We had just arrived after an 11 day stay in Japan where the staff at the hotels bent over backwards to make sure we had a wonderful visit. Little did we know that returning to our own country would be such a huge disappointment with what was promised in a condo as well as a lack of good customer service. Upon arriving at the Outrigger Kiahuna Plantation, we were told that we had arrived early, as check-in time was 3:00 p.m. Upon checking our watches, we advised the receptionist that it was 3:10 p.m. She said that was their pre-check-in time, and continued to argue with me that we were arriving within their "posted" check-in time. That was just a precurser to what was to follow. We were paying $425 per night for an ocean view condo, for seven nights, and the ocean view was so far in the distance that it could have been a thinly disguised Hollywood backdrop. I couldn't believe that they were representing this condo as an ocean view. The staff was full of attitude, and when the manager finally contacted me "the next day" after I complained to the front desk, she wanted to argue that it was an ocean view. She finally relinquished and said that they would partially refund our pre-paid condo to a partial ocean view, which truly was still a stretch since from our patio, there was "NO" ocean view. Just a lot of green grass. Our friends, who were staying at the Sheraton, got a good laugh out of us being ripped off, and they said that perhaps with a ladder on the rooftop, we might be able to see a little bit of blue. To add insult to injury, not only was it terribly noisy, but people tended to turn their little ones loose as soon as the sun came up - around 6:15 a.m. - so we felt we were staying in a childcare facility. The condo was also located on what my husband called "the condo highway," with lots of foot traffic heading down to the beach 1/4 mile away. A huge disappointment in every way and the staff needs an attitude adjustment.

This is was the second time that we stayed at the Kiahuna Plantation. This time we were in unit #77 a one bedroom, ocean view condo. We had a wonderful time and we cannot wait to return.

The gardens within the resort are beautiful. And I found the services at the resort to be good. We also went to the Plantation restaurant and had a nice time there.

The first time we went we were on our honeymoon, 5 years later we returned with our 16 month old daughter. The experience both times was great.

I recommend checking out the "baby beach" if you have little kids. It was the best day of the trip and we wish we went there sooner.

My husband and I stayed here in February of 2008, and based on that experience, we were so excited to come back! We were very disappointed with our room this time around. We had a ground-floor "ocean view" room 1 bed/ 1 bath (Unit 32) that I believe is misclassified- basically, I had to be standing on my tiptoes to see any water. The ocean is fairly far away and there is a row of hedges separating the beach from the lawn, and this blocks your view when you're sitting down at the dining room table or sitting on the patio chairs on the lanai. We felt absolutely sick that we paid so much money to enjoy the ocean, when in fact we usually weren't able to see it. This is also the only ground floor unit in the building with a railing around the lanai, which also blocks your view of anything.

In addition, the bedroom is RIGHT NEXT TO the main path and footbridge that leads to the beach. There are only wood shutters and screens - no glass windows to close to block out the noise. Where we stayed last year (the next row of buildings back, away from the path), we didn't have a noise problem so the lack of glass windows wasn't a big deal. There were a lot of kids playing on the lawn and walking back and forth to the beach early in the morning, and this drove my husband and I crazy when we were trying to sleep.

We also found out how thin the floors are. We were in a ground level unit and it's really loud when the people in the upper unit are walking around. Based on all these issues, we asked Outrigger to move us (twice). They weren't able to.

This was all unfortunate, because the interior of the unit was very nice. The owners have kept the furniture and fixtures up-to-date and in great shape. There are nice touches like a retractable clothes line in the shower and plenty of books to read.

So, a few rules for this place:

1. Stay in a top floor unit, or in a unit that includes both first and second floors
2. Do not stay in a unit located next to the path to the beach (unless you like to get up early)
3. Don't count on a view of the ocean unless you're in an upper level unit or you are in a unit that's right next to the shore.

We loved it the first time around, and will make sure we get what we want next time! Send me a message if you want a map of the property with all of the unit numbers. I have it in .pdf.

We booked unit 144 (I think it was in building 22)directly from the owner. It has been remodeled and it a very private end ground floor unit. Nicely equiped and I would have to say that the best part was that it had a washer and dryer right in the unit-not all of them do. We only brought carry on bags because of this fact and I would highly recommend it especially for canadians who have to go through customs.
The grounds are very well kept and it does not matter if you don't have an ocean view, the gardens are beautiful and the ocean is a short(really short) walk across the grass. We really liked this feature as most resorts don't have a swimmable or snorkeling beach right on their grounds, Kiahuna does, it actually shares the beachfront with the Sheraton. I would not recommend this resort for families with teens but for couples and those with little ones it is great. The pool is way up across the road but not a problem for us as the ocean was the big attraction - I find the thought of going to Hawaii and then swimming in a pool kind of weird. Do your homework though and pick a unit through an owner since the decor varies a lot as does the price. You can get a way better deal through the owner as opposed to the resort itself. Poipu is a great base for exploring all parts of Kauai, it is central and good for day trips. I have read some reviews saying people find this resort noisy, all in all it is fine, you can hear people coughing and talking but it is a quiet place, you don't go there to party! Some people have a lower tolerance for noise however. We did notice the smoke smell from the fellow on the lanai upstairs every morning but hey, sometimes ya gotta roll with it.

We shopped at Costco in Lihue for booze but found the food packages too big for two of us for only 10 days. The Big Save up the road, while still a bit pricey had a good selection and was still way cheaper than eating out. I would go back to this unit in a minute although it would be nice if there were a few things in the fridge and cupboards like a canister of sugar and some soy sauce and some spices. I bought all the condiments and spices you need for burgers, sandwiches, dinners etc and left them all there. I imagine others do the same so where does all the stuff go? The housekeeping staff must help themselves to it when they clean up. The kitchen was nicely equipped and there was lots of paperbacks to choose from too - and a great book on identifying the fish we saw. We also bought grass mats and left them there as well, free towels for the beach are available daily.
Linda G, British Columbia