OPinions of Hanalei Bay resort in Kauai?

[SoThisIsLove]

Hi,

I received a call from MS today saying they found a match for our exchange search to Hawaii. It is for the Hanalei Bay Resort in Kauai. I have read some mixed reviews about it on trip advisor and was wondering if any one has stayed there or heard of its reputation? Any advise or opinions would help....I need to call MS by wed. to let them know of my decision. I was hoping for the Marriott. Should we wait to see if that comes thru since we are traveling in summer 2006? or is this a nice resort?

Thanks in advance

Heather

 

[downontheBW]

Heather,

Part of the resort is hotel, part timeshare and part condos that are individually owned. I've also read very mixed reviews all over the web; check out the reviews on TUG (tug2.net) - you have to join but its only $15.

I think it is a beautiful resort and has many nice units... but some of the rooms are not so nice. From what I can tell, most of the bad reviews were from a couple of years ago and they've been working to upgrade the remaining rooms.

Because of its location, I've wanted to stay there for years but decided I want to choose my room so I'm renting directly from an owner so I know what building I'll be staying in. We rented a condo on Maui last year was were very pleased. Good luck!

 

[Dean]

I haven't stayed there but I have toured it. I think it's a notch below DVC but nice enough. You should know that the 1 BR units tend not to have good views but are a better value if you're trading DVC points (160 vs 270 for high season). The resort is on a hill and quite steep but they do have a cart service to help. The views are gorgeous if you get a direct one. Only 25% of the 1 BR units though have a good view from what they told me when we toured.

 

[Momof2]

Heidi - Can you share any info about the condo you stayed at on Maui? We are trying to plan a trip with stays on both Maui & Oahu and would prefer to find a condo than a hotel. Thanks.

 

[littlestar]

We are going to Hawaii for two weeks in April and after we leave Maui (Sands of Kahana) we are flying to Kauai for the weekend (a package deal) and staying at Hanalei Bay. We are booked in a studio room through Aston hotels. I plan on giving full reports on Sands of Kahana and Hanalei when we get back.

Momof2, when we come back to Maui after our Kauai weekend, we have an Entertainment rate (1/2 price) condo at the Aston Mahana. We have stayed at the Aston Mahana before and enjoyed our stay. In our experiences there, if they are not fully booked and you don't like the first room you are assigned, they have let us pick another room. The last time we stayed there they let us pick from 3 other condos. The 2 bedroom we ended up with was absolutely gorgeous. A family from Canada owned it and they had just remodeled everything in the unit - carpets and all furniture. Condos on Hawaii can be tricky because a lot of them are individually owned, so it depends on the owner on how nice it is inside.

If you want to see how close a hotel/condo is to the beach, here is a website to check out: www.wizardpub.com

I

 

[dianeschlicht]

I too have heard some really mixed reviews of Hanalei Bay Resort. I love the little town of Hanalei, but we have never stayed at the Hanalei Bay Resort. We have stayed in a timeshare in Princeville, and loved it. Almost bought there too! The hiking is wonderful up around the north side of the island.

 

[downontheBW]

Heidi - Can you share any info about the condo you stayed at on Maui? We are trying to plan a trip with stays on both Maui & Oahu and would prefer to find a condo than a hotel. Thanks.

We rented from a private owner of a 1 bedroom (#604) at the Valley Isle Resort - it's not really upscale but I wanted that location, they have a pool and it had a new kitchen and looked clean. We picked a unit that has oceanfront balconies on both the living room and bedroom and it was a corner unit so we would have side windows also. It was very nice, and had beach chairs, snorkling gear, etc. available in the closet. Not bad for $150/night. Of course you take your chances when renting privately but it worked out well for us.

Here's the site I found it on: http://www.valleyisleresort.com/
Most other condo resorts have their own website also.

Some other sites:
http://chasenrainbows.com/ (West Maui only)
http://alohacondos.com/index.html (Hawaii)
http://www.vrbo.com/ (worldwide)
http://www.a1vacations.com/ (worldwide)

Go to Google and search on "Maui condos" or something like that - you'll be amazed how many there are. Finding a condo on Maui to rent isn't the hard part as long as it not the last minute but narrowing down the selection takes a while. I don't think there are as many on Oahu. Also buy the Maui and Oahu Revealed books to get the scoop on the resorts and areas you're interested in. Have fun!

 

[Momof2]

Thanks for the help - wizardpub looks like a great resource. We're just a bit leery of a private rental - did it once and it was a disaster. I'll have to check the Entertainment book as well. Thanks!

 

[imlazar]

Hi,

I received a call from MS today saying they found a match for our exchange search to Hawaii. It is for the Hanalei Bay Resort in Kauai. I have read some mixed reviews about it on trip advisor and was wondering if any one has stayed there or heard of its reputation? Any advise or opinions would help...:

I haven't stayed there but we did go to Kauai a few years ago. The resort is in Princeville, which is on the north shore, there isn't much to do in that area other than hike the main trail toward the Napali coast, which is definitely something you will want to do. However, most of the other activities on the island are on the south and western parts, which means you will have a long drive to get anywhere (at least an hour to Poipu depending on the time of day).

I'd recommend staying in Poipu if possible, it is in the center of the south shore of the island and is equdistant from just about everything.

 

[imlazar]

Thanks for the help - wizardpub looks like a great resource. We're just a bit leery of a private rental - did it once and it was a disaster. I'll have to check the Entertainment book as well. Thanks!

I second the wizardpub recommendation, that book is the BIBLE for traveling to Kauai.

I'd recommend looking at the Outrigger Kiahuna Plantation Resort in Poipu, they have very nice condos and it is near lots of stuff. There is so much to see and do in Kauai that the last thing you will want to do is get stuck spending all your time at an overpriced resort with a nice pool. We used the Hyatt pool a few times when we felt like relaxing.

 

[SoThisIsLove]

Thanks Everyone!


We ended up booking the Hananeli Bay resort today and will continue to call to see if an instant match can be found for a change since we arent traveling until 2006. MS had a note on the computer that the resort is under going renovations to the interior of all the units and we will find out our unit # on the conformation...in which I will call and inquire about it. I hope we made the right decision.....I was afriad that if I did not accept this, I may not find a match since the Prime resorts are hard to get in the summer months. Now Im hoping for my week in Maui to come thru!

Thanks again!

Heather

 

[Dean]

Thanks Everyone!


We ended up booking the Hananeli Bay resort today and will continue to call to see if an instant match can be found for a change since we arent traveling until 2006. MS had a note on the computer that the resort is under going renovations to the interior of all the units and we will find out our unit # on the conformation...in which I will call and inquire about it. I hope we made the right decision.....I was afriad that if I did not accept this, I may not find a match since the Prime resorts are hard to get in the summer months. Now Im hoping for my week in Maui to come thru!

Thanks again!

Heather

For the benefit of others who might be contemplating a week on Maui and another week, always book the Maui week first if you're exchanging as it's harder to get a match and once you book another week that limits you not only to only two possible weeks but also may limit your choice of resorts as some only have certain check in days. For example, Club Intrawest on Kauai is only Sunday check in and on our 2002 trip, that fact alone eliminated it as a choice.

 

[barb45]

I'd love to see the reviews from littlestar when you come back.