Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa
As a travel professional, I am typically more critical of resorts than the average guest. There was little to be critical of at the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa. After staying at this property for 6 days in November 2009, I now know why my clients all love this resort in Kauai.
Arrival
The Grand Hyatt Kauai is located at the very end of the Poipu resort section. Arriving guests are greeted with an orchid or shell lei. After check-in, your luggage is taken separately and you are guided toward your room. I was a bit put off by this since at our last resort, the Fairmont Orchid, we were escorted by an informative bell hop who pointed out different features and amenities of the resort on the way to our room. Once I realized the resort layout, I understood why we were sent out on our own to our room. We were sent via a shortcut, around the pool, while the bell hop had to take a service elevator and snake through the long corridors to get to our room.
Room
We were in room 6141- a deluxe ocean view room at the very end of the Shipwreck wing with a great view of the pools and ocean. The Shipwreck wing is closer to the pools than the Poipu wing. Many times, honeymooners and couples might prefer the Poipu wing since it is quieter and closer to the spa, while families might prefer the Shipwreck wing since it is closer to the pools. We were right next to a 1 bedroom suite on the 6th floor (the building actually starts at the 3rd floor so we weren’t as far up as it sounds). The only bad part of the view was that we also overlooked a small public access parking lot to Shipwreck Beach. There were a lot of surfers there, plus a wedding, but it didn’t affect our view or our stay and I can honestly say that we completely enjoyed our lanai and didn’t notice any noise from the parking lot. I might suggest a partial ocean view room in the Shipwreck building if you want to avoid seeing the parking lot. We actually enjoyed watching the surfers and wedding and the view of the beach from our room was perfect.
The room had 2 queen beds, flat screen TV, safe large enough for a laptop plus more and a good deal of storage. The bathroom had a combo tub shower. All of the guest rooms will be renovated between April of 2010 and 2011, starting with the Poipu wing. We viewed the new model rooms and I could see the improvements- more streamline, sleek and modern with more storage in the bathroom. What was nice is that they were asking for suggestions and input from guests on the new room designs and seemed very thankful for our input.
Grounds
The property at the Grand Hyatt Kauai is stunningly gorgeous. The pools include an adult’s only pool, a lazy river pool that meanders through the resort and a huge lagoon pool with a sand beach around it. This is the pool where you can rent a kayak or snorkel or just lay on a raft or tube and just relax. Waterfalls are sprinkled throughout the resort making for a relaxing experience.
Koi ponds surround Tidepools, the signature restaurant and Ilima Terrace, the breakfast/lunch spot. The koi were literally jumping from the ponds. Just watch out during feeding time- you may end up catching a koi with your hands, if you are too close.
The pools have plenty of lounge chairs and even when the property was over 85% full, we never felt that any of the pools felt crowded. Many of the lounges around the adult’s only pool included the ½ cabanas, which offer shade. There are many full cabanas with a couple of lounge chairs underneath them around the pools that are available to rent for $45 daily (the cabanas on the beach were $100 daily) but I saw few used. We actually were able to use the full cabanas at the adult pool and no one came up to us asking for our room card to charge us. There were a lot of people at the pools and even during a season when most kids are in school, there were a good number of kids around. The lagoon pool was the most crowded but if you want some more privacy the upper pools were lovely and much quieter. There is a water slide which looked like a lot of fun, as well as a winding river pool. Pick up a large inner tube at Wal-Mart or Kmart in Lihue (less than purchasing it at the water sports hut) and relax while the current pushes you down the pool.
The resort is located right near Shipwreck Beach. As I mentioned earlier, this is a public beach and there were a lot of people surfing there. The beach in front of the Grand Hyatt was a bit too rough to swim in with a good amount of rocky areas. Walking just a couple of feet to the left will put you on Shipwreck Beach where the beach has fewer rocks and seems a bit safer for going into the water. There was a storm in the vicinity and the water all along the Poipu Beach area was a bit rougher than usual.
Most of the Grand Hyatt guests stayed at the pools, so there were very few lounges being used at the beach. They are available as well as beachfront cabanas but we rarely saw anyone using them. With the sand bottom lagoon pool, you felt you were in the ocean and I doubt any of the guests felt deprived that the ocean was too rough to swim in.
Spa
The ANARA Spa is gorgeous and one of best in Hawaii. It has a total of 45,000 square feet with both indoor and outdoor treatment rooms (both couples and single), an indoor lap pool, lush gardens and waterfalls as part of the outdoor relaxation area, a full service salon, men’s and women’s saunas, steam rooms and whirlpools, as well as a fitness center which is open 24/7. The spa is truly one of the nicest and most relaxing one that I have seen.
Overall, the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa is my favorite property on Kauai and I can truly understand why repeat guests tell me that they don’t plan on leaving the resort during their 7 night stay here. If you have any questions about the Grand Hyatt or any other properties in Kauai, feel free to contact me at mindy@myvacationlady.com.
Mindy Gilbert, MCC
Vacation, Cruise and Honeymoon Specialist
My Vacation Lady
732-418-0819
mindy@myvacationlady.com
www.myvactionlady.com
Tags: family friendly, golf, Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa, Hawaii, Hyatt Resorts, Kauai, Luxury, Romance, spa
