantic experiences you'll ever have. Perfect for a 25th anniversary celebration!

 

[Westin5Star]

One other tip: be sure to make a dinner reservation at Makana Terrace at the St. Regis, timed to see the sunset during your dinner. It will be one of the most sublime and romantic experiences you'll ever have. Perfect for a 25th anniversary celebration!

I agree and make sure to bring your camera!

 

[MommaBear]

I leave for two weeks at WPORV in 2 weeks and 3 days. I love it there because of it's remoteness and scenic beauty. I like Kilauea Lighthouse, there is a great boat trip to the Napili coast from Anini beach , there are several good (but not great) restaurants in the area. You can also kayak up the river in Hanalei. There are three different botanical gardens in the area. I agree with the St. Regis for sunset. It is priceless. We like to snorkel there, as well as Tunnels and Anini Beach. There are slack key guitar concerts on the lawn for cheap on Fridays and Sundays in Hanalei. The church in Hannalie has services in Hawaiian on Sundays. There is challenging hiking up near Ke'e Beach. There are beautiful and expensive golf courses in Princeville, again the views are priceless. You can even do scenic helicopter tours out of Princeville airport, do zip lining and horseback riding in Princeville. Macadamia Nut pancakes at the Paradise Bar and Grill in the Foodland Plaza are great.

And if you get bored there are always timeshare tours!!!!:whoopie:

Have a great trip. I do recommend spending on day going to the South side and going to Waimea canyon. There is a good brew house (the most western/southern brew house in the US) at what used to be the Plantation h\House in the town of Waimea and great fried shrimp at the Shrimp Station. The Sheraton in Poipu (where you also have reciprocal beach and charging priveleges) as a good free hula show M-W-F evenings at sunset.

 

[gnipgnop]

We were there in June celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary and I was thrilled with WPORV.
The pools, the grills with picnic area, the onsite restaurant and the rooms were beautiful. There is nothing I could say that was not perfect on this vacation. While you are there I would suggest the SMITH LUAU. It is one of the best luau's in Kauai and the food, drinks, and entertainment was excellent. I would highly recommend The Westin in Princeville...along with a visit to the St. Regis next door. There is a shuttle taking you there and bringing you back. Enjoy!

Oh and by the way...........HAPPY 25TH ANNIVERSARY. No better place to celebrate....and share your love.

 

[jimgior]

Love it there.... recommend you do this hike not far from where you are staying.

http://www.napali.com/na_pali_coast/hanakapiai.html

Pack some hiking boots or good tennis shoes

 

[zsn]

Love it there.... recommend you do this hike not far from where you are staying.

http://www.napali.com/na_pali_coast/hanakapiai.html

Pack some hiking boots or good tennis shoes

I would probably suggest exactly the opposite, unless you want your boots/shoes to be ruined - If there is ANY rain at all, the trail will be VERY muddy. This is the red clay mud which sticks to everything (a great way to dye your socks; cf. Original Red Dirt Shirts), and is quite slippery. My suggestion is to wear a pair of sandals or sandal-shoes, or even hike bare feet. In fact that is what I ended up doing even though I had on tennis shoes.

It is an absolutely beautiful hike, and a must-do in Kauai (at least to Hanakapiai Beach) - head right at the beach and be sure to wander the caves/tunnels. DO NOT try to swim in the sea - it is extremely rough, even in summer.

Another suggestion is to kayak up the Wailua River and hike to "Secret Falls" - same advice here; the trail is very muddy and bare feet hiking is better. You could go on a guided tour, but you can easily do it without a guide. Just rent a kayak in Wailua and they'll load it on top of your car, and show you how to bring it back.

While there, check out the Hindu Monastery - they have guided tours. You'll be glad you did!!

 

[djdavid79]

I second the Hindu Monastery, it's really beautiful.

I'm also in agreement with the The Kalalau Trail (Napali Coast hike). Here are some pictures of that:

The snorkeling at Tunnels Beach and Ke'e beach is really great. Ke'e beach right next to the trail head for the napali hike, and Tunnels is on the way there. I think you're going early in the spring, so definitely check the water conditions before going in, the beach on the north shore can often be rough in the winter/early spring.

