We booked 4 nights at this hotel and left after one night. We actually wanted to leave before our first night but could not since we had to go thru our travel agent and it happened to be Sunday. We arrived early, 1:30pm so our room was not available which we understood. They took our cell number and said they would call us when it was ready and pointed us to the resturant by the pool. Well the pool is nothing special and the grounds do not compare to some of the other resorts in the area. At 2:30 we went back to the lobby to wait. Check in is at 3pm so we figured it would just be a couple of minutes. At 3:40 we still didnt hear anything so my wife went to ask. The room was ready but no one ever called us. All we got was "sorry about that". Once in the room we received two bottles of wine sitting in water. The room was ready for so long that the ice melted.

We then went to the consignires office for some activities. It was like pulling teeth so by this time we had enough and wanted out. We stayed at three other islands and everyone was so helpful and we received the opposite reaction at the princeville. We actully drove to the Marriott at the south end of the island and they were more helpful than anyone at the Princeville. We would have stayed there but they were booked but they did recommend the Westin in Princeville.

Once back at the Princeville resort we talked to the Manager on duty, Brad White, and he did apologize for the problems we encountered and wanted to buy us dinner. At this point we had enough and wanted out.

The next morning we got in touch with our travel agent and moved over to the Westin. If you want to stay on the North shore I would recemmend the Westin. Its new and its beutiful althou no beach access. The Princeville Hotel is closing down in early Sept to April of 2009 so they dont have as much staff to assist people. It may be worth staying here after the renovation but do not stay here before that time.

We stayed three nights at the Princeville (after 3 in the southern part of the island) and it is one of the most amazing views from a hotel room that I have ever seen. That, however, was the best thing about the hotel (but it's a view worth seeing even if you don't stay there).

My travel partner and myself are in our early 20's and I knew that we would seem a little out of place before I got there. However, a couple pulled up in front of us and one behind us and both were greeted by the valets, given leis and helped with their luggage. NOBODY came to meet us, we were given no welcome, and we unloaded our own bags. This was not a good first impression. And then our room wasn't ready until about 10 minutes after 3pm (yeah, it's only 10 minutes, but there's not much excuse for a room not to be ready until AFTER the check-in time in a hotel that charges as much as his one).

HOWEVER, I did bring this matter to the attention of management, and Mr. Silva sincerely apologized and treated us to dinner. As someone who is involved in customer service as my career, I know mistakes happen, but you cannot drop the ball when it comes to correcting them. I felt like the employees felt it was IMPORTANT to correct the mistake, not an obligation.

The hotel itself is just as you read in other reviews: it's in need of renovation. But it is still a beautiful property without question (I think the reviews come mostly because of how much it costs to stay there, not the actual condition of the hotel). The rooms do have a semi-Floridian cheesy kind of feel to them, but they are sufficient - and who spends that much time in your hotel room anyway?

The sunsets from the hotel were AMAZING as well as all the views. You can see a beautiful waterfall from most every room in the hotel, and we woke up one morning after a heavy rain and that mountain had FIVE waterfalls cascading down - beautiful! Sadly, the drinks and everything else were terribly overpriced, but the grocery store nearby really wasn't that terribly priced. It's not CHEAP, but we got corn dogs for $1 each for lunch one day so if you are travelling with little ones there is still reasonable ways to eat on a budget (entrees for dinner cost between $35-50 in the hotel restaurants).

I recommend this hotel mostly because of the views, but because of the service that we experienced. The employees seemed to enjoy working there and it showed in the service we received at the pool bar and restaurant as well as at the front desk. There is nightly entertainment in the lounge in the lobby which was also fun to experience.

We stayed here on our last night and wished we'd stayed the whole week. We got a special deal through the hotels website which included an automatic upgrade to an ocean view room. We arrived early - 10am - but no problem, they had a room ready for us. The room was just lovely (okay, the woodwork was a little tired looking) and we had a spectacular view of the ocean and the mountains.

The pool and beach area were very nice and we really appreciated the friendly drinks service and especially the complimentary iced water and pineapple. The pool was the perfect temperature and we really enjoyed having cocktails at the swim up bar.

When we returned to our room, they had sent up complimentary champagne as it was our wedding anniversary - so nice of them. We celebrated by having their romantic beachside dinner which was just wonderful.

We had a late flight the next day and they gave us a later checkout time plus we could reserve a time in another room to shower in and change in just before we left. All the staff were wonderful, especially Richard (our private waiter at the beachside dinner), and the ladies at the front desk.

I'm so glad we got to experience this wonderful hotel before it closes in September.

We stayed here on our last night of our stay in Kauai as a gift to ourselves. It was truely a nice stay. Enjoyed the whole property. Staff is friendly, clean large rooms and hotel and grounds are great. Bathroom was large with a jacuzzi tub. Huge window with screen that opens.

The lobby living room was great to relax and listen to live music, really nice ambiance.

Views are amazing. We had a late flight and the hotel offered to give us a day room and let us enjoy the grounds even after check out.

Great Place!