Kauai
Over in Hawaii for the holidays, a nice change of scenery from the winter on the mainland. I found a really good hotel/car package at the Hilton KauaiBeach Resort and decided to stay here for a week. I've only been to Kauai a couple of times in my visits to the islands and this will be the first time I'm staying only on this island. I ended up driving the Dodge Caliber from Dollar Rental Company. Not a very exciting car but ended up being useful on this trip. It is wagon-like plus it is built for a road trip with the can holder space in the glove compartment, the auxiliary jack on the radio, and a two prong electric plug for all your electronic needs.
Within a week of arrival, I received an email stating that the the resort wasn't going to remain a Hilton after Dec 31, 2009 and becoming the Kauai Beach Resort. I guess the next time I'm staying in Kauai, it'll have to be a Starwood property. There were some reservations about going to the hotel given the transition and online reviews but the property was very nice, a little dated but I still liked the ambience and the people were super friendly. There are several pools and whirlpools as well as beach access. Parking was easy despite the daily $12 fee. On the bright side, the "resort" fee was no longer in effect and the hotel offered free internet access. The only shortcoming during the stay was the miserly maid service. For whatever reason, housekeeping did not want to give us much toiletries unless it was absolutely gone.
Since it was Christmas Day, we headed over to Duke's Canoe Club at the Marriott Kauai. I haven't always been impressed with the Duke restaurants but the meal was a pleasant surprise. I had the Opah Duke style and a bit of the hula pie (basically a mud pie).
The next day, we went north and had breakfast at the Ono Family Restaurant in Kapaa (4-1292 Kuhio Hwy, Kapaa, HI 96746). I greatly enjoyed my Tropical Shorty, a shortstack of macadamia nut and banana hotcakes. Of course, no trip to Hawaii is complete without going to McDonald's and getting fried pies!! Visited the Kilauea Lighthouse as well as some of the beaches in the north. It was a very pleasant ride and the day was gorgeous. Later that evening, we decided to eat at Hamura Saimin Stand at 2956 Kress St, Lihue, HI 96766. The saimin was very filling and the prices are extremely reasonable. They also serve shaved ice and have an awesome lilikoi chiffon pie.
Our next day adventure, we ventured southwest towards Waimea Canyon. I've never been to the Grand Canyon but I can't imagine that the Grand Canyon is more interesting to look at compared to Waimea Canyon. After travelling through the various lookout points in the area, we went to Waimea to do some shopping. Picked up some Aunty Lilikoi products and a slice of lilikoi chiffon pie from the factory and tourist items from local shops. (Hamura's pie was better.) Grabbed a quick plate lunch from the locol L&L and had some shaved ice from JoJo's at Mile Marker 23 Kaumualii Highway, Waimea, HI 96796. Not as good as the shaved ice shops in Oahu, it was still a tasty treat at the end of the day. The one variant is that the ice cream flavor option included macadamia nut ice cream which is vanilla ice cream with nuts.
The next morning we tried to get malasadas from Hanalima Baking at 4495 Puhi Rd, Lihue, HI 96766 but walked away with spam musubi and some turnovers. We will try again tomorrow... But the spam musubi was very tasty! Went out to Poipu to see the Sprouting Horn and made pit stops at the Kauai Kookie Company Factory and other shops to pick up souvenirs. Had lunch at Puka Dog in the Poipu Shopping Village. I had the volcano dog with coconut relish, I know it doesn't sound quite right but it was awesome! (Came back two days later and had the volcano dog with mango relish, delish!)
Later that day, we went to Roy's in the same shopping village and did dinner tapas style with a mix of appetizers and some entrees. Most of the menu items can be found in any Roy's restaurant except for the "Imu Roasted Hawaiian King Moi" which is served whole, salt baked and incredibly tasty. Of course, we had the chocoloate souffle cake, pineapple upside down cake, and the white chocolate creme brulee. I added in the Dow's port and it went down very nice. :)
The next day, grabbed the malasadas from Hanalima Baking. Not the best malasadas, it was somewhat forgettable. Ventured out to Hanalei to do some river kayaking. Rented our kayaks from Kauai Kayaks, the river was pretty calm and easy to kayak through. After getting dunked and flipping the kayak twice, ventured back into town and had a very late lunch at the pool bar. It seems that the hotel only serves during the day at the pool and the restaurant only opens in the evenings. Suprisingly, the chicken wings were very yummy and the cheesy fries had nacho cheese on top of them. My favorite kind of cheese on top of fries! Even though slightly pricey, it hit the spot for me. Afterwards, we went to Kukui Grove to check out the Verizon store since one of the phones were not completely saved in the kayak trip. There is a Costco, Home Depot, Wal-Mart and Kmart next to the Grove. The Costco is a great place to stock up on bulk Hawaiian items and the Wal-Mart has several souvenir items that are cheaper than the local tourist shops.
On our last day of our trip, we set out on a 4x4 backcountry tour of Kauai with Aloha Kauai Tours. Being part of a large group, the operator gave us a 10% discount. The tour was pretty fun, extremely bumpy and the guide was pretty entertaining. Along the tour, saw some movie sites, toured through old sugarcane plantations, and saw some nice beaches. Not expecting any snacks, I was pleasantly surprised that the guide pulled out a cooler when we were at the beach and gave us some drinks and snacks.
Had a pre-NYE dinner at Hukilau Lanai in the Kauai Coast Resort. I had the Sweet Potato Ravioli which was very yummy and the Opakapa was done well as well as the desserts of which the creme brulee was my favorite (there were several options - the mocha cheesecake, creme brulee, and lava cake). I've been having lava flows most of the week and this place did it very well!
Happy New Year!!
