Kauai Marriott & Beach Resort…what a fabulous place. Great Hotel Write-Off
Written: Sep 11 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: location, excellent beach, beautiful design
Cons: Hair on the bathtub wall, I was ill during part of my stay
The Bottom Line: A truly amazing experience; everything I pictured Hawaii to be! I can’t get back there fast enough.
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| HJS33's Full Review: Marriott Kauai Resort/Beach Club |
Location, Check In & Out, etc.
Kauai Marriott Resort & Beach Club
Kalapaki Beach
3610 Rice Street
Lihue, HI, 96766
Phone: 1-808-245-5050
Fax: 1-808-245-5049
International Toll-Free: 1-800-228-9290
Reservations (from U.S. and Canada): 1-800-220-2925
Sales: 1-808-246-5100
www.marriott.com
Check-in: 4:00 PM
Check-out: 12:00 PM
Just as Kauai was our second island to visit on our honeymoon, Kauai Marriott Resort & Beach Club was our second hotel experience, and they make everything so easy! Upon our arrival at the airport, we called the hotel, and a free shuttle from the hotel picked us up in less than 10 minutes. The driver was extremely friendly and gave us a lot of good information. I remember my husband’s reaction when the driver mentioned how early things closed down on Kauai (hubby is a night owl); my husband thought he was joking, but he wasn’t. I guess it is obvious which one of us picked Kauai to visit.
It took us very little time to drive from the airport to the hotel; the hotel is only about 1 mile from the airport. Instantly, I was blown away by the beauty of Kauai and Kalapaki Bay, where the hotel is situated. Kauai is what I imagined when I dreamed of going to Hawaii.
Unlike where we stayed on Maui, Kauai seems to be less hustle and bustle and more about natural beauty. The lovely 800 lush tropical acres of Kalapaki Bay is gorgeous, and really didn’t look too horribly spoiled by being too built up. That is what made this so nice to me; I felt like our hotel was the only hotel. In Maui there was always something to do, but I was always aware that we were in one hotel on a large strip of hotels. Anyway, on to the hotel itself!
The Lobby, hotel at first glance, etc.
Upon arriving at the hotel, we were greeted and told to go down the escalator, ‘the only escalator on the island’ someone joked. After walking a little, we arrived in the lobby. Now I should say that this is not your typical Marriott. This hotel used to be a Westin, but when a storm hit and destroyed it, Westin chose not to rebuild, and in came Marriott. There is a Roman quality to this hotel. Big beautiful columns, high ceilings, etc. It is pretty impressive when you see it. Only thing I would have changed about the lobby is that I would have made it a little brighter.
As for check in, the line to check in was a little long, and took a little longer than I would have liked, but it wasn’t horrific. All the staffers were really helpful and courteous. Check out was easy, as we used our tv to do express check out. I love that feature.
The Grounds, etc.
Like I said about, the grounds are really impressive with their high columns and great architecture. They also landscape just beautifully. There is this great pond with three different types of ducks and fish in it. There is a walkway around the outside of the pond where you can enjoy all the plants and greenery and the ducks and fish (fyi, the ducks will follow you to get food!) While walking on the pathway, we walked past the area where they have weddings. Quite honestly, there were a lot of weddings going on while we were there, and I never even noticed. As a guest not involved with the weddings, I appreciated that, and I can only imagine that the wedding guests liked not having uninvited guests crash their wedding.
Now on to the pool! It is pretty breathtaking, and boasts to be the largest on the island. I loved the look of the pool, especially with a walkway that goes over the pool and onto a little island that people can hang out and sunbath on. My only complaint about the pool is that it is only 4 feet deep. The Jacuzzi/whirlpools were pretty cool too. They had at least 4 of them, and they never looked overcrowded or unavailable.
Room
As for the hotel itself, there are 10 floors, 345 rooms and 11 suites. We stayed in a standard king non-smoking room, but paid the extra to have a lanai with an ocean view. I felt that this ocean view room was even better than the one we had in Maui. I can only hypothesize that ocean view can be hit or miss, and that sometimes you get a better view of the ocean and sometimes you don’t.
Our room was a really nice size. It had a very comfy king bed, a couch and coffee table, a table and chairs, a tv with 20 or so channels, including HBO, ESPN, etc., a small fridge, and a bunch of the standard amenities, such as in room movies, a coffee maker, iron and ironing board, hairdryer, a safe, etc. The room had a nice big closet, and one of my favorite things, a full length mirror.
I also thought that our bathroom was really nice. What was nice and a little bit different is that the toilet was separated by a wall, so it was almost like it was in a separate room. The shower had great water pressure, etc., my only complaint was that it obviously hadn’t been cleaned well enough, because there was hair on the wall of the shower that quite obviously wasn’t mine or my husbands. That disturbed me.
