Kauai MVC - Which would you choose?

[amanda14]

Hi All.

We are rapidly approaching the time to book our 2018 summer trip to Hawaii and the intent is to do 5-6 nights in Kauai where we will start our trip and finish for 6-7 nights at MOC. This post is about which would you choose of the Beach Club or the Lagoons. I know the lagoons has an option for 3 BR, a full kitchen and laundry as well as no access to a beach. My sense is both resorts seem or some reviews I have read say they are both a little dated which is fine because we aren't going for the room per se, but what Kauai has to offer. Our family is 5 - 3 kids - 18, 15 and 10 (ages when we travel) and believe it our not the laundry aspect is important so it's tipping me towards the lagoons property but I would love any and all feedback. I also know the beach is a short walk to the beach club resort. Oh lastly, I would take a cab service from the airport to the resort, chill for a day or two to catch up and then rent a car for the last 3-4 days (good idea?????).

Thanks!

 

[StevenTing]

I love the Lagoons property. It is much quieter than the other locations. Since we had young kids, we mostly used the pool. The pool is quite small, however, but it still works. If you're plan is to tour the island, the size of the pool won't matter to you.

In terms of your idea of the cab, that's very doable since Lagoons is right next to the airport.

 

[disneymom1]

We have never been to Kauai, but we are going Aug 2017 and many months ago I was asking the same question as you - which Kauai resort? We are also spending time in Kauai (6 nights) before spending a week at Maui Ocean Club.
It's my parents 50th Anniversary trip. We choose the Kauai Lagoons 3 bedroom/3 baths so everyone can spread out after the long trip from the East coast (4 adults and 2 kids). My parents are not pool/beach people. They want to see the island or spend time in the room. The rooms all look to have nice views. The pool is small, but to quote my husband, "who goes to Hawaii for the pools?" Kauai has many great beaches which can be accessed with a rental car. The huge balcony with the view looks like a great place to have breakfast. Kitchen looks top notch. Washer/dryer is also a much welcome amenity! We can drive to restaurants, including the ones at the Marriott next door. You can even walk to the Marriott next door for the beach/restaurants. Another thought I had - MOC looks to be a busier beach front resort with awesome pools, snack bar, beach, adult bar, activities etc. We are staying in the older section without a kitchen. Kauai Lagoons looks like to be a bit opposite of MOC. Kauai Lagoons and MOC might be a good balance.

I would compare the rental price to rent a car for a few days vs a week long rental (5+ days). Often, I do not see much of a price difference. Book a rental car early on. If you get a better rate, you can cancel and rebook.

 

[GregT]

We loved Kauai Lagoons when we were there -- the units are terrific, with the centerpiece being an expansive lanai with la cantina doors that combine the living room with the lanai -- it's amazing. The location on the bluff is terrific and the units are well appointed. There is little of interest on the property itself and we drove everywhere. If you are looking for a place that is partly a destination in and of itself, I think Waiohai is the best Kauai property. Kauai Beach Club has a huge pool and an okay beach, but the rooms (as I understand it) are substandard for a Marriott.

If I was going back with my family, I would go for either Waiohai or Kauai Lagoons and be happy with either location.

Best,

Greg

 

[amanda14]

Greg,

I appreciate your response (Steven and Disney Mom too) and I just realized something. When I did the search on Marriott the only resorts that came up were the lagoons and beach club because I just did Lihue. I actually was looking to do Waiohai all along. So thanks for the answers however!

 

[BocaBoy]

Kauai Lagoons in my opinion is anything but dated. It is a whole cut above almost every other MVCI resort in terms of villa quality. I think it is even better than Berkeley at Manor Club. The only MVCI resort I would rather stay at is Maui Ocean Club (because we much prefer Maui) but it is a close call between the two.

 

[BobG7734]

Greg,

I appreciate your response (Steven and Disney Mom too) and I just realized something. When I did the search on Marriott the only resorts that came up were the lagoons and beach club because I just did Lihue. I actually was looking to do Waiohai all along. So thanks for the answers however!

