Hey everyone. It's been a few months since we actually went on the trip, but I figured I would go ahead and post it. My fiancée and I went to Kauai June 10-19. This was my 2nd time to visit Kauai (first time was 2018). I took a lot of notes on my last visit and wanted to knock out some things I missed the first time (Kalalau Trail/Beach, Hanalei Bay, etc). Anyways, the trip was really split into 3 parts: Grand Hyatt in Poipu, Kalalau Trail, and VRBO condo near Hanalei Bay.

We flew IAH -> PHX -> LIH . No real issues there. We did have to do a covid test <72 hr from departure despite being vaccinated, but whatever - it wasn't too much hassle. When we landed, we went to pick up the jeep. I rented one on my first visit and it was definitely something I wanted to do again. I really enjoy being able to drop the top and ride around with the open air. Unfortunately, this time Avis had a ton of Jeep Gladiators but nothing else with a soft top

I wanted to hit some of the 4x4 trails in Waimea Canyon but didn't really feel super comfortable in this huge bulky truck with street tires. The time before I had a 2 door and dipped my toes in some of the trails, but they still intimidated me to go too far (steep, can be super muddy or rocky, narrow with a cliff edge in places - you have to back into the brush if you encounter someone head-on, etc). We still had fun cruising around the paved roads in Waimea Canyon

Anyways, our initial stay was 3 nights at the Grand Hyatt in Poipu:

I stayed at this hotel the first time and I really enjoyed it. It is pretty resorty so I didn't want to stay here the whole time, but the restaurants are nice, they have direct access to Shipwreck's Beach.

It was a good stay again, although the staff did give us some issues. It seemed to be a common issue at the front desk, but I think either A) the staff are so handcuffed by corporate/leadership to make accommodations or B) they really just don't give a damn. Lots of people were frustrated. Example: I was supposed to have club access with my reservation. Front desk told me "sorry, it's not on the reservation. Maybe call customer service." Customer service tried to tell me it was definitely on there but it just must not be open yet. They kept giving me the run around and I eventually I had to just go back and give my phone to the front desk and tell them to sort it out. The club access was clutch though because you can get solid breakfasts there that you would otherwise be paying $30 / person for. Another example is when they told me they would hold our bags for us while we hiked the Kalalau Trail and then then night before we're set out to get up early and hike they tell me under no circumstances could they do that. Everything I've read (and even they told me our jeep would likely have a knife taken to the soft top if we left our bags in the car) is that you are not to leave anything in open sight in the vehicle and that it's better to just leave it unlocked when parked at the trailhead. I was pissed and they ultimately just told me to deal with it. I was getting ready to either just leave the bags in the room and hope they wouldn't throw them away or wrap them in trash bags hide them under some brush off some backroad. Luckily, there's a baggage service in Kauai that was able to take them. It's just a lady with a van who drives around and collects them, but she answered at nearly 10 pm and agreed to meet me at 5:30 am in the morning. Anyway, I would stay here again, I just wish they would try a little harder to make the guests happy. All of the restaurants were already reserved by the time I checked a week or 2 before so we unfortunately weren't able to dine-in on any of the Hyatt's restaurants due to their 50% capacities and other restrictions. I ate Tidepools and Stevenson's Library on my first trip and they're both phenomenal. Stevenson's has some of the best sushi and sashimi I've ever had. One of the only places I've had fresh wasabi made from actual root too. We did order to-go off their reduced menu one night:

We also were able to snag a spot at the Kauai Beach House which had a really cool environment. The restaurant and bar were open air and overlooking a pretty cool lawn hangout spot:

The food was pretty decent here also. We ate around 9 pm as they were a little over an hour behind, but had a really good time overall.

This post was edited on 10/15/21 at 5:19 pm