1st time to Kauai, the reviews on TA concerned me ahead of our vacation. We are Marriott Vacation Club Owners, Vacation Club Destination Points & Bonvoy Lifetime Platinum members. We couldn't have been more HAPPY with our room and the resort overall. We booked a 1 Bedroom/Ocean Front and that is what we got. No surprises, just a gorgeous view. On the first day of check-in, we went to the Sonesta Lobby to set up a Room Charge account for the restaurants and bars on the property. Easy! Except for the gift shop, they either want your Room Charge card they gave you or to see a picture of it on your phone. We needed a ride to the Luau at Plantation House (highly recommend doing the private dinner before) and the concierge gave us Dave's Taxi Service 808-212-8274, he was excellent! We ate at Dukes 3 nights (2 would have been enough), Discovered Noka Grill on our 2nd to last day (great Breakfasts), Ate at Rob's Good Times Grill (very good about 5-6 min away) twice when we couldn't get into Portofino's/Dukes, Breakfast & Lunch at Lava Lava Beach Club (very good - 15 min away), and food trucks Smitty's (across the street, EXCELLENT) and Kickshaws (Kola - South Shore, again EXCELLENT) & had a Puka Dog at Brennecke Beach Deli at Shipwreak Beach (interesting, a must try). With all this food consumption we HIKED everyday. We used All Trails App to help find some of the locations: Kailau Ridge Trail (muddy), Shipwreak Beach (gorgeous coastline), Waipo'o Fall Canyon Trail (hardest trail we did, 3.6 miles, 955 ft elevation moderate climbing, we used trekking poles, worth it for the view) and Secret Beach (before visiting Hanalei Bay) & Ho'opi Falls Trail (the Jurassic Parks Waterfalls). We provisioned our kitchenette with some snacks & adult beverages at the Safeway & ABC Store (walking distance from hotel). We rented a jeep for the week and loved the location of this resort, minutes from the airport and centrally located to go to the South/West Shore or explore the East/North Shore towns. We did some extensive research before going to ensure we were covering the best of Kauai on our 1st visit. We bought the book The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook off of Amazon and bought the Hawaii Revealed App for our phone, loved having the Driving Narration on when we were exploring the Island! Check it out, worth the money. All said, a fantastic week in Kauai and we will be back to the Island and to the Marriott Kauai Beach Club.…
Our goal was to enjoy the island and we did but it was not because of the accommodations. The location is close to the airport and the pool area is beautiful. Interesting set up with Sonesta Hotel and the Marriott timeshare. The resort itself is beautiful but odd because there are two lobbies and if you're with Marriott you an aside note. and cannot bill anything to your room. We booked via a third party and were further treated like second class citizens because of it. It got worse when we were identified as "renters" rather than "owners". We then declined the 90 minute presentation and it was very clear that we were at the bottom of the guest list. The room itself was basic, which was fine but we were not aware we would be sleeping on a bed that pulled down from the wall. The lighting and switches were designed poorly so if you had the bathroom area light on, three different lights lit up making it tough if you had to use the restroom and your partner was sleeping. The actual bathroom was so small that the door of the shower and the door of the bathroom were constantly in conflict and you had to lean over the toilet to close the bathroom door while you were in it. There was a fridge and microwave, which was nice for left overs. The real problem came in though with the noise levels. We could hear people speaking in the room next to us and I don't believe they were being loud. This made it tough, especially when adjusting to the time zone. We just wanted to rest. The room service was prompt but the food was subpar at best. We did really enjoy the breakfast on site and were close to several restaurants and within walking distance to the ocean and a rental place for boogie boards and snorkeling sets. I made the mistake of taking the stairwell to the Lobby floor and got locked in it. I had to squeeze out a small gated area as both doors were locked. SO I couldn't get to the hallway nor back upstairs. Additionally, the laundry facilities…
We stayed here for a week, and the location was wonderful. We had a 2nd story ocean front view that was perfect! We were just steps away from the beach and only a few more from the pool, which is gorgeous. The grounds are simply beautiful. The condo's are a bit dated, without many frills. But the location on the beach and the beautiful grounds more than compensate for that.
Kaua'i is not Maui, it's a slow paced laid back relaxing environment, where everything closes by 9pm. Marriott is on a nice quite lagoon that is very safe for snorkeling and paddleboarding. With the largest single pool deck in all of HI.
