Hawaii Mom Blog: aqua hotels

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Showing posts with label aqua hotels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label aqua hotels. Show all posts

July 25, 2016

Top 10: Favorite Features of the Kauai Shores Hotel

Our family had a really nice stay at the Kauai Shores Hotel.  It's a lovely, beachfront property with a variety of services and amenities.

Here are my top 10 favorite features of the Kauai Shores Hotel.

1. Wristband keys - so convenient!!
2. Lava Lava Beach Club - fab breakfast!
3. Unlimited Playstation / DVD rentals
4. Steps to the beach
5. Two pools
6. Friendly service from all employees - front desk, housekeeping, maintenance, valet - everyone!
7. Gorgeous views
8. Plenty of free parking, and valet is also an option
9. Bright, fresh decor in the renovated rooms

10. Meticulously-maintained landscaping
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June 14, 2016

Kauai Shores Hotel - Beachfront Lodging on the Coconut Coast



Our family recently vacationed at the Kauai Shores Hotel (an Aqua Hotel), a beachfront property along Kauai's Royal Coconut Coast.

The recently-renovated hotel has 200 rooms, including 24 studios with kitchenettes, and boasts a variety of amenities included with the daily hospitality fee.

After a short drive from the Lihue Airport, we arrived at the lobby, where vibrant hues of greens, blues, and pops of oranges welcomed guests.

Valet and self-parking available
Loved the open, spacious lobby
After a warm and welcoming check-in, I was given directions to our 2-queen bedroom in the Lei building, one of four buildings on the property.  The room was adorned in colors just as bright and fresh as in the the lobby, and included a 42-inch TV, refrigerator, Keurig coffee maker, and Playstation 3 console.

Bright, fresh decor
2 queen beds

TV, desk, chair
The beds and pillows were extremely comfortable, and my kids often fought over who would sit in the cool blue / green chair.

Both an air conditioner and ceiling fan is in the room.  The air conditioning unit was quite loud, which initially made it hard to sleep at night, but we discovered that putting the a/c in Fan mode with the ceiling fan on kept the room cool without it being so noisy. 

The bathroom was compact, and the vanity was especially small, but overall the room provided adequate space for our family of 5.
Bathtub
Vanity
Toilet
Closet
Microwaves are available in the Lei and Lani building foyers if you need to heat up any leftovers.
Microwave and vending machines in the Lei and Lani building foyers
If you prefer a room with a bit more space, a larger bathroom, and a microwave, book a studio with kitchenette.

Studio with kitchenette
The lanai looked out to the lush, green lawns and foliage, as well as one of two pools.
Lanai
Lush lawn
I was very impressed with the grounds of the property.  They were always kept clean, and I often saw employees tending to the plants and trees.

The property has four buildings, each with 2 floors, but no elevators, so if you have an issue with stairs, be sure to request a bottom floor.

Two-floor buildings
We were in a second floor room, which the front desk employee said tends to be quieter than ones on the first floor.

For the most part, the noise level throughout the hotel was minimal.  We could hear a few loud guests early in the morning or late at night, but for the most part, noise was muffled by the air conditioning unit whenever we were in our room.

Because of the two pools on property, the beach being just steps away, and several restaurants, shops, and attractions nearby, we were not in our room very often.

Larger pool

Smaller pool
There were plenty of lounge chairs and umbrellas at each pool, and neither pool got very crowded during our stay - we never had a problem finding an empty chair.

The kids loved playing at the beach, which was literally just steps away.

Beach fun!
Being right on the beach meant gorgeous sunrise and sunset views!
Sunrise
At Kauai Shores, use of pool/beach towels is included with the daily hospitality fee.

Also included are complimentary Wi-Fi, outdoor yoga classes, and my kids' favorite amenity - the unlimited DVD and Playstation rentals.
Outdoor Yoga

Unlimited DVD and Playstation rentals!
On site is Lava Lava Beach Club, where we had a fabulous breakfast (you can read about it here), and there are numerous other restaurants just a short walk or drive away.

One of my favorite features of Kauai Shores is the wristband key.  You can wear it in the pool or at the beach, and you don't need look through your wallet or dig through your purse to find your hotel room key.  Simply wear the key on your wrist and wave it in front of the sensor on your door to get into your room.  Easy!

The wristband is so much more convenient to use than a card key!

Employees at the Kauai Shores Hotel were all so helpful and friendly.  I was greeted by name when I returned to the front desk with a question, housekeeping promptly provided us with extra necessities that we were short on, and maintenance did not give up when our ceiling fan needed to be reprogrammed.

The wonderful service, the numerous amenities, convenient location, and renovated rooms all contributed to a very pleasant stay at the Kauai Shores.

Click here for more information on Kauai Shores Hotel.  Kama`aina rates available.

