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This Grand Hyatt Kauai Review includes a Club Room, Deluxe Suite, the multiple pools and lazy river, and dining at the Grand Club, Tidepools, and Stevenson's Library. As always, the best way for TravelSort Clients to reserve the hotel, even if they're Hyatt Globalists, is with Hyatt Prive benefits, as they'll enjoy a confirmed room upgrade at booking (for non-peak periods) and a $100 resort credit, as well as the choice to enjoy a full buffet breakfast at Ilima Terrace or the smaller breakfast in the Grand Club Lounge.
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Grand Hyatt Kauai Location and Check-in
The resort is located in Poipu, about a 30-35 minute drive from Lihue Airport (LIH), which is served by nonstop flights from DEN, HNL, LAX, PHX, SAN, SEA, SFO, and SJC, among others. Since Kauai is a small island, we highly recommend reserving either your rental car or your airport transfer along with all your dinner reservations and activities well in advance of your stay.
We arrived in the early afternoon and were welcomed with purple orchid leis. Fortunately our room was ready early (regular check-in time is 4pm). If you've reserved a room or suite with Grand Club lounge access, you're able to enjoy refreshments there, or enjoy the resort pools and amenities until your room or suite is ready.
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Grand Hyatt Kauai Club Room
Club Rooms are the same size as regular rooms, 500 square feet (46 sq. m.) with an ocean view. The King bed was fine, although firmer than we prefer. We were happy to see that our request for extra pillows had been honored.
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We were in a 6th floor room with a nice angled view of the ocean from our lanai, which was furnished with two chairs and a small table.
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The bathroom was small, with only a shower (regular showerhead, not a rain shower) but it did have double sinks, which we appreciated.
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There was a Nespresso machine in the room along with a mini fridge, which was empty, good for storing our own drinks and water bottle. There were also two refillable plastic water bottles (included in the nightly resort fee) that we were able to refill at the various Flowater water stations around the resort.
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We also stayed in a Deluxe Suite in the Shipwreck Wing, which is on the left hand side of the resort when facing the ocean. This suite type ranges from 1155-1570 square feet, with a king bed in the bedroom, master bathroom with double sinks, shower and soaking tub, walk-in closet, and much more space with its open plan dining and living area, plus an extra half bathroom and lounger on the more spacious lanai.
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It's quite a distance from the Grand Club Lounge, but it had a direct (not angled) ocean view.
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Here's our Grand Hyatt Kauai YouTube Video Review:
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Grand Hyatt Kauai Dining
If staying in accommodation with Club Lounge access, you'll likely get breakfast from the Grand Club Lounge (see our Grand Hyatt Kauai Grand Club Lounge Review) but TravelSort Clients also have the choice of choosing the full breakfast buffet at the Ilima Terrace, or dining a la carte. If the latter, we highly recommend the Hawaiian Sweet Bread French Toast, with bacon and lilikoi creme anglaise.
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For dinner, our top recommendation is Tidepools, which overlooks a koi pond and we reviewed in the linked post, or, if craving sushi, Stevenson's Library. We especially enjoyed the “sushi pizza” appetizer (although keep in mind it's very small) and the two rolls we tried, the Black Rock with shrimp tempura, seared blackened ahi, avocado and tobiko, and the Ke Kai, with spicy tuna, hamachi, avocado, jalapeno and ponzu.
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Swimming Pools and Beach
It's a good thing that the Grand Hyatt Kauai has multiple pools, since the resort, with over 600 rooms and suites, is enormous compared to the resorts we typically reserve for clients (even the very large Four Seasons Maui at Wailea has 380 rooms and suites, while Four Seasons Hualalai has 243 keys, and Four Seasons Lanai has 213). The pools are on the left hand side of the resort, by the Shipwreck Wing, with the resort at the top of the resort (closest to lobby level) the Adult Pool, which only permits adults and children 14 and older.
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Adults and older kids can start their lazy river journey here, wending their way past beautiful flowers and waterfalls.
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Eventually the Lazy River Ends at a pool where you can stand in line to go down a waterslide (although not with your inflatable, so it's handy to have a family member or friend take it down separately to meet you at the base of the waterslide).
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Post-water slide there's a family pool.
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Note that the Grand Hyatt Kauai's beach is NOT swimmable (you'll notice a red flag) but fortunately for those who prefer salt water over chlorinated water, there's a large saltwater lagoon to swim in.
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The beach is still worth walking on, as you may be able to see one or more Hawaiian monk seals, a protected species that likes to nap in front of the resort. Be sure to not come too close and give the animals space so they aren't stressed.
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Here's the activity schedule during our stay (complimentary activities are included in the nightly resort fee, which was $40 per night during our stay):
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We took advantage of the Guided Walk one morning to walk around the resort; the walk meets in front of the spa:
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During the walk we were fortunate enough to see some turtles on a nearby beach:
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The Verdict
The Grand Hyatt Kauai is perfect for a family vacation on Kauai, thanks to its multiple pools, including a saltwater lagoon, as well as lazy river and waterslide. There's also tennis, pickleball, and a nearby beach that locals and visitors alike enjoy boogie boarding at. That said, there's no complimentary kids' club like there is at the Four Seasons Maui and Four Seasons Hualalai, and there's no games room (our son really wished there was a pool table).
For couples, there is an Adults' Pool, although it's also for kids 14 and older. The Spa is fine, although not very luxurious. Stevenson's Library is a good bet for couples, as we saw fewer families there than at Tidepools, and we enjoyed both our meals at these venues. We haven't heard great things about Ilima Terrace for dinner, but we can highly recommend the Hawaiian Sweet Bread French Toast, and the breakfast buffet there (complimentary for TravelSort Clients) is quite comprehensive, if not particularly memorable.
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