Alii Kai or Point at Poipu

I have a choice to make between Alii Kai (already confirmed through RCI but I purchased the cancellation insurance) or Point at Poipu through II. Our trip will be in July and we have a very active family of young adults traveling with us. What would you do? We plan to hike Waimea Canyon, Snorkel, and surf.

This is one week short of the flexchange for 4,000 points. I could wait and see if anything comes up within the flexchange window.

We haven't been to Alii Kai, but we like P@P more than any other place we've ever stayed. Here are the top 10 reasons why.
1. We get mesmerized sitting on the lanai and watching the waves crashing on the rocks. I’d rather have a resort on a rocky shore than one on a beach.
2. It’s a short walk to the light beacon on top of the hill where you can watch awesome sunsets. It’s one of the few places in Hawaii where you can watch the sunset or sunrise over the water. We’ve seen several green flashes at sunset and one at sunrise.
3. It has something you won’t find at most resorts: a pool with swimming lanes.
4. If you don’t feel like cooking or going out, you can go down to the pool and get cheeseburgers and mai tais.
5. It has an adults only hot tub that is actually hot, and also has a view of the ocean.
6. Even though it’s often booked to capacity, it never feels crowded (except if you’re trying to find a parking spot after 8 PM).
7. It’s a good place to watch whales, sea turtles, or monk seals.
8. It’s close to Poipu Beach Park, once voted America's Best Beach. One side is safe for small children, and the other side is great for snorkeling.
9. They offer free guided hikes. The nature hike follows the popular greenbelt walking path to the Poipu Beach Park, and comes back along the coast. The Maha’ulepu Hike goes past the Hyatt, up on the cliff overlooking Shipwrecks Beach, and along ancient sand dunes that have been hardened and compacted into spectacular limestone ledges and cliffs.
10. Poipu hasn’t been over developed… yet. It has a very laid back atmosphere. The recession has helped keep it that way for at least a couple more years

Here's some pictures: http://artringwald.smugmug.com/Travel/The-Point-at-Poipu/

I've only been to Kauai once so far from an expert. But given what you're saying, I'd choose the Point if I could get in there. It's a beautiful area, I think closer to Waimea Canyon and the beach there is spectacular.

If you were wanting to spend equal time on north and south shore, I'd say go for the other resort as it's pretty much in the middle.

If we had to go again, we'd definitely try for the south shore next time.

I have studied a bit more about the Point at Poipu. Here are my concerns:

1.They put exchangers in units on the bottom floor which may be behind sand dunes and which some describe as a dungeon.
2. Not all units are refurbished.
3. There is ongoing construction.
4. We will have two couples and the second bedroom sounds like it has twin beds. The AC in the bedroom would be awesome.

We stayed at the alii Kai a few years back. The unit we stayed in had only one bathroom and the bedrooms were right next to each other and pretty small.

laerut said:

I have studied a bit more about the Point at Poipu. Here are my concerns:

1.They put exchangers in units on the bottom floor which may be behind sand dunes and which some describe as a dungeon.
2. Not all units are refurbished.
3. There is ongoing construction.
4. We will have two couples and the second bedroom sounds like it has twin beds. The AC in the bedroom would be awesome.

Click to expand...

1. If you don't want a ground floor unit at P@P, as soon as you get a reservation #, you can email to Poipu4@diamondresorts.com and request the highest floor available.
2. The majority of the units have been renovated. The renovations were more about fixing the exterior, but they did put in new furniture. The furniture in the older units isn't that bad.
3. We've been there several times since construction started, and it never bothered us. The work they're doing now is on building 8 & 9, which are on the far end of the property, so you won't notice it, except maybe while you're at the pool.
4. Some units have twin beds in the 2nd bedroom, and some have a queen. If you call (808) 742-1888 the day before you arrive and request it, if you're getting a room with twin beds, housekeeping will latch them together, and make it up with king bed sheets.

I would go with the unit at The Point also. During July both sides of the island
Are great. You'll be traveling around the island anyway so to me it comes down
To the resorts and I'd give that to The Point.

artringwald said:

1. If you don't want a ground floor unit at P@P, as soon as you get a reservation #, you can email to Poipu4@diamondresorts.com and request the highest floor available.
2. The majority of the units have been renovated. The renovations were more about fixing the exterior, but they did put in new furniture. The furniture in the older units isn't that bad.

Click to expand...

I have a Thurs to Thurs exchange confirmed for P@P that checks out on Thanksgiving. Unusual that they have a Thursday check in at a timeshare, never seen that before for week exchanges. Never been there so would like your recommendations on which RENOVATED building to request and if possible unit #. I know as exchangers, we will be low on the totem pole, but would like to put in the request as you have recommended.

While I can't speak to either resort. Given that you are going in July I'd be inclined to stay with your current exchange. Even though you have the insurance you will still be out the exchange fee ~$200 plus P@P charges a daily resort fee. The south side beaches can be rougher in summer if there is a storm in the southern hemisphere (although no where near as rough as the north side in winter). If you were going in Nov or Jan then it would be P@P without a question. But in the summer most of the beaches on the north side are tranquil and swim able. That's can't be said in the winter. There is a user KauaiKid who owns multiple weeks at Ali Kai, I'd PM him and get some feedback on the resort.

Another thing which is personal preference if you are really into lush/green the North Side has it.

Going from either side to the other is going to be a long car ride.

Ian

crf450x said:

I have a Thurs to Thurs exchange confirmed for P@P that checks out on Thanksgiving. Unusual that they have a Thursday check in at a timeshare, never seen that before for week exchanges. Never been there so would like your recommendations on which RENOVATED building to request and if possible unit #. I know as exchangers, we will be low on the totem pole, but would like to put in the request as you have recommended.

Click to expand...

The top floors of building 6 have the best views, but are also the longest walk from the parking lot. We usually request the top floors of building 8, but that might still be under construction in November. We also like the view from the top floor of build 4, and that's a shorter walk than building 6.

laerut said:

I have studied a bit more about the Point at Poipu. Here are my concerns:

1.They put exchangers in units on the bottom floor which may be behind sand dunes and which some describe as a dungeon.
2. Not all units are refurbished.
3. There is ongoing construction.
4. We will have two couples and the second bedroom sounds like it has twin beds. The AC in the bedroom would be awesome.

Click to expand...

Re your concerns:

1. Unit location for exchangers


2. Refurbishing


3. Construction

4. AC in units

eakhat said:

We stayed at the alii Kai a few years back. The unit we stayed in had only one bathroom and the bedrooms were right next to each other and pretty small.

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Strange since the Alii Kai units are all two bedroom, two bath.

Sterling, owner

That's interesting. The one we had had only 1 bathroom. It was a top floor in a building across from the pool.

Thank you all for the great information. I appreciate you taking the time to help me.

It looks like the buildings near the parking would have no view. Is that correct. I will submit a request but is there any other way to avoid those?

Views

The upper floors may have a nice view. I loved the view of the pool and ocean from the top floor of building 10. They are on higher ground.

Thanks! I can't wait to check out the resort.