My wife and I stayed for 6 nights at the Grand Hyatt Kauai following a week-ling business trip to Honolulu. We had an outstanding stay.
The hotel is on the ocean along a stretch of beach in Shipwreck Cove. The hotel was 6 stories at the highest point (but it must have been built on a hillside as the entry to the hotel and its lobby was at the fourth floor). The hotel sprawled across beautifully landscaped grounds with colorful flowers, trees, and waterfalls. As a result, getting from room to pool or beach could require a bit of a hike.
When you first arrive at the hotel you are met by hotel staff and given a traditional lei for the women and a necklace for the men - a nice touch!
The hotel had a number of water features including a lazy river, water slide, free-form fresh water pool, saltwater lagoon, and a couple of Jacuzzis. There was also an adult only area with a separate pool - but it was just to have a quiet area - bathing attire was what you would find at the other pools and on the beach.
There was also an excellent spa on-site with massages, exercise equipment, lap pool, sauna and steam rooms, and Jacuzzis.
There is a championship golf course on site, but we did not play as there was too much else to do.
Our sleeping rooms were great. We had an ocean view room with a good size balcony, king bed, dual sinks, and bathtub/shower, and a small refrigerator.
Service was outstanding! All of the hotel staff we very friendly and went out of their way to meet your needs.
The hotel does charge an $18/day resort fee which includes free self-parking, two bottles of water/day, local newspaper, pool towels, and some other minor items. Internet was extra as was anything other than the standard pool/beach chairs.
We went to the Luau at the hotel on Sunday evening and it was well worth the $99/person. Food was excellent and the show was outstanding as well.
Just a warning, this hotel is on the South shore of Kauai and during the summer months the surf is quite rough and there is a strong undertow. Thus, you will probably need to travel to the North shore for snorkeling and safe ocean swimming during the summer.
Hint: There are a number of dive shops away from the hotel which will rent you good quality snorkel, mask, and fins for about $10/week. So you don't need to drag along your own equipment. They also rent beach chairs, umbrellas, coolers, boogie boards, surf boards, etc. This is a good option given the baggage charges the airlines have implemented.
Also, you really do need a rental car when you visit Kauai as there is a lot to see away from the hotel and the hotels themselves are all a good distance from the airport. The Hyatt was about 12 miles away from the airport.
Another money saving tip -- there is a Costco and Walmart near the airport. We stopped at Costco on our way to the hotel to buy spring water, alcohol, Coke, fruit, etc to reduce our restaurant and bar bills. :-) Costco also sells chocolate covered macadamia nuts and Kona coffee at VERY reduced prices from what you would find in the ABC stores for those gifts you just have to take back to the people you left behind on the mainland.
In summary, we had a wonderful vacation and would not hesitate to stay here again.

Stayed at the Grand Hyatt for 6 nights as part of our honeymoon in Nov 2008 (1st half was in Maui). The hotel lobby, shops, restaurants and common areas are beautiful. But when we were taken to our rooms we were shocked at how outdated the rooms are. To make matters worse, on our first night I looked up on our ceiling to see it covered with flies. There had to be about 100 of them. I called the front desk and they switched our rooms and gave us a complimentary cheese platter the next day, but it didn't make up for our first night being ruined and my wife being concerned about the cleanliness of the hotel the rest of the trip. We had just come from the Four Seasons in Maui which was spotless so this was really disappointing.

The Positives:
The local bands that play at the bar are great.
If you are a pool person than you will love their pool area. It wasn't crowded when we were there so we were always able to get seats by the pool. I think it could get overrun with kids if you go during the busy season though.
The island is beautiful and very easy to get around. The local restaurants are all very good.
Great excursions are available - do the zip line tour!

The Negatives:
Outdated rooms that aren't clean.
The beach - if you are a beach person you will be disappointed. The waves are extremely rough and it's rocky so it's not easy to swim in the ocean. Also, the hotel only had two (YES TWO) beach chairs available for the ENTIRE HOTEL! I know most people stay by the pool but we found this ridiculous for a Grand Hyatt. Even the girls who worked at the rental hut laughed at how insane this was.

Overall the hotel is just ok. I recently stayed at the Hyatt in Aruba and it was much, much better than this hotel.