PS. I had issues with Hawaiian Airlines on the way back to the mainland. Had to do a short stop in Honolulu and they weren't the easiest people to contend with especially because I was under the impression that there were some reciprocity agreements with United Airlines. Although unhappy at the airport (ended up paying $62 in luggage fees), I was later reimbursed by United even though they weren't obligated to do so. Super fantastic!
Within a week of arrival, I received an email stating that the the resort wasn't going to remain a Hilton after Dec 31, 2009 and becoming the Kauai Beach Resort. I guess the next time I'm staying in Kauai, it'll have to be a Starwood property. There were some reservations about going to the hotel given the transition and online reviews but the property was very nice, a little dated but I still liked the ambience and the people were super friendly. There are several pools and whirlpools as well as beach access. Parking was easy despite the daily $12 fee. On the bright side, the "resort" fee was no longer in effect and the hotel offered free internet access. The only shortcoming during the stay was the miserly maid service. For whatever reason, housekeeping did not want to give us much toiletries unless it was absolutely gone.
Since it was Christmas Day, we headed over to Duke's Canoe Club at the Marriott Kauai. I haven't always been impressed with the Duke restaurants but the meal was a pleasant surprise. I had the Opah Duke style and a bit of the hula pie (basically a mud pie).
The next day, we went north and had breakfast at the Ono Family Restaurant in Kapaa (4-1292 Kuhio Hwy, Kapaa, HI 96746). I greatly enjoyed my Tropical Shorty, a shortstack of macadamia nut and banana hotcakes. Of course, no trip to Hawaii is complete without going to McDonald's and getting fried pies!! Visited the Kilauea Lighthouse as well as some of the beaches in the north. It was a very pleasant ride and the day was gorgeous. Later that evening, we decided to eat at Hamura Saimin Stand at 2956 Kress St, Lihue, HI 96766. The saimin was very filling and the prices are extremely reasonable. They also serve shaved ice and have an awesome lilikoi chiffon pie.
Our next day adventure, we ventured southwest towards Waimea Canyon. I've never been to the Grand Canyon but I can't imagine that the Grand Canyon is more interesting to look at compared to Waimea Canyon. After travelling through the various lookout points in the area, we went to Waimea to do some shopping. Picked up some Aunty Lilikoi products and a slice of lilikoi chiffon pie from the factory and tourist items from local shops. (Hamura's pie was better.) Grabbed a quick plate lunch from the locol L&L and had some shaved ice from JoJo's at Mile Marker 23 Kaumualii Highway, Waimea, HI 96796. Not as good as the shaved ice shops in Oahu, it was still a tasty treat at the end of the day. The one variant is that the ice cream flavor option included macadamia nut ice cream which is vanilla ice cream with nuts.
The next morning we tried to get malasadas from Hanalima Baking at 4495 Puhi Rd, Lihue, HI 96766 but walked away with spam musubi and some turnovers. We will try again tomorrow... But the spam musubi was very tasty! Went out to Poipu to see the Sprouting Horn and made pit stops at the Kauai Kookie Company Factory and other shops to pick up souvenirs. Had lunch at Puka Dog in the Poipu Shopping Village. I had the volcano dog with coconut relish, I know it doesn't sound quite right but it was awesome! (Came back two days later and had the volcano dog with mango relish, delish!)
Later that day, we went to Roy's in the same shopping village and did dinner tapas style with a mix of appetizers and some entrees. Most of the menu items can be found in any Roy's restaurant except for the "Imu Roasted Hawaiian King Moi" which is served whole, salt baked and incredibly tasty. Of course, we had the chocoloate souffle cake, pineapple upside down cake, and the white chocolate creme brulee. I added in the Dow's port and it went down very nice. :)
The next day, grabbed the malasadas from Hanalima Baking. Not the best malasadas, it was somewhat forgettable. Ventured out to Hanalei to do some river kayaking. Rented our kayaks from Kauai Kayaks, the river was pretty calm and easy to kayak through. After getting dunked and flipping the kayak twice, ventured back into town and had a very late lunch at the pool bar. It seems that the hotel only serves during the day at the pool and the restaurant only opens in the evenings. Suprisingly, the chicken wings were very yummy and the cheesy fries had nacho cheese on top of them. My favorite kind of cheese on top of fries! Even though slightly pricey, it hit the spot for me. Afterwards, we went to Kukui Grove to check out the Verizon store since one of the phones were not completely saved in the kayak trip. There is a Costco, Home Depot, Wal-Mart and Kmart next to the Grove. The Costco is a great place to stock up on bulk Hawaiian items and the Wal-Mart has several souvenir items that are cheaper than the local tourist shops.
On our last day of our trip, we set out on a 4x4 backcountry tour of Kauai with Aloha Kauai Tours. Being part of a large group, the operator gave us a 10% discount. The tour was pretty fun, extremely bumpy and the guide was pretty entertaining. Along the tour, saw some movie sites, toured through old sugarcane plantations, and saw some nice beaches. Not expecting any snacks, I was pleasantly surprised that the guide pulled out a cooler when we were at the beach and gave us some drinks and snacks.Had a pre-NYE dinner at Hukilau Lanai in the Kauai Coast Resort. I had the Sweet Potato Ravioli which was very yummy and the Opakapa was done well as well as the desserts of which the creme brulee was my favorite (there were several options - the mocha cheesecake, creme brulee, and lava cake). I've been having lava flows most of the week and this place did it very well!
Happy New Year!!
PS. I had issues with Hawaiian Airlines on the way back to the mainland. Had to do a short stop in Honolulu and they weren't the easiest people to contend with especially because I was under the impression that there were some reciprocity agreements with United Airlines. Although unhappy at the airport (ended up paying $62 in luggage fees), I was later reimbursed by United even though they weren't obligated to do so. Super fantastic!
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