the location of the hotel is great. Kapaa is central. You can visit the south shore of the island one day then the North Shore the next without too much driving. That's why we stayed at Hotel Coral Reef. It was a cheap room, especially for us kamaaina, and we knew we weren't going to spend much time in the room too. So to have somewhere to lay our heads down it was good enough. But if you want ambience and asthetics...you won't find it in the Garden View Room. I have attached pics. I thought there'd be a garden...there was nothing to be seen outside of lanai except for construction material and whatever people put on the side of their buildings or homes. Outside of the hotel along the beach is nice. The people are nice that work there. The room was clean, but it felt a little depressing to me. Maybe they should put a queen bed instead of king size bed since the room is kind of small. But the TV was nice. The toilet was loud and we had to do the handle jiggle thing to get it to stop running. I would recommend to young travellers not to concerned about luxurious living.

sept 2006

I had made a reservation but the front desk couldnt find it when I arrived. Room was available, so I stayed. When returning home to Europe I found that my credit card was charged for 1 night upon reservation in addition to the complete fare upon checkout. Management refuses refund and ignores my complaint. Amount is too small to bring to court.

some more:
Staff was unable to make the phone work. Loud construction work in the building, was stopped at 7 p.m. after complaints. Sewage canal flowing into the ocean directly next to the hotel.

I call it "Coral Rip-off"

Stayed one night at this hotel after our week at the condo was up. Did not have high expectations given the poor review in the Ultimate Kauai guide book. Boy were we suprised! The oceanfront rooms seems to have been recently redone, and everything in the room looks new.

The view out the back is amazing! Actually just "steps from the beach". The staff at the hotel are very friendly and showed the "aloha spirit" every chance they got.

Location is great, walking distince to shopping and food. Centrally located to both sides of the island. Also important, they are located before the Kapaa alternate road, which helps greatly in getting around the traffic jams.

WOW !!! What a facelift. Always loved the location and quaintness of this hotel but it was quite rundown. The new owner and management did a wonderful job in upgrading the rooms, the landscape and the staffing. For a pleasant vacation with the relaxing sound of the ocean waves right outside your room I highly recomment the NEW Hotel Corel Reef Resort. Check out their website!