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Kauai is a lush and tropical island abundant in history, culture, and natural wonders. It is home to the Na Pali Coast, one of the most beautiful coastlines in the entire world, and offers a wide variety of outdoor activities! There are endless amounts of hiking, biking, and snorkeling! Kauai is truly an adventurous dream.
During our stay in Kauai, we stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn Kauai Wailua Bay in Kapa'a. We stayed for five nights in a standard king room and paid $1,508.35 in total. The hotel is far from a lot of tourist attractions like the Na Pali Coast, Hanalei Bay, and the Kilauea Lighthouse, but it was close to local gems like the Smith's Fern Grotto.
Getting To Hilton Garden Inn Kauai Wailua Bay:
The Lihue Airport (LIH) is the primary airport for the island of Kauai. The Hilton Garden Inn is about 5 miles from the airport and did not take long to get to. Unlike other Hawaiian islands Kauai does not have a lot of Uber drivers, we had a difficult time finding one even at the airport! We had planned on using ride-share during our time there, and quickly realized that would not work! We eventually were able to get an Uber but it took about 30 minutes. When talking to the man picking us up, he explained that there were only a few people there who drove Uber. For this reason, ride-share is not a viable option for transportation!!
For this reason, we recommend renting a vehicle while in Kauai! Transportation services are limited and it is easier to drive yourself than to try and schedule and arrange for transportation!
Book your rental as far in advance as possible so you do not end up stuck like us! If rental car agencies do not have availability we recommend checking the Turo app. We tried to rent a car, but there was a rental car shortage! No rental agency had any available cars for our entire trip. We decided we would try a local cab service, surely they would be able to get us around. However, the cab service would not operate in the area we were trying to get to.
We were able to find one last minute with Turo. It was expensive since everything else was booked, but we were desperate! It was close to $600 for a two-day rental! Turo is not always like this! It is normally cheaper but the fees are added (drop-off and pick-up, young driver, etc.), and it was one of the only cars available on the island.
Check-in:
The lobby of the hotel is warm and welcoming, it's a covered outdoor space with slight views of the ocean beyond. They had a few cats hanging around the lobby, and they were super friendly and came right up to us. The standard check-in time for Hilton Garden Inn Kauai Wailua Bay is 3:00 PM. Unfortunately, the staff at check-in were less friendly than the cats! They were rude while gathering our information at check-in and not very welcoming. We felt like we were a nuisance to them!
Room Details:
We booked a standard king room for five nights and paid $1,508.35. The room was a typical hotel room and had a fridge, microwave, small workstation, TV, and patio. Along with the fridge and microwave, we also enjoyed a Keurig machine and multiple different flavor pods in the room. It was helpful to have a few "kitchen" amenities in the room, we were able to buy a few groceries and save money.
The bathroom had a standing shower, and we were provided small individual Neutrogena brand toiletries. The bathroom was clean, and the towels were folded nicely when we arrived.
The room was clean, and everything was in good condition. We did enjoy the perk of being on the ground floor, and having a large furnished lanai (patio) that let out to the pool and Mamahune's (a small tiki bar located on the property).
While exploring our patio we met some more of the hotel "staff". Chickens! So many Chickens! They were everywhere! They enjoyed our patio more than us throughout our stay, but we did not mind sharing. We enjoyed watching the chicks play on the patio furniture! You can hear the chickens from inside the room, so the ground floor may not be the best spot for anyone sensitive to noise!
We did have a slight issue with our room during our stay, but it was just a slight maintenance problem. Our room key scanner on the door died, and we were unable to scan into our room. We had to contact the front desk and wait for maintenance staff to come and switch out the batteries. It took less than thirty minutes in total to get the problem fixed. The staff that came to help us and fix the door were extremely helpful and kind! Besides the issue with the door, we had no issues with the room and enjoyed our stay.
Property:
The hotel is located steps from Hikinaakala Heiau State Park, and Lydgate Park. We were able to walk from the hotel to both! If the pool is more your style, the hotel offers a nice one which has views of the ocean in the distance. We enjoyed relaxing in the pool in the evening and stargazing! They have two pools on the property, and they are spread out so neither was ever too crowded.
One benefit we received as Hilton Diamond members was a $15 breakfast credit per person every day to use at the on-site restaurant. We ate breakfast there every morning, and enjoyed the pancakes! The food was good, and the menu changed slightly every day.
Along with the breakfast credit every day, we were given free drink tickets, one per person per day that could be cashed in at the Mamahune's tiki bar. They could be redeemed for either a Mai Tai or a soda. It was nice to sit by the pool in the evening and cash in our free drinks! The bar is available to the public and has a pretty great view.
A great benefit of the hotel is FREE guest parking! Who doesn't love free parking? Paying to park at hotels is one of our biggest pet peeves while traveling! The lot had a lot of spaces, and a few diamond member-only spots in prime locations. It was easy for us to always snag a spot near our room!
There is a small gym on the property which has a few small machines, dumbbells, and cardio equipment. There was enough room for a few people to be in there at the same time without getting in each other's way.
There is also a small laundry room with two washers and two dryers. We did notice that there was no place to buy laundry soap in the laundry room, and we had to go to the nearest grocery store to get some.
Additional amenities included in the daily resort fee include; a two-hour Ke Ala Hele Makalae bike rental, a cultural sunrise ceremony, two bottled waters daily, a cooler, beach mat & beach towel rentals, and yoga classes.
Check out:
The checkout process was quick, all we had to do was drop our keys off at the front desk and request an emailed receipt. The check-out time for the Hilton Garden Inn Kauai Wailua Bay is 11:00 AM. Our flight was later in the evening so we spent a few hours in the lobby relaxing on the furniture with the cats and chickens.
Summary:
Our stay at the Hilton Garden Inn Kauai cost us a total of $1,508.35 for five nights in a standard king room. For that price, we enjoyed many perks like $30 credit each day for breakfast, two free drinks per day, free parking, and easy beach access. Our room was clean and in good condition, and our only problem was solved quickly and efficiently by maintenance staff. The staff for the most part were friendly, except at check-in. We enjoyed playing with all of the animals on site (cats and chickens) throughout our stay, and thought they made the experience better! Do you think a stay at the Hilton Garden Inn Kauai Wailua Bay is worth your wallet? Let us know below!!
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