We just returned from a nearly two week honeymoon trip in Kauai.

Overall, I really enjoyed the resort, with one not so minor exception (see below). The positives, as I saw them:

1. Location: Fantastic. This southeast location is superior to any other resort. Since no road circles the entire island, this location is essentially a central point for traversing the entire island. If you stayed at, say, the Princeville (far North), you'd have to traverse over half the island to get to the great beaches in the Southern or SW part of the island. The Marriott's location makes it easier to hit most of the major sites worth seeing b/c it cuts down on the car travel time - and given the minimum $2.55/gal of gas prices, it'll save you a few bucks too!

2. Resort itself: Fantastic. You could spend far, far more on the Princeville or Hyatt's resort, but why? Yes, the Princeville's main lobby is exquisite to look at, but how much of your time do you spend in what is essentially your hotel lobby? And Marriott's lobby isn't exactly hard on the eyes either. Also, Marriott's pool simply trumps Princeville's six ways to Sunday. It's not even close. As far as Princeville's swim up bar - whoop de doo. It doesn't look nearly as nice as the photos suggest. Marriott's pool is 5 gorgeous acres! Combine that with their very nice beach, and you can easily see why a lot of Marriott's guests have to pry themselves away from the resort to see the rest of the island. Hyatt's pool (more a sprawling lagoon) is pretty cool, but I prefer Marriott's one gigantic pool. Also, Hyatt's resort is far more 'sprawling' than Marriotts. Marriott also has a beautiful small walking garden filled w/ native plants & grotto filled w/ humoungous fish and ducks.

3. Service: Excellent. They essentially clean your room twice a day. Once in the morning, and then once again at night when they 'turn down' the room. All employees are very polite.

4. Amenities: Pretty good. Heck, Jack Carter Helicopter Tours (the best heli tour on the island) has an actual office on site, which makes scheduling a trip a breeze. The Marriott has a wonderful piano player who plays in the evenings on the terrace above the pool, which makes passing the time there just terrifiic.

The negatives, as I saw them:

1. Room location: Mediocre. We scheduled our trip thru Expedia, which, b/c we scheduled a honeymoon trip, stated on our order form that we'd get a free upgrade from our "Garden View" room to a "Partial Ocean View" room w/ the Marriott. Well, we got there and were told that they were all booked (even though we were also told it was their "slow time"), but that we were on the top of the waiting list for a room upgrade. Well, of course, nothing turned up. The main problem w/ the room was that it was on the first level, so we couldn't ever open up the drapes since people could walk by at any time. Thus, "Garden View" translates into "NO VIEW AT ALL." The only saving grace was that at least our rooms weren't by the pool, so it was somewhat more secluded than those poor schlubs stuck in those rooms. Note: If you're stuck in "Garden Room View", INSIST on rooms 1501-1506, since all others are by the pool, with the total lack of privacy that that could entail. My biggest grief with all of this was that I would've gladly paid for better room at the very beginning rather than be let down by not getting the room upgrade promised on our statement and then being told the better rooms were all sold out. This is why the hotel loses one star from me.

As far as the food goes, it was a bit of a hit or miss. Kalapaki Grill (on site), to me, was just too expensive for ordinary sandwhiches. Kukui's restaurant (on site) offers a nightly buffet. It's $40 for adults on Fri & Sat (includes champagne, prime rib and king crab), and $25 on Mon - Thurs (no 'extras'). We went three times: One was excellent, one was OK, and one was just plan poor. On all occassions, the fish on the buffet, while good, was slightly dry (due to slight over cooking). Desserts were OK (not bad, but not fantastic either) - the choclate offerings were like those you'd have a mid tier wedding. Be sure to check the buffet overings before sitting down to see if what you like it what their offering. Both joints will give you a 10-15% discount if you have Marriott's 'Maholo Card'

Also, Dukes (on site) is simply too pricey for the food they offer. To save a few bucks, I'd suggest Tip Top Cafe (fantastic breakfasts) and Bubba's Burgers (good deal IF you get the 15% off coupon in '101 Things to do in Kauaii' magazine.)