Greg, if you have a choice between the 3 properties, IMHO I would choose Waiohai...the grounds, pools, facilities, beach are far better than the others. Poipu has a lot to offer in terms of restaurants and being a little more secluded. As far as cars, we have taken Pono Express (check their website for prices) from the airport and there is an Enterprise rental office at another resort close by ( I forget the name but they will pick you up). Waiohai is all 2BR but very spacious.

 

[planada]

Hi All.

We are rapidly approaching the time to book our 2018 summer trip to Hawaii and the intent is to do 5-6 nights in Kauai where we will start our trip and finish for 6-7 nights at MOC. This post is about which would you choose of the Beach Club or the Lagoons. I know the lagoons has an option for 3 BR, a full kitchen and laundry as well as no access to a beach. My sense is both resorts seem or some reviews I have read say they are both a little dated which is fine because we aren't going for the room per se, but what Kauai has to offer. Our family is 5 - 3 kids - 18, 15 and 10 (ages when we travel) and believe it our not the laundry aspect is important so it's tipping me towards the lagoons property but I would love any and all feedback. I also know the beach is a short walk to the beach club resort. Oh lastly, I would take a cab service from the airport to the resort, chill for a day or two to catch up and then rent a car for the last 3-4 days (good idea?????).

Thanks!

As long as you are OK with your kids getting themselves over to KBC, I too would pick the Lagoons. That being said, all the ACTION is at KBC. My kids preferred it there, with all the water sport rentals, the awesome pool, the hanging out on the beach with the crowds. They left in the morning and came back late afternoon to shower, dress, eat, and go back. Best of both worlds.


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[taffy19]

I don't believe that they let you use the pool when you are not staying here. I have no idea how strict they were with that but this is the only pool that I find worthwhile swimming in. I still preferred the ocean but it is not an open ocean like at the Waiohai so may not be as clean and no snorkeling reef.

Everyone is so different but we really liked the KBC but it is more like a hotel with rooms or suites so not much kitchen facilities but you can eat on the premises or even walk to several restaurants very close by.

The Kauai Lagoons are beautiful condos with a fantastic Lanai but very quiet. Beautiful grounds and a lovely view and very good service and friendly staff at both places.

 

[hangloose]

We are in the limited group of Tuggers who like KBC a lot. While the villas are average when compared to other MVC properties, we get by with them fine. We enjoy KBC because of the expansive grounds, large pool, on-site amenities (shops/restaurants) and great views. The beach is also acceptable, but nothing overly special when compared to others in the Hawaiian Islands. If I recall correctly, KBC laundry facilities are coin operated since it's shared between timeshare/hotel guests? Or at least I recall they were at one point in time.

Kauai Lagoons likely has the nicest villas, but limited to no amenities on-site. Small pool and grounds as well. No beach. Great views though and quality is top notch for MVC resorts. Kids may get bored on site?

Haven't been to Waiohai yet, but hear it is nice. As indicated earlier, it is probably a great mix of everything (nice villas, decent sized footprint, great pools, fantastic beach, etc).

Any choice is good! Kauai is great!

 

[ljmiii]

I second disneymom1's comment on rental cars. 'Weekly' rates (which usually don't have to be 7 days) are often cheaper than renting for 4-5 days. Particularly if you go with a pre-paid rate.

As for where to stay in Kauai, Waiohai would be my first choice. The beach is amazing - it is sheltered by a reef with lots of tropical fish and we've often seen honu (green sea turtles), monk seals, and dolphins. And the Poipu/Koloa area has a very rural Hawaiian, small town feel compared to Lihue. The only downside is that if you intend to do a lot on the North Shore (Princeville) area the drive is much farther.

 

[amanda14]

Thanks - much appreciated

 

[cybernaut]

Traveling with three kids would push me towards the Lagoons (3 bdrm). You won't find a nicer villa anywhere and there is a free shuttle (or pleasant walk) to the beach club. Also, Uber has started here on the island this month.