We are currently spending two nights at Marriott’s Kauai Beach Club, before meeting up with family for 7 nights at another property. We used MVC points for the first night and paid well over $600 for the second night. $600+ per night is more than we typically spend, especially for a Motel 6 quality room. The furniture is rather unattractive and very basic; nothing comfortable or inviting about it. We hear every flush of the toilet next door, and our AC is so loud that management has a sign posted to keep the fan on low if you want quiet. There is no feeling of being in the islands in this room; no tropical color in the artwork or textiles, just white walls and white (moldy-smelling) bedding. While I was advised before we arrived that we would be on the 4th floor of the NouNou building and might have the lobby rooftop as part of our view, I never imagined that it would be this bad! There may be a tiny glimpse of the ocean through the trees from the balcony if you crane your neck. The main view, right smack in front of us, is an unattractive green rooftop with a noisy AC unit on top. I asked for a higher floor or different building, but that was not an option. The staff here has been extremely friendly and their communication has been excellent. The pool and grounds are lovely, but I would not choose to stay here again. This feels very much like the hotel conversion that it is; perhaps the renovated hotel rooms at the Sonesta, which shares the property with Marriott, would be a better choice.…
As per other reviews, the Marriott's merging with Sonesta on this property has indeed brought on changes. We are timeshare owners here so we visit annually, except for missing the past 2 years due to covid. We stay in the owner's building so some of the issues other's had did not affect us. Our rooms had been nicely updated previously, and being quite far from the building that was currently undergoing renovations....we were not disturbed by construction noise. Our suite was clean, more comfortable furniture than before, and overall a comfortable stay. Yes, it was annoying to not be able to charge to the room, but it was not a huge inconvenience for us since we had a kitchen and ate most breakfasts and lunches in our suite. I miss the beverage dispenser by the pool and hope that it comes back at some point. I like that they have done away with "towel cards" and that towels are no longer limited. We have no complaints about the staff and every request we had was quickly attended to with good follow up. Everyone we dealt with was friendly, helpful, and competent. We especially enjoyed Chad, one of the pool/beach security guards. We found Dukes to be lacking and only went there once during our 4 week stay. In the past we never bothered renting a car for our entire stay, but this time we felt that we needed to. The shopping center shuttle that used to run twice/week has been discontinued, and we really missed that. Covid has caused many nearby businesses to go out....and although that is no fault of the property.....it has affected the convenience of the location. In general, we look forward to our return in 2023.…
We really enjoyed our stay here, it was a great home base for exploring Kauai. The rooms were very clean and comfortable, and our ocean view was simply stunning to wake up to every morning. The location was superb: right next to the airport, on the beautiful Kalapaki Beach, with a couple good restaurants right on the resort and more just a short walk away, it was wonderful not having to drive everywhere. All of the staff were extremely helpful and friendly, and it made our stay extremely comfortable and easy. We would definitely stay here again!
No really…what have you done? This resort was always amazing and then you went and brought in Royal Sonesta to share and run the place. MVC became second class citizens. Can’t even charge to the room at the pool. Room quality is fine…bathrooms are so small I can barely shut the door, but it is a hotel conversion so I can look past it. Food…it’s Hawaii so it is what it is, but there needs to be more staff working the pool. Waitresses are hard to find, the bar gets packed and the restaurant is so overpriced for what you get. Pool as always is great…beach is fantastic, but the grounds themselves need an update. I feel for the owners that bought here. They did not sign up for this.
I have brought my family here several times over the last few decades... in fact I stayed at the Kauai Surf 55+ years ago. We have been Marriott Vacation Club owners for 20+ years. Kalapaki Beach is still one of the most beautiful places on Earth! However, a couple of suggestions this time... first, this is the only Marriott, vacation club or hotel, that we visit without a water refilling station for guests. They brought in Sonesta as the hotelier, and Management told us (I've already called Management on this issue) that the Sonesta is responsible for all common areas, but that still does not help Marriott Vacation Club owners, as there is no water refilling station at either the Marriott or Sonesta properties. Plastic single use water bottles are available for purchase, but no refilling... bad for the environment, and a disservice to guests. Second, our 20 year request to Marriott is to no be issued a room next to the elevators. You guessed it, our room was right across from the elevators, ice machine... again, I called Management, they apologized, but no solution. I asked that, in the future, they at least let us know ahead of time, before we fly out, in case we choose to delay for a room location that we prefer. Both issues need attention... but again, beautiful location, great staff... we will be back, hopefully to see the new water refilling stations and to get our room of choice, not near the elevators and ice machines.…
Was given a handicap room without a heads up. Low ceilings, dated, gross shower curtain in tiny bathroom. Can hear people above, housekeeping staff chatting outside door and elevator noise. Hallways are super dark and depressing. Garbage/recycle sitting across from our door. I can’t believe this is a Marriott property. Terrible service. Do not stay here.
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