December 7th, 2003 - If you're looking for the best accommodations for your money, The Kauai Coast Resort at The Beachboy by Shell Vacation properties is your best bet. I am a somewhat picky traveler when it comes to the age of the property and amenities. Yet, this resort managed to exceed most of my expectations. This was our second trip to Kauai and second stay at the Kauai Coast Resort.
As we approach the Beachboy in our rented SUV, we see that the outside grounds of the property are lovely, yet definitely show their age. I open my car door and get a whiff of the red and white spiked ginger flowers that seem to be flourishing on the grounds of this Shell Vacation property. As I take in my surroundings, I remember now why we came back to this resort. As I entered the lobby, I was surprised all over again because I had forgotten that there was a sharp contrast to the appearance of the outside of the property as opposed to the inside. It has obviously been fully remodeled in recent years.
I recall someone saying that this property was built in the 1960s, and I was worried that our room would be worse for the wear due to age. While we paid for a garden view and were actually in a garden view room, we had a partial ocean view which was only steps away from the beach! We could easily hear the surf and, if I had to guess, I'd say the beach was a mere 30 steps or so away from the sliding glass door of our ground floor unit. We were that close to the beach, in a newly remodeled, well-built property for about $135 a night. Considering that it costs $450 a night to stay at the prestigious Princeville resort on the north side of the island, we landed an incredible deal!
Our room was spacious, with all new flooring; wallpapering; thick, well-made furniture with a king-sized, four-poster bed; a kitchenette; a microwave; a refrigerator; an in-room safe; extra towels; toiletries; cable TV for your couch potato; a living area with a full sofa and entertainment center; a dining table with four to six chairs (nice centerpiece); and a classy Hawaiian theme throughout.
Other amenities...The pool here is quite lovely indeed with what appears to be a lava rock waterfall...Best of all, the beachside Jacuzzi!!!! I usually have to push myself to get my daily exercise out of the way, but not at this resort! Here, you will find a small, but incredibly well-placed workout room. The room has floor-to-ceiling glass and is sort of in the middle of the property, facing the beach and all the gorgeous Hawaiian foliage; overlooking the pool as well. You will also find bottled water and clean towels for your use in the workout room.
Don't be surprised to find chickens (yes, CHICKENS) along with sparrow-like birds loitering around your patio area hoping that you might feed them a little bread. They are not at all aggressive, but appreciate whatever might be thrown their way. I endearingly referred to them as our "lazy chickens." :-) I fed them a piece or two of bread each morning, enjoying the fact that they didn’t seem to be very afraid of coming a foot or two away from me to collect their bit of daily bread.
The golden sand beach is not wide, but not too narrow either. It does however, have a slightly steep incline which makes it great to lay out on, but not so perfect for long strolls.
The water here is really too rough to swim in, but the waves were not very high. There are numerous pine trees on this property along with coconut trees, which seemed a little unusual to me.
Just next door, you will find the Coconut Marketplace where you will find about 3 or 4 restaurants, numerous apparel retailers, and a few jewelry shops, as well as a medium-sized convenience/drug store.
One of the best things about this resort is its location. It is mid-island on the east side, convenient to the Lihue airport, and close to many restaurants, grocery stores, and apparel shops along the highway - yet not far from the eye popping beauty of Hanalei Bay and Princeville.
Regarding any timeshare presentations at our resort... We were asked once (at check-in) if we were interested in hearing about timeshares. We said "no" and were never bothered again. This resort seems to train its employees to handle everything with a little class. This was a great relief to us since we have experienced stalking timeshare sharks at so-called upscale, five- to six-star resorts in Mexico.
Expect a daily visit from the maid, although don’t expect the entire room to be cleaned daily. By all appearances, they only do a full cleaning once per week, but come in daily to replenish toiletries and towels. I noticed that they do not vacuum daily.
In summary, this is definitely the best hotel for the money with the most amenities and in a very convenient location. Yes, there are nicer properties on Kauai, but you can expect to pay triple or quadruple what we paid to stay here per night. It was extremely quiet the entire two weeks we were there. We were able to truly relax here - letting all of the stresses of the mainland go out along with the first tide. The whole resort felt safe and enchanting, the locals were quite friendly and down to earth, the staff was accommodating, and the weather was perfect the entire trip (December). Temperatures ranged in the 70s to the low 80s. Aloha!