We previously stayed at the Grand Hyatt Kauai in 2021 and I posted a review last year when I wrote about that trip. I figured I would provide an update to that review here and provide some more pictures of the resort.

I had received an email from the resort about 10 days before our stay and in response I gently inquired about an upgrade as I had been attempting to use a Hyatt Globalist suite upgrade award since I had booked in January to no avail. The reply basically said that they had a couple of premium suites still available but I would have to check the upgrade price at check-in if they were still available then. I had no interest in paying for an upgrade as I knew we would not be spending a ton of time in the room.

On our arrival around 5:30pm on a Thursday evening, I asked the very friendly front desk agent about an upgrade. She disappeared into the back office for a couple of minutes and came back with good news and bad news. Good news: here is a bottle of champagne (I had noted we were celebrating our anniversary). Bad news: no upgrade available – not even to an ocean view room.

We set off from the lobby to find our room which was number 3134 in the Shipwreck wing. There are two wings in the resort separated by the lobby building that contains the restaurants. The Poipu wing is a low-rise set of rooms on the west side of the resort that also normally contains the Grand Club (more on that in a minute). The spa is just behind that wing in a separate building. The Shipwreck wing is six stories high and faces the pool complex and manmade lagoon on the east side of the resort.

It took quite a while to trek to our room as it was toward the far end of the Shipwreck wing. However, we were pleasantly surprised when we arrived. The standard rooms at this resort are really spacious and well-designed.

The room contains double sinks, a Japanese toilet (with a door), a nice shower/tub combo (with good water pressure), small fridge, dining table and love seat. The king bed was comfortable and the TV was huge.

We were given a very generous set of Globalist snacks (besides the champagne) including a bottle of pinot noir, some macadamia popcorn, chips, granola bars and chocolate covered macadamia nuts.

There was also a small patio with a chair and two tables. Most importantly, we could use the patio to exit the room, walk down a small patch of lawn and onto the pathway that led directly to the pools, beach, bar and lobby building.

In fact, we only used the door to the room when we arrived on the first day and left on the last day with our luggage. Otherwise, we used the patio entrance. We didn’t feel like there was a major security issue leaving the door unlocked as we kept most of our valuables either in the safe or with us.

Normally, the lounge would be a long way from our room, but while we were there it was being renovated and temporarily relocated to the space previously occupied by Donderro’s restaurant. It was perfect for us as it was on our side of the lobby building and easily accessed from our room in a few minutes. We really enjoyed the breakfast offerings. Every day there was smoked salmon, cold cuts, oatmeal, miso soup, breads, pastries, fruit, coffee/espresso drinks and juice. There were also two rotating hot items that depending on the day included scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, etc.

The space was much bigger than the usual lounge and never seemed crowded. We were usually there at 6:30am every morning when it opened for breakfast so we could get out and about to our activities each day. The time difference generally gets us up early in Hawaii anyway.

We also visited the lounge for snacks throughout the day and made it for dessert one evening. The cranberry macadamia cookies were my favorite while my wife loved the chocolate chip cookies. Each morning, we sat outside for breakfast with a great view. There is also a dinner hour with a salad bar, hummus, etc. and a couple of hot dishes each evening.

As we remembered from the previous visit, the staff at the resort were all friendly and helpful. Everyone from the front desk to the bartenders to the lounge staff to the groundskeepers seemed to be happy with their jobs and pleasant to the guests. We left a nice tip for the housekeepers as my wife brought back a lot of sand with her shells that ended up on the bathroom floor every day. 😂

On our last day, I walked over to get some pictures of the spa area. Even though we didn’t use it on this stay, it’s a beautiful facility with a nice respite from the kids at the rest of the resort. There’s also an adult pool area at the top of the pool complex which was much quieter than the rest of the pools and lagoon.

We had another great stay at the Grand Hyatt Kauai despite the lack of an upgrade. As a Hyatt Globalist, I received free valet parking (everyone gets free self-parking but it was nice not to have to walk back from the lot after a day out), lounge access, a welcome gift and other benefits. If you want to stay here, I strongly recommend you either stay as a Globalist or book through the Hyatt Guest of Honor program that allows you to get those benefits. If you are coming with kids, the lounge will save you a ton on breakfast, snacks, coffee, soft drinks and even dinner if you can manage with salads and a couple of hot dishes which I saw quite a few families doing here.

Even though we don’t often return to places, we were happy to be back at the Grand Hyatt Kauai. I would not be surprised if we end up making a trip there every couple of years for the foreseeable future, pending availability on points and decent flights to get there of course.

Up Next: Captain J’s Super Raft Na’pali Coast Tour Review

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