Kauai - Marriott's Waiohai Beach Club

ACDSNY

Let the countdown begin!
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Jun 14, 2005
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It's almost time for our first trip to Kauai, we exchanged into a 2 bdrm unit at the Marriott Waiohai Beach Club. I've looked up the reservation per Dean's instructions and it's for an island view. DH & I along with DD & DSIL.

What are the must see and do?
 
We just returned from Waiohai last Saturday. This was our 4 visit to Kauai and 3rd time trading into Waiohai. (We own 3 Marriotts and DVC.) We traded our St. Thomas Marriott for Waiohai. If you have not already done it, call the resort and ask for an "interior facing view". This way you will face the beautiful, lush grounds of the resort. Some of the island views actually face the parking lot!:sad2: We also had an island view and did the above request. We received a great unit, interior facing, 4th floor with a glimpse of the ocean!:yay:

We have done many different activities over the years. What is it you like to do? If this is your first time be sure to plan relaxation time at the resort. First time visitors tend to overplan and miss out on the laid-back Hawaii experience. I would recommend you buy the book Ultimate Kauai. The advice in the book is usually very accurate. Our first trip was in 2000. It is interesting to see how many of the "secret" spots are not so secret anymore...a testimonial to the success of the book!

This last visit we spent very little money, cooked mostly in the villa and did our own excursions. We had a fabulous time! Food is very expensive in Hawaii, like the Virgin Islands. (Strawberries were $8.00/basket.) There is a farmers market in Koloa on Mondays at 12:00. Be there early with your cash and you can buy some delicious fresh island fruits, veggies and flowers. I bought a beautiful tropical flower arrangement for $10.00. K-Mart and Wal-mart have the best dairy prices. There is also a Costco. I always bring my own spices since they are lightweight and inexpensive to bring from home.

They have the soda mug for $29.00/each. (Pepsi products.) A great place for breakfast is Joe's on the Green. It is at the golf course near the Poipu shopping center. They have breakfast specials and a wonderful view of the golf course with the ocean in the distance. Food is very good. A new place we tried this time was The Shrimp Shack in Waimea. Wonderful shrimp at an outdoor shack. Our favorite place for burgers is Duane's Char Ono burgers between Kapaa and Princeville on the NW shore. The burgers are really good, but the surroundings are unique. It is an old fast food type place (no restaurant in Kauai is really "fast food" LOL). You sit outside with chickens meandering around and the view is of spectacular jagged pitons/mountain peaks that look like they were draped with green carpet.

If you do one tour, I would take a Napali Coast boat tour. Do not take an inflatable, too bumpy. Take a sailboat or fishing type boat. Try to find one that leaves from Hanalei. If you take one from Port Allen you spend most of the time getting there and the ocean is much more choppy on the west side of the island.

Feel free to PM me if you have lots of questions.

Have a wonderful time.

Aloha,
Lisa
 
Thanks theOCdisney! This is just what I was looking for. I've been reading the Ultimate Kauai book and haven't made any plans as of yet. Kind of wanted to relax and go with the flow...enjoy the sites around the island. We enjoy fishing, looking in the tide pools around the rocks at the beaches and hiking. We'll fit right in with the chickens as we live on a few acres with a few farm animals. I've also read the Hyatt has a festival over Halloween weekend so we might check it out.

Do you think it's too late in the year to do a tour of the Napali Coast?

Thanks for the tip on requesting an interior view, I'll call the resort tomorrow.
 
You have a good point about the time of year for the Napali Coast. You could always check the ocean condition forcast for the week and decide when you get there. We could easily have done the Napali Coast the week we were there. The north shore was like a lake the day we went. We snorkeled in the lagoon at Ke'e beach...very calm water with no current at all. We have been to the north shore in Feb and saw 6 foot waves crashing on the beaches! Such a contrast.

You must go to Queen's bath. Wear shoes with good tread or hiking sandals. We also did the Canyon Trail that takes you to Waipo'o Falls on the west side. You will end up on top of the falls. The hike was moderate in parts and strenuous for brief periods. Beautiful scenery. We went to glass beach this time. The area with pieces of glass is small, but amazing and beautiful. Once you are on the beach, go to the right until it ends and that is where most of the glass is now.

Poipu beach in front of the resort was very choppy the first half of the week, and became very calm the second half. I snorkeled all around the rocks to the left. There is also a resident monk seal that frequents Poipu beach. A few years ago she had a pup. We have also seen sea turtles in that area as well.
 

I put in our request yesterday for a interior view, high floor...then last night I found out we have another couple coming and one of them is in a knee brace. Is there an elevator or just stairs? I may need to request a ground floor unit.
 
Just wondering, how far out did you request your exchange?
 
Can I ask....how many points is it to trade there?:confused:
I can't answer for the OP as there are varibles as to what they were looking for (1 BR or 2) and the dates (I know I've seen for the OP but forget). However, a 2 BR is 270 points for Xmas to Memorial Day with some of the fall time being 252 and a few weeks are 207. Basically always assume high season for when you want to travel unless you truly know it's off season for where you are traveling.
 
I put in our request in April 2007 and matched in April 2008. We have a 2 bedroom unit for 270 points.
 
Correction, this resort only has 2 BR units. The Kauai Beach Club has studios and 1 BR units as well.
 
There are elevators since all four floors have handicap rooms. On one of our trips we had two villas. On was a handicap room on the second floor and had a great view of the interior of the resort...gardens and pond.
 
Thanks! Not too bad. When are you leaving?
We leave Sun Oct 26th. We now have 6 adults going. DH, me, DD, DSIL, DH's cousin and his wife. DD/DSIL as the younger ones will be domed to the sofa sleeper in the living room.

Our search was pretty open for dates mid-Sept - Jan excluding the holiday weeks for both Marriott's on Kauai.
 
Again, thanks for the info. Hawaii is one of the places DH and I would love to travel to in the future. I really didn't think we'd be able to trade out. At least now I know it's possible.
 
There are elevators since all four floors have handicap rooms. On one of our trips we had two villas. On was a handicap room on the second floor and had a great view of the interior of the resort...gardens and pond.
Thanks for the elevator info I thought I'd have to look stupid and change our request to a ground floor. Only 8 more days...
 
You sit outside with chickens meandering around and the view is of spectacular jagged pitons/mountain peaks that look like they were draped with green carpet.

It is so great to know that the chicken place is still there! My DH and I were there for our honeymoon and it was great. Nicholas Cage was at the picnic table next to us. They has just wrapped filming Honeymoon is Vegas. I figured if it was good enough for him...
 
While I have not stayed at the Marriott in Poipu, I have been Kauai 4 or 5 times now, once in Poipu and the rest in Princeville at the Hanalei Bay Resort as I own a 2 bedroom there. I ended up buying a timeshare at the northshore in Princeville because of the lush tropical feel as it reminded of what I imagined Hawaii should be like. I would recommend booking dinner at the Bali Hai restaurant at the Hanalei Bay Resort in Princeville right around sunset as the sun sets right behind Bali Hai in Hanalei Bay and both the food and view are a 10 out of 10. I also recommend a trip to Waimea Canyon which is also known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific - get there as early in the morning as you can before the clouds role in. Considering that you won't be use to the time change the first few days try to do it in the beginning of you trip when getting up early is easy. I also recommend a boat ride up the Wailua River to the Fern Grotto of Elvis fame - it was a beautiful ride and the grotto was very different. If you're adventuresome, a helicopter ride is also great for views and perspective of the island. Kauai is the wettest place on earth and when you go over the Na Pali coastline to Mt Waialeale in a helicopter it is truly inspiring. Have a wonderful trip.
 



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