First, I need to be clear that we haven't stayed at the Lanikai Resort and won't be doing so.

Here's why:

We planned our trip to Kauai in October 2004 and, after checking guidebooks and the reviews on tripadvisor, booked 18 nights at Lanikai for July/August 2005. From the reviews we read there seemed little doubt that this is a lovely resort - small, friendly, well-maintained and in a good location on the beach. My wife has trouble with stairs so we requested a ground floor unit, which they noted but said they couldn't guarantee that far ahead. All seemed well.

Early this year (2005), I was browsing tripadvisor again and saw the two reports from dissatisfied customers who'd arrived at Lanikai only to be told their units were in a different resort nearby - the Lae Nani, which is right next door and run by the same company. This concerned us as we'd chosen the Lanikai specifically because of the recommendations and because of its small scale - the Lae Nani is much larger and reviews seem less consistently favourable.

I was quite ready to believe there was some rational explanation for this and be reassured that it wouldn't happen to us, so I e-mailed Castle Resorts' Reservations to ask them to confirm that we would definitely be allocated a unit at Lanikai and also that it would be on the ground floor as originally requested. After a week with no reply I e-mailed again - still no response. After a final e-mail a few days later, I phoned.

When I asked them to reassure me that we would definitely have a unit at Lanikai, the person I spoke to first told me that "she would note the request on the reservation" and that it was very unusual for customers to be put in the Lae Nani as that only happens when the the Lanikai is overbooked.

When I explained that having a unit at Lanikai wasn't a "request", it was actually what we'd booked, she went off to discuss it with a manager. When she came back she told me that in fact we definitely would NOT have a unit at Lanikai, as we'd requested a ground floor room and of the units they manage at Lanikai, only one is on the ground floor and its owner would be using it during the time of our visit. We could have a choice of a ground floor unit at Lae Nani, or a 3rd floor unit at Lankai (which has no lifts/elevators).

What I find most amazing about all this is that they clearly don't seem to think this is a problem. In particular:

- They think it's OK to overbook and then move people to another resort when that causes a problem.

- They actually knew that we wouldn't be given a unit at the resort we'd booked several months ahead of our stay, yet they didn't think it worth contacting us to explain the problem or discuss options.

- They ignored three e-mails from me on the subject.

In summary - I have no reason to doubt that the Lanikai Resort is a lovely place to stay. The problem is that there seems to be no way to ensure that you actually get to stay there.

So, unless you genuinely don't care which of the two resorts you end up in, you can't risk booking at the Lankai.

(We have now found somewhere else for our Kauai trip and cancelled our reservation at the Lanikai.)

My husband and I booked our airfare to Kauai and three nights at Castle Lanikai Resort through Expedia.com as the second part of our Hawaii vacation. When we arrived at Castle Lanikai on Kauai, we found a note at the office to check in at the condo complex next door (Castle Lae Nani). Much to our surprise, that was where our room was. We went back to Lanikai and found a receptionist in the office (locked and dark) and asked why we were not in the resort we booked. She said that the same management company owned units in both complexes and that they were "interchangeable". Though I'm sure the units were very similar, the complexes were NOT. Lanikai has a total of 18 units - one pool. Lae Nani has a total of 83 units - one pool. I explained that we chose Lanikai specifically because it was small, would be more quiet, less kids, with ALL units close to the beach. The receptionist didn't seem to get it!!! She did offer to move us the following day for the last two days of our trip, but we had activities planned and didn't want to pack/re-pack after just one night.

Though the accommodations may be fine, I would think twice before booking this Resort! I certainly don't appreciate being decieved (especially at those prices)!!!!!

As a travel agent, I researched this property for 4 months prior to arriving for a 4 night stay in January. We arrived at approx 7:30 pm, the office was closed (understandable); they did have a mailbox with our condo key and a note attached. The note stated that we were staying at a DIFFERENT property down the street! I called the night manager directly, and she met us at the condo within a few minutes. She then proceeded to tell us that we had been "upgraded" to another property. When I told her that this was NOT the condo I paid for, and insisted that we be placed at the Lanikai, she then told me that the condo was FULLY BOOKED, and that Castle Resorts had the "option" to put us at a different place if they chose to! She told me to check with the office manager in the morning to see if they could move us back to the Lanikai the next day. When I went to the office the next day, the manager said that the condo complex (units, lanais and grounds) were completely NON smoking. This is NOT noted in their web site, nor on Castle Resorts web site. One of our friends smokes a cigar, so we were STUCK staying a a condo that we didn't want. And it was not an "UPGRADE", not in the price range that the Lanikai was. So be careful, call the day before you arrive and get the unit number and make certain you get what you are paying for. NEVER, EVER, AGAIN!
I call it, lesson learned; even a travel agent can get burned!

Wonderful condos (if no frills--ocean views are the main attraction; resort also has a small tennis court and a pool). Kapaa is in a central location to visit the rest of Kauai. The condos all face the ocean--beautiful view. The beach itself has gravelly sand--better to sit on a chair or towel. As it faces the East, the sunrises are spectacular.

The condos here were a highlight of my visit to Hawaii and were a big part of how relaxed I was. I will definitely stay here again on my next visit.