Kauai Shores Hotel
420 Papaloa Rd
Kapaa, HI 96746
(808) 822-4951



Mahalo to Kauai Shores for hosting a portion of our stay.  Gratuities and meals were paid on our own.
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June 6, 2016

Visit Kauai: Lava Lava Beach Club


Having just opened earlier this year in the recently-renovated Kauai Shores, the Lava Lava Beach Club offers a "toes in the sand" beach dining experience for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

If you prefer, they do offer indoor dining, which is where our family opted to sit for breakfast on a very rainy morning on Kauai.
Complimentary Muffins

Al & Don's Original Pancakes with Bananas

Big Wave Burrito

Classic Breakfast
Tropic Thunder Skillet
Breakfast started off with some yummy complimentary banana mac nut muffins.  

I had the Tropic Thunder Skillet.  As soon as I saw "tater tots," I just had to order this dish.  I love tater tots, and the tater tots in the skillet were perfectly crisp on the outside, and tender on the inside.  They were combined with eggs, cheese, guacamole, and salsa.  The skillet was a fabulous and filling breakfast.

My husband had the Big Wave Burrito, which consisted of eggs, red bell pepper, bacon, French fries, spinach, and onion.

There is no kids menu, so we ordered the Banana Pancakes and the Classic Breakfast for the kids to share.  The pancakes were light, fluffy, and huge!  My kids could've easily just shared the pancakes.  We took back to our hotel almost the entire Classic Breakfast (bacon, eggs, English muffin, and rice).

Service was excellent, and I loved how the restaurant recycles SPAM cans to present guests their checks (and also gives them a postcard to send to loved ones).

Fun receipt presentation
I really enjoyed breakfast at Lava Lava Beach Club.  They offer live entertainment nightly from 5-9pm, and they're also pet-friendly!



Lava Lava Beach Club
420 Papaloa Rd,
Kapaa, HI 96746
(808) 241-5282
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April 11, 2016

A Weekend Escape at the Park Shore Waikiki


After attending an event last year at the Park Shore Waikiki, I was quite impressed with the property, and I thought that the hotel's location, views, and recently-renovated rooms would make for a great weekend escape.

Upon arrival at the 221-room hotel, we left our car with the valet and stepped into the spacious, open-air lobby.


After a quick check-in at the front desk, we made our way to our two Ocean View Double Bed Rooms.

Each room consisted of two very comfortable beds, a desk, large screen TV, mini refrigerator, coffee maker, and safe.

Super comfy beds!

Large screen TV, desk

Coffemaker, safe, refrigerator
The rooms were identical with the exception of the bathrooms (one had a stand-up shower, another had a tub).

PAYA eco-friendly bath amenities are offered in the bathrooms, and I loved that the vanities provided a lot of counter space.
Bathroom
Tub
We spent a lot of time in our air-conditioned rooms relaxing.  We also enjoyed sitting out on the lanai, gazing at the pretty views.

Loved hanging out on the lanai!
Gorgeous views!
From right outside the door we had an amazing view of Diamond Head.

We had rooms right next to each other, but they were non-connecting rooms, which turned out to be a little inconvenient - my kids kept wanting to switch rooms, and we constantly had to go back and forth between rooms to get belongings.  The Park Shore Waikiki does offer outer connecting doors on some of its rooms, however, so consider requesting those rooms if you have a large family split between two rooms.

Although the Park Shore Waikiki is located on the corner of Kapahulu and Kalakaua, we could barely hear any street noise, or even noise from the pool below.

Speaking of the pool, whether you're swimming or lounging on the sundeck, you'll get great views of Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head!

Nice view of Diamond Head from the pool
The Park Shore Waikiki also offers many other amenities (included with the daily hospitality fee), such as a vending room, a shuttle to Ala Moana Center, newspaper, yoga classes, juice and water in the lobby, and Wi-Fi!
Vending room
Complimentary juice and water in the lobby
You can also find great dining options on property, including LuLu's (you can read my review here) and Tucker & Bevvy Picnic Basket (you can read my review here).

The Park Shore Waikiki is ideally located - you are just a crosswalk away from the beach, and next to the hotel is the Honolulu Zoo and Kapiolani Park.  There are numerous restaurants and shops within walking distance as well.
Waikiki Beach
The convenient location and numerous amenities made our stay at the Park Shore Waikiki very enjoyable, but what really made our staycation delightful was the service.

From the valet, to the front desk employees, to housekeeping - everyone pleasantly greeted us, "talked story" with us, and smiled at us.  I truly felt welcomed!


The Park Shore Waikiki provided all I needed for a weekend escape - plenty of dining options so I could escape the kitchen, air conditioned rooms to escape the heat, and beautiful views to escape the stress of daily life.

Whether you want to escape for a weekend or longer, the Park Shore Waikiki will be ready to welcome you!

For more information and rates (kama`aina rates available), click here.

Park Shore Waikiki
2586 Kalakaua Ave
Honolulu, HI 96815
(808) 954-7426

Mahalo to the Park Shore Waikiki for hosting our stay.  Gratuity was paid on my own.
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