Services
As with most resorts, there is lots of services available. Parking, whether on your own or with a valet, is available. They have a variety of activities available, including a tour desk to help you plan. They have a full service salon. Childcare services and activities. A golf pro shop, a florist, a variety of meeting rooms and on-site restaurants, room service, laundry (both self serve and “valet”), a Hertz rental desk, a business center with 2 computers, etc. etc. I can’t think of anything I needed that wasn’t available. And if on the off chance you can’t find what you need at or through the hotel, there is a mall type place within walking distance with some shops in it.
Here’s the good, or bad, depends on how you look at it. Unfortunately for me, I came down with something while in Kauai and was bedridden for a couple of days. The good news is, I can tell you a lot about the room service…ok, that sounds strange. Anyway, room service was really good. The staff was really attentive and when the food arrived, it was nice and hot. Just remember that you will have to wait a while before you get your food, and that a hefty gratuity is tacked on to your bill; no way around that one.
And speaking of services, I love when people are attentive, but I was a little frustrated with the people in charge of servicing the room. I tried to leave the room at least once in a day so that the room could be serviced. We called the number on our phone to have the room serviced and told them that we would be out at a certain time so they would be able to come in then. The person must have came back 3 times before the time we gave to see if we were out. That really annoyed me. Also, every time our room was serviced, they took our do not disturb sign from our room, so we had to call to keep getting one back.
Another service that the hotel offers is a business office (of sorts). Right now they are renovating a lot of the hotel, so to get into the room with the business equipment (computers and such), you have to be let in through a back door and through a hallway by one of the front desk staff. Prices to use the computer are reasonable. It cost us $5 for ½ hour of internet time.
The gym is being renovated too. When we went, it was set up in one of the business rooms while they work on renovating the area where the permanent gym will be. They are also moving the business center over to that area once the gym has been moved. The temporary spaces are adequate, but not glam by any means.
They also have a lovely spa, or so my husband says. I had scheduled a massage for myself at Alexander Day Spa about 5 months before arriving because I was dying to try lomi lomi massage, but I was too sick to go. My husband took my place and just loved it.
Restaurants
One of the bonuses of our room rate was that breakfast, up to a certain amount, was included. When we ordered room service, we generally went over the allowance a little, but our breakfast was easily covered when we went out to the restaurants at the hotel.
They have a few choices at the hotel, including Kukui’s, which they categorize as International food. It is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but we had their breakfast buffet. It was very good and had a large selection of hot and cold foods, fruits, breads, juices, etc. I enjoyed it.
Then there is the Kalapaki Grill, which is categorized as American food and is only open for lunch. They seemed to offer things like sandwiches, pizza, etc., but we chose to sit at the bar and have some drinks and French fries while listening to a singer/entertainer. It was really nice and casual, and the fries were good!
My husband tried to Aupaka Terrace on his own. They had some sort of pupu special that he at as his dinner one night. He seemed to enjoy it, and was able to try a new beer that he never had before. There is also an espresso bar there, but I never saw that it was open.
The last one, and my favorite one, is Duke’s Canoe Club. It is American food and is open for lunch or dinner. It also has a great salad bar, which according to the wait staff, is the best on the island. Here we were able to continue our quest to try new types of fish that we had never had before. It was ALL good. Duke’s is 2 levels. They do take reservations for the restaurant part upstairs, and I recommend making them if you want to eat at a specific time. You may be able to walk in and find seats downstairs, but my husband mentioned walking by Duke’s at around 9pm one night and it looked like it was impossible to get in.
Attractions, sports & recreation, etc.
Let me just reiterate how awesome the ocean view is and how wonderful the beach is. The beach is a nice size, and not overcrowded. At one point when Jay and I were walking on the beach, there were only around 10 people or so out there with us. We had a great time walking in the water and watching the sea turtles popping their heads up from near the rocks. Further down the beach from where most people were swimming, there are all sorts of boats, canoes, etc. that you can rent out. On the other side of the beach was a really nice volleyball court that people were actually using!
Well, enough about what is available at the hotel. What is nearby? Unfortunately, because I was sick, I was unable to visit the places that we had originally scheduled into my trip. We were supposed to travel south to get a cruise out along the Na Pali Coast (which is only about 40 miles from the hotel). We were also supposed to drive up North to Princeville to explore.
Other attractions that may be of interest are Fern Grott (7 miles away), Hanalei Bay (30 miles away), Koke’s State Park (36 miles away), Opaekaa Falls (7 miles away…I was bummed to miss this!), Wailua Falls (4 miles away) and Waimea Canyon (26 miles away.)
Then of course you can always go to Poipu Beach, do some whale watching, or take a helicopter tour (which you can book right at the hotel if you like.) If you are a golfer, they have 2 courses with 18 holes nearby. They are Kiele Course and Mokihana Course; both are very close to the hotel.
Overall
I would come back here in a heartbeat. I thought that everything about the hotel was nice. I didn’t feel pressured about purchasing a timeshare, which can be a real turnoff for me. I felt like I was free to wander around the beautiful Hawaii landscape and just enjoy the natural beauty. I’m just wondering when I get to go back!
Thanks to all who read/rate.
:)
Heidi
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
HJS33
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Location: West Bloomfield, MI
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