Overall, I'd skip the tropical drink offerings at the Marriott (and elsewhere) - they're simply too pricey for the average drinks you get, and you probably make better ones at home. There is a liquor store nearby ('City Liquor') and the local KMart has two aisles of liquor offerings. BTW, the KMart kicks the Wal Marts rear end six ways to Sunday as far as offerings and prices.

In summary, if you want to stay at a nice hotel, the Marriott is simply the best choice. I could go on for days about the pool and beach, but I think you get the idea. You could spend more for Princeville or the Hyatt, but it simply isn't worth the extra money you'd spend, period. Just remember, if you do get a "Garden View" room, make sure you get 1501-1506. Finally, if you like to booze it up, either drink heavy BEFORE your trip, or get you booze at KMart or City Liquor. :)

Given what we learned on our first stay here at the Marriott, we think we'll enjoy our second time there more. It'll probably get that fifth star from me then ;)

Stayed here during our honeymoon for a couple nights. When you pull up it is not immediately obvious where to go to check in (hint: down the escalator, keep walking, look to your left after about 100 yards). No one helped us from the car or offered to help with the luggage so we went and had to wander for five minutes unsuccessfully trying to locate the front desk. We finally came back to the valet station to ask where it was and they pointed it out. They took the bags and parked the car.

I was staying on Marriott Rewards points with upgrade certificates. We were given a full oceanview room. It was huge -- one of the largest I've seen in Hawaii -- and had a fantastic view overlooking the pool and harbor. The room decor was dated; standard ugly Marriott fare. The bed was horribly uncomfortable - I think the mattress was nothing more than a decaying piece of foam with no springs whatsoever.

After a half hour of being in the room, our bags had still not arrived. While we waited we called for some room service. In all it took about an hour (and two phone calls) to get the bags to show up and about 45-50 minutes for room service to show up. There were no apologies or explanations offered for such a delay with the bags which leads me to think this is normal. We had an appointment to keep and the delay with the bags made us late, which I really wasn't thrilled about.

While staying here we ate in the hotel restaurant after which my wife became ill. I contacted the staff and explained that my wife was ill and the only place she had eaten was at the hotel; would they please send up some crackers and ginger ale. It again took about 45-50 minutes for room service to appear with a small plate of crackers and a can of soda -- which they had the nerve to charge almost $20 for.

So all in all, the grounds are beautiful but the service was wholly unimpressive. The beach isn't that great either and has a significant jellyfish problem for part of the month -- I'd stay elsewhere if you have the option.

World Class Resort. We were upgraded to an ocean front room because we didn't have a room available for us when we arrived. This resort is georgeous. Our hotel room was spectacular. The Ocean was right there. The lanai had floor to ceiling windows to help take in the view. The pool is just awesome. And the stretch of beach is very pretty as well. The Keile course is worth playing. It is a golfers paridise. They say that the Prince course is nicer, but I find it hard to believe it is much nicer. The other course is just average. Good enough for a round. It was nice just to hang out at the hotel and watch the sun set. The only restraunt worth eating at is Dukes. The others are all over priced. I loved the convience of this resort as well. The only thing I didn't like was how big this resort is. It is very big. And the grounds, while very pretty are also very ornate, and the decore is very over the top, and more asian than Hawaiian. I would've preferred a more natural, Hawaiian feel. I also think the location so close to the main harbor takes away from the resort feel of the place. Its no fun waking up to see a big cruise ship blocking your veiw. All in all we had a great time at the resort, and already talk about going back.

We (sadly) returned from our Hawaii honeymoon today. We spent the second half of our honeymoon at the Kaua'i Marriott. We had booked the hotel based on the pictures we had seen of it and were hoping it would live up to the billing. To our delight, it did. The grounds are exactly as advertised. The pools is amazing. Whether or not it is the largest in Hawaii is debatable but with the hot tubs, waterfalls, and fountains, it is undeniable a sight to see. The rooms were nicely decorated. Don't expect a palace, but expect a clean room complete with a convenient refrigerator. The food at the hotel was great, including room service with which we indulged ourselves a couple of times. The staff you meet in the halls are always friendly and conversational. Kalapaki beach is nice and conveniently located. It is not the best beach on the island but Po'ipu is not far... and I HIGHLY recommend going to the end of the road to Haena state park. You won't be disappointed. Thanks Marriott for the great stay, we hope to be back soon!