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[NboroGirl]

We are in the limited group of Tuggers who like KBC a lot. While the villas are average when compared to other MVC properties, we get by with them fine. We enjoy KBC because of the expansive grounds, large pool, on-site amenities (shops/restaurants) and great views. The beach is also acceptable, but nothing overly special when compared to others in the Hawaiian Islands. If I recall correctly, KBC laundry facilities are coin operated since it's shared between timeshare/hotel guests? Or at least I recall they were at one point in time.

Kauai Lagoons likely has the nicest villas, but limited to no amenities on-site. Small pool and grounds as well. No beach. Great views though and quality is top notch for MVC resorts. Kids may get bored on site?

Haven't been to Waiohai yet, but hear it is nice. As indicated earlier, it is probably a great mix of everything (nice villas, decent sized footprint, great pools, fantastic beach, etc).

Any choice is good! Kauai is great!

I agree with all of this. We loved Kauai Beach Club. The villas aren't your typical timeshare units - they are converted hotel rooms, so if spacious and beautiful villas are important, then choose Kauai Lagoons or Waiohai. We haven't been to Waiohai, we only briefly drove over there to check it out and it seems nice for families, and it's located in a nice area which is also sunnier/drier. Kauai Lagoons feels secluded and is very quie,t and on the golf course, but it is within walking distance to KBC. The villas at KL are amazing (I don't think they are 'dated' at all).

KBC has a lot of amenities - several on-site restaurants, shops, awesome pool and hot tubs, beautiful common spaces, nice beach... There is laundry on-site but as someone mentioned, it's coin operated. It was fairly convenient -- just one floor below ours. The resort is beautiful.

Tough call but I don't think you can go wrong with any of the properties on Kauai - you will have a great time.

 

[planada]

We too, love Kauai Beach Club. I did get a notice that the rooms are going to be renovated very soon. Can’t remember if the Reno starts in Oct? Or Dec? It’s quiet, great fun for kids..... but the hotel sized rooms may detour you. Lagoons is more of a home with spectacular views but if you have younger kids, they will definitely like KBC better.


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[Steve A]

We prefer the KBC. Many many more restaurants in Lihue several of them right next to KBC. Costco is located there. The resort is on a bay with easy entrance to the water as well as a nice pool. The rooms aren’t much though.

We stayed once at Waiohai and didn’t care for the location, which is fairly isolated. I also found the beach in front of the resort had too much coral and and too many rocks and was not easily accessible. The rooms are pretty nice but there are some bad views. A bonus is that there are seals and turtles that come up to rest on the beach. There is a state park right next-door that has a much better beach especially for children. When we were there the public restrooms at the park were vile.

 

[Dean]

We will never do KBC again, at Waiohai this week and chose it because of the kids with us over Lagoons.

 

[chemteach]

So glad this thread was brought back! We have a room at KBC for next summer, but I was debating whether to try to change it. I've stayed in Princeville every other summer, and absolutely love staying up there. From everyone's description, KBC will be great to test out to see if we like staying mid-island. My kids (19, 17, 13) will likely enjoy all the activity people are describing at KBC.

 

[taterhed]

Yeah, old thread but good points. My opinions (been to KBC and Waiohai, toured Lagoons but not stayed...)

1. KBC: If you want to enjoy the pool and resort and dining out.....this is your place. Kids especially. Rooms...not so much.
2. Lagoons: If you want a view, peace, quiet and a fantastic room with all the amenities....this is the place. Pool/resort/beach....not so much
3. Waiohai: If you want amazing grounds, great beach and great room...this is your place. Kids especially. Views....not so much

BTW: If the Lagoons is 'dated,' then I guess I'm dated. Amazing rooms.

Cab is very doable at KBC. You'll want to travel if you stay at Lagoons, so car is probably a good idea. A car is a necessity at Waiohai.
I would never go to Kauai without a car...unless it was a very short stay or issues with driving due to age or number of peeps. Kauai begs you to see the whole island..... Heck, even a car is not enough!!! Boat and Helicopter are highly encouraged!

cheers...