Trip Report: Kauai's South Shore

[Juleen Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Juleen]

We flew into Kauai on Hawaiian Airlines--excellent flight, food was lacking a wee bit on the flavor side. Choices were: turkey sandwich or pasta with "red sauce"--perhaps they didn't even know what it really was. Tom and I both took the turkey sandwich which had a lot to be desired! One bite was enough to convince me it wasn't as tasty as it sounded, Tom being more of a food trooper, ate his and the rest of mine. We gathered our rental car and luggage and headed to the south shore where we were staying at the Marriott Waiohai at timeshare promotion prices. The staff was wonderful, friendly and helpful so the checkin was easy. Our two bedroom condo had an "island view" which was basically large trees and the parking lot but no problem--if you just looked out the window from the couch you could see those wonderful green and very large trees. The unit itself was on the small side but decor was "tropical" and nicely done. I was a little surprised to find that the floor plan was an exact copy of a Fort Myer Beach, Florida timeshare we had stayed at in February, right down to furniture placement. The larger bedroom had a huge bathtub which was delightful, kitchen had everything we needed. Our first dinner was at the beach side pool cabana. The food actually came from the Kiawe Grill and was quite good. I had the kalua pork sandwich and Tom had a chicken cheese crip. The view was awesome and the soft tropical breeze gave us a nice welcome "home". The five days went quickly, Tom golfed once at the Kiahuna Golf Course, I got some Poipu Beach time with a couple of good books to keep me company. Actually, this was kind of a down time for us after the challenge of getting ready and knowing family would be joining us for the last 2 weeks on the north shore. We made a return visit to TomKat's--food was excellent and we said hello to the black cat that still lives there. Since we had never been to Keoki's we ate there twice--good food, great service and loved the open air feel. Breakfast one day was at Tropical Burgers in the Kiahuna Center. Took over 40 minutes to get our food and the place wasn't busy at all. Since we are not big eaters, we shared a breakfast of Portugese french toast and bacon. Hummmmm, we thought the portions were a wee bit skimpy!! One very thin piece of french toast and two pieces of cold bacon. Not impressed this time--had been there before and thought it was great! No ice for our water or my Pepsi--both served warm. We didn't return! One afternoon we headed to Puka Dog--our first visit. Love the homemade lemonade--yum! The hot dogs are interesting, I think Tom liked his a little better but definitely a good hot dog although for my taste too much bread. I just pinched some of the bread off and ate the rest. Our south shore visit went by quickly and before long we were on the way to the airport to pick up in coming family: my brother and SIL, their DIL plus their grandson, Nick (age 13) and our granddaughter, Paige, age 17. The fun was about to begin! Me ke aloha pumehana, Juleen

[happymum Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close happymum]

Juleen, thanks for all your interesting posts on Kauai. I really appreciate your in-depth reviews and interesting anecdotes. It makes me anxious to return, and unfortunately that's not until Xmas '09.

[Juleen Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Juleen]

Ahhh, but, Christmas on Kauai will be awesome!

[LisaH Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close LisaH]

Juleen,

Glad to see you posting here. You were lucky that Hawaiian Air still provides free food. We flew United this summer and had to purchase our sandwich.

Like you, I also thought that Puka dog has too much bread, but the dog itself and the sauce are so tasty we ate there twice!

Are you still on the Island? How long are you going to stay this time? Sounds like it's for more than two weeks. I'm jealous!

[kapish Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close kapish]

Juleen, thanks for the write up. One of these days I hope to stay at the Waiohai...

[Juleen Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Juleen]

We own three weeks on the north shore of Kauai--we bought our weeks sight unseen which wasn' t too smart, but luckily, we were thrilled when we saw the resort! The units are quite large--2300 sq feet if you count the lanai. Breakfast on the lanai comes with views of the Kauai lush gree north shore mountains--we love counting the waterfalls each day. Often we take family or friends with us for 10 days or so, but, it's always nice to have the two of us there, too. It took only two trips for my brother and SIL to buy Kauai timeshares, too--whoo hooo, we love traveling with them! We've been timesharing on Kauai for about 21 years--think we're a wee bit spoiled???? :O)