We are Marriott Vacation Club Owners, so as an owner, you expect the different vacation clubs to all achieve the same level of service and comfort that you find at your home resort. I was a little scared when I read reviews of this place prior to our trip, but now I realize that many of the bad reviews are from several years ago and Marriott has done a great job of getting the Waiohai in shape.

If you are an owner, you will get what you expect... a comfortable 2 bedroom apartment, beautiful grounds, friendly (for the most part) staff, good location, and a great swimming pool.... oh and the timeshare people pecking at you from time to time. But like, the chickens, you just shoo them away. :)

The beach is not as small as previous reports have indicated, and the resort is right next door to Poipu beach, so it's easy to spread out. If you have small children, you'll want to go to Poipu anyway. We didn't experience any beach chair shortage issues, and we had a party of 8.

Infact the only real annoyance was other annoying tourists that were too wired to relax and get into island mode. It's Hawaii man! You just have to accept that things move at a slower pace.

We loved all of the pool designs and thought they do a great job of catering to different age groups. The quiet pool, the main pool has 4 different sections with different rocks and waterfalls. And they have a kiddie pool by the beach, that tends to be the college age drinking pool earlier in the day, but makes great night swimming for little kids.

The resort location is fantastic. It's on the south side, so you're only 20 minutes from the airport, but this side of the island is quieter and more relaxing. The other Marriott is RIGHT next to the airport. Koloa and Poipu are both small little towns, but have good local restaurants and the essential shopping. (Be sure to go to the Koloa Fish Market for Poke or Plate Lunches. Also, the Koloa Farmers Market is on Mondays at Noon. A great way to get some inexpensive and delicious fruit and veggies for the week.)

Activities on the island are abundant and some need to be booked in advance, so check into it early...for 5 year olds, we enjoyed... Anini Beach and Bar Acuda (Moffett's Tapas Bar) on the North Side. We did a Na Pali Coast Boat Tour with Liko wich we all loved and everyone should do even if they get sea sick (jus ask my friend.) We hiked in Waimea Canyon (the 4 mile Canyon Trail Hike to the top of Waipoo Falls, which we were all able to do.) We tried Shave Ice at Jo Jo's in Waimea and visited the Kohloa Coffee Company. We went to a luau at the Sheraton, the food was good, but the kids weren't interested in the show. It was a hokey luaua and I'm sure there are better on the island.

Things to do that we didn't get to: Tubing, Kipu Falls, Lyndgate Park, Opeaka Falls, The Giants Chest, Ke'e Beach (it was too crowded) Surf lessons.

I was impressed that for the number of chickens running around that I saw no poo, which is quite a feat considering that I own chickens and know how much they poo.

So what does the picky side of me say? I wished we had skipped the buffet offered the second night we arrived. The food was ok, but not my style. I wish the shower in our room was bigger. I wish they would put a pineapple corer in the kitchen. I wish the woman working at the concierge was a little more friendly, but everyone else was VERY friendly and helpful. I wish they had a mate for the swan, she seemed lonely. I wish the two teenagers making out in the hammock would go to their room. I wish that since they have a security gate that they would use it. It was up every time we arrived home... no matter what the hour. But That's it! That's all I can complain about. The reason I don't give it 5 stars is because it just simply is not a Ritz Carlton or a Four Seasons vacation experience. But then, I can't regularly afford one of those vacations either. So I would say for the budget -- it's excellent.

Condo was nice, but feeling very cheated by this resort and the fact that nobody at the hotel or Marriott corporate cares about customer service. We've stayed at other Marriott properties before and the fact that the situation even occurred, then nobody did anything about it, was surprising. We upgraded to an "ocean view" room, and ended up with a view of a public parking lot, complete with tour buses, dumpsters/garbage trucks, car alarms going off, etc. Photo attached. Parking lot view should be lower cost than island view - this seems like a greedy trick to me. Hotel staff unwilling to adjust price and no other rooms were available. No response from Marriott corporate after I filled out their survey - so I guess they just plan to keep disappointing people with this one.

We just returned from the Waiohai on July 21. My husband asked me if I would return and I have to think about that one. Luckily we had a gorgeous view of the ocean and were in Hale 1 on the second floor. We were told we were quite lucky to get that one as usually only owners there were the special ones to get Hale 1. Our friends traveling with us weren't quite as fortunate, as they were put in Hale 5. It could have had something to do with the check in. We arrived on Sunday and they arrived on the Friday before. I would say we got lucky.

We are owner's at the Marriott KoOlina Beach Club. We are going back to Oahu next year. Even with the traffic and the overcrowded Honolulu, the KoOlina is away from all that.

Pros of the Waiohai: great beach, not far from great places to eat. Try The Beach House. Make reservations early for a great seat. It was the best on the island. Roy's across the street in the shopping area was also wonderful but loud and hated the seating. Underground parking is good and they don't charge which is a plus. Kauai Pasta in Lihue is a great place to eat. We had time to kill before our late night flight so it was perfect. Prices are very reasonable. It is just north of the McDonalds next to the 7 Eleven. Kind of hard to find (you can pass right by it) but well worth it.

Cons: ROOSTERS! 3 AM crowing till 7 AM. Even with ear plugs they drove us nuts! Just for that reason I will still have to think twice about going back. We went down to the Marriott Beach Club (Lihue) for our last day and even though the two rooms combined lacked the space of the Waiohai and the full kitchen (had a mini kitchen with microwave and small dishwasher) it was nicer. Also, the restaurant was closed Monday through Thursday. I know most people do choose to cook in their units, it would be nice to be able to go down for coffee instead of having to get it in the market. We noticed that the employees were not nearly as friendly as the KoOlina. We did have a great presentation of the place by Rick. Nice guy and no pressure to buy. Be sure if you are getting your drinks and coffee in the market place to ask for a punch card. (Get a free one with so many purchases) They finally gave me one on my 6th day! You would think they would ask people if they have one to begin with. Gezzzz I also had a tough time at the computer trying to print boarding passes. I was behind some guy that took forever. Then it took me forever because of their computer. They need chairs.

All in all Kauai is beautiful, laid back and love that they really just have the one road going through. Easy to get around. Speed limit is never over 50. The south shore is wonderful. Be sure you see the Na Pali coast. We went with Blue Dolphin tours on the catamaran and the crew was great. Food wasn't too bad either and the guys did an exceptional job in all areas. That was probably our favorite adventure. If you want to snorkle head to Tunnels Beach on the north shore. Amazing. Hard to find a place to park so keep driving and you will come to the beach park with lots of places and just walk down. If you are traveling with children to the beach, keep a very close eye on your kids there. There are very few lifeguards and it is so secluded that it very hard for emergency vehicles to get there. We know first hand at that as there was a fatal accident there while we were snorkling and that is not a good way to end a day in paradise.

We just booked our third trip to Kauai and I'm excited to go back to the Waiohai! In 2005 we stayed at a condo near Brenekes the first week of the trip. It was OK. Then we stayed at the Marriott on the third floor -the views were amazing. Two years later, in 2007 we stayed on the ground floor. It was a huge difference for us with a one year old baby. With the walk out access to the lawn and beach, we could walk back without taking the elevator and room key. My wife and I traded reading on the patio while the baby took naps. The other sat at the pool with our 3 year old. We could see eachother and communicate. We were still sharing the time together. Now, we are excited to go back in 2009 with our third child who will be one year old. We had to have the ground floor again. With three kids under 5, we couldn't manage it any other way.