We stayed here June 26-July 3rd. We booked a partial ocean view, but was offered a full view for $30 more a night. The first room 6055, had a gorgeous view. It was on the top floor, in the center of the complex, over looking the pools and ocean. The only problem was, it was directly over their club with live music and an open terrace. The music is over at 11:00, but since we are not late night people and were still on California time, it was too much. The next night we moved to room 5015. This is a very large resort and this room was a long walk to the lobby, but it was very quiet and had a nice view of the ocean. The pools are large and very nice. They have a large water slide and a sand bottom salt water pool as well as a fresh water pool. The cabanas around the pool are first come-first serve unless they have a reserved sign. It's $50 to reserve one for the day, but because of the economy, we didn't have any trouble finding one before 10:00 AM. There are also 3 large cabanas on the beach for $100 a day. We stayed in 1 for a day and it was great. Several little mice scurried around, but they didn't bother us. We did catch one sitting on the rim of a smoothie, when we came back from the water, so don't leave food or drinks out! The service was great everywhere, in the rooms, concierge, pools and restaurants. We ate at the Italian restaurant which was very good, but very expensive, even by Hawaii resort standards. Which brings me to the one complaint I have, which again applies to other resorts as well. The only place to grab a hamburger after 5:30 is in their lobby lounge. And even then, it's not a simple burger and fries. Some times I don't want a big fancy meal, but the only alternative they give you is to drive off the property(PukaDogs are great! So was the Kokui Paradise! Both only 5 minutes drive away) We didn't go to any other hotels on the island, but we met freinds there who did and said that the Grand Hyatt was much nicer(and bigger) than the others they went in(Marriott for one I know).

About Kauai. Poipu beaches(southern) are very rough in the summer months. You need to drive up towards Princeville in the north for calm beaches for swimming. This reverses in winter months, I was told.

We took a helicopter tour from Blue Hawaiin. $225 per person for about 50 minute flight around the island. I was told all of the tours go basically the same route around the island. The views were great. I wish we did this the first day to get a great idea of the beaches we would see later while driving around. The only dissapointment, was that they were in a little drought and the waterfalls coming out of the mountain were all dried up. Who thought the wettest place on earth(440 inches) would be feeling the global warming affect,(that was in the local paper.)

One day we took the drive up to Waimea Canyon and it was worth it. The road is slow and winding and full of pot holes near the end, but still worth it. Make sure you go to the very end for amazing views of the Na Pali coast.

On a different day we drove north to the end of the road up past Princeville. It was a nice drive and got out and saw some wonderful beaches.

About driving. Their is only one 2 lane highway that goes around the island(3/4 of the way.) There can be a lot of traffic, so avoid the early mornings and late afternoons during the week. It can be stop and go for miles, especially around the airport. Also watch out for chickens! They are everywhere!

This place is as close to perfect as you will find. My husband and I stayed here for the second part of our honeymoon (see my review on the Sheraton Kauai) because we didn’t want to spend that much money for all six nights. We travel quite a bit and usually stay in 3-4 star hotels…we were blown away by this place.

We received warm service from the second we arrived. The housekeeping and recreational services representatives were very accommodating and the wait staff at the pool and restaurants were very friendly. As a bonus, the Grand Hyatt gave us lots of extra perks for our honeymoon, including a free bottle of champagne, a free poolside cabana rental, access to the hotel spa, and a free dessert at one of the hotel’s restaurants! Since we were planning on eating at Tidepools anyway, the dessert worked out perfectly. The food at Tidepools was pretty good (The Beach House in Poipu is better)…you really are paying for the romantic setting and the convenience of having a nice restaurant on-site.

The hotel room was amazing! It was spacious, nicely decorated, and well-equipped with all kinds of extra goodies (sometimes it’s the little things). While we were there, I remembered other reviewers mentioning something about not having enough hooks on which to hang their towels, so I made a mental note of the fact that there are four different hooks/racks in the bathroom. If your biggest complaint about a hotel is that you didn’t have five or six hooks for your towels, then that probably indicates you’re staying at a pretty nice place. When we arrived, we decided to up-grade from a “garden view” to a “partial ocean view” room. We are so glad we made that decision. The view from our lanai was wonderful and we could even hear the crashing waves through the closed door.

What sets this hotel apart from any other hotel is the grounds. Every inch is green and beautiful. Even the pathway to the bathroom is lined with trees and flowers. All three pools are perfectly clean and decorated, and the slide is a blast! On a down side, this amazing pool area draws more kids and families than the Sheraton seems to. Don’t get me wrong, I love kids (I work with them)…but that doesn’t mean I want to be around them all the time during my honeymoon. The Grand Hyatt addresses that issue with an adult-only pool and a few hot tubs that are located off the beaten path. The hotel is big enough for you to find a quieter place to relax.

I would definitely recommend spending the extra money to stay at the Grand Hyatt, especially if you are going to Kauai for a special occasion such as a honeymoon or anniversary. You won’t be disappointed!