Ke'e beach, up above is where the vista you'll see below is shot from:

Snorkeling on Tunnels beach (what a view! it might be too small to see here, but there were waterfalls all ove the mountains up there)

This is Ke'e beach from one of the first vistas of the Kalalau trail:

Queen's Bath which is right in Princeville is also beautiful, but probably way too rough to swim in it at that time of year. The photos below are in July and completely different than in the winter. Water from the ocean constantly is coming in to move water through this pool. The hike down to the bath can also be slippery if it has just rained. Be careful, I slipped when I was there last July and bruised quite a few ribs. That was a wonderful event on day 2 of an 11 day vacation. Below are some Queen's bath pictures.

Turtles right by Queen's bath:

Someone also mentioned driving to the south shore of the island to see Waimea canyon, when you drive to the end of the road, after you've seen the canyon this is the view (I can't remember the name of the lookout):

 

[Westin5Star]

I agree with the other posts on "things to do", however, the best excursion we took from Kauai was actually a trip over to Niihau. Niihau is an amazing island with great snorkeling, hundreds of monk seals, beautiful untouched scenery, and if you get board you can even pick through the sand for the Niihau shells.

 

[zsn]

Beautiful pictures! Looks like it dried out considerably in July. We were there in June and it was quite wet and we could not get the "signature view" in the final photograph (I think that point is called Kalalau Valley Lookout) - it was quite foggy/cloudy and we could only get short glimpses of the ocean below.

I completely forgot about Queen's Bath. Go there early in the morning, or have someone waiting in the car, to get a parking place. It's in a rather tony neighborhood.

 

[cjinlb]

Princeville Sunset

I'm an owner at WPORV and absolutely love it. Princeville is--as pointed out by others here--a more remote location on Kauai. But there is plenty of shopping in the little scenic town of Hanalei, which is just a few miles away.

As guests at WPORV, you will also have beach privileges at the St. Regis Princeville--a five-star resort about a mile away.

The Foodland supermarket is also very close to the resort. If you want to save money, stop in at the Costco in Lihue before you make the drive to Princeville after your arrival. The Costco is very close to the airport, and you'll definitely save money on groceries.

One other tip: be sure to make a dinner reservation at Makana Terrace at the St. Regis, timed to see the sunset during your dinner. It will be one of the most sublime and romantic experiences you'll ever have. Perfect for a 25th anniversary celebration!

The Sunset in Princeville is definitely to die for... Here is a pic that I took.

 

[tfalk]

Someone also mentioned driving to the south shore of the island to see Waimea canyon, when you drive to the end of the road, after you've seen the canyon this is the view (I can't remember the name of the lookout)

Kalalau Lookout... Beautiful pictures BTW!

 

[ThreeLittleBirds]

So beautiful! Thank you for sharing.

We are spending 3 nights on Kauai before our annual 2 weeks at WKOR(N) in January. My husband has been, but we never have, and I decided just yesterday to stay in Princeville so we can experience the beauty of Kauai and the Napali Coast. If it rains all three days, oh well..we have 2 weeks on Maui after that for the sun.

My husband is convinced that I will want to trade in our annual 2 week Maui trip for Kauai instead.

 

[rebrewer]

So beautiful! Thank you for sharing.

We are spending 3 nights on Kauai before our annual 2 weeks at WKOR(N) in January. My husband has been, but we never have, and I decided just yesterday to stay in Princeville so we can experience the beauty of Kauai and the Napali Coast. If it rains all three days, oh well..we have 2 weeks on Maui after that for the sun.

My husband is convinced that I will want to trade in our annual 2 week Maui trip for Kauai instead.

If you do an owner's update they will try and talk you into doing just that: "upgrading" your WKOR weeks to Princeville weeks. Don't.

 

[Maui_ed]

We own at both WPORV and WKORVN. We have been to WPORV once, and WKORVN 5 (maybe 6) times now. They are two completely different vacations. If you like the more laid back and remote feel of WPORV, then it might be worth considering an "upgrade". WPORV does have high MFs, even when compared to WKORV.

 

[DavidnRobin]

We own at both WPORV and WKORVN. We have been to WPORV once, and WKORVN 5 (maybe 6) times now. They are two completely different vacations. If you like the more laid back and remote feel of WPORV, then it might be worth considering an "upgrade". WPORV does have high MFs, even when compared to WKORV.

WPORV MFs are quite high (plus that $100 Princeville fee) - WPORV 2Bd LO EY = $2467; WKORV 2Bd LO Prem EY = $2181; WKORVN 2Bd LO EY = $2345 - also WPORV is a V resort and has much lower resale value - WKORV/N is not hard to rent - not sure if that would be an upgrade worth considering.

WPORV gives 84K SP for SO conversion; WKORV/N gives 80K SP for SO conversion