Our Hawaiian vacation continues on the island of Kauai. I’ve never been to Kauai, and was excited to see it. Just a short 20 minute plane ride from Oahu, Kauai is very different from the big city of Honolulu. Kauai is the oldest of the 8 major Hawaiian islands, and the least developed. Only 3% of the island is developed for commercial and residential usage. Over 90% of the island is not accessible by road. By law, no man-made structure can be taller than the height of a mature coconut palm tree(4-6 stories). This leaves breathtaking views anywhere on the island. The real estate developer in me sees a lot of potential for development and profits, but I am also glad that the natural terrain and beauty of the island is being preserved.
One thing that strikes me right away is the number of roosters on the isalnd. They are everywhere, around the hotel, in the streets, and on the beach. They are like the sacred cows of India, just wandering around. Less amusing is being awakened by roosters crowing at 6 in the morning while you are on vacation.
We stayed on the southern part of the island in an area called Poipu beach, at the Shearaton Kauai Resort. Since the island is not that big, and the roads limited, we did sightseeing by going in a different direction each day. One day we went east, and saw the beautiful Waimea Canyon on the east side of the island. It is a bit breezey this time of year, but our drive to various vistas, and lookout points yielded some spectacular views. On another day, we went east to the northern, top part of the island. The roads do not connect around the island. Our drive north took about an hour and a half with several stops, and we ended up at the Princeville Resort. The Princeville is the sister resort of our hotel, so we were able to use the facilities there, and charge items to our account.
The Shearaton is a nice resort, but the Princeville is a step up. No matter where you stay on the island, you will be able to get a good view of the ocean. However, the views form the Princeville is even more spectacular. From its grand lobby, the princeivlle has an open 360 degree views of the bay below it, and a gorgous ocean landscape view.
We spent the afternoon at the Princeville resort’s pool enjoying cool drinks and the scenic view. The Princeville is home of the $11 Mai Tai, and the $22 burger, but the Mai Tai was the best of the many Mai Tais I’ve enjoyed this week. Even though, they did’nt have a waterslide like our pool at the Sheraton, the large pool with swim up bar more than made up for it. Four hours of swimming, and $60 in drinks and snacks later, we were all tired and a bit sunburned. So, we started to make the drive back, but vowed to stay here next time we visit Kauai. Even our kids appreciated the Princeville Resort. My daugheter Mia, who is three remarked at least 3 times during our time at the Princeville, “This is a nice place”. Even at the age of three, I can see Mia has developed an appreciation of the finer things in life like her mother. I’m not sure that’s so good. I can see that I won’t be able to pass the Holiday Inn off to her as luxury accomodations in the future, or knock off designer clothes.
[...] the first time I have used a timeshare presentation to get a good vacation deal. When we went to Kauai earlier this year, we went on a timeshare presentation package. Same deal. In exchange for [...]