I recently spent a week at the Koloa Landing Resort, Autograph Collection in Poipu, Kauai. Some will be surprised to hear that I stayed at Koloa Landing instead of the much loved and nearby Grand Hyatt Kauai. More about that later. To read about the Grand Hyatt, please see Nick’s review here: Grand Hyatt Kauai: a great guest of honor stay and great redemption.
Koloa Landing Resort basic info
- Location: Poipu, Kauai, Hawaii
- Hotel chain: Marriott Autograph Collection
- Point price: 60K per night standard for a studio villa. It’s usually possible to pay more points or a cash co-pay to upgrade in advance to a full villa with 1,2, or 3 bedrooms. Category 6 hotel (60K standard, 50K off-peak, 70K peak). Book 5 nights for the price of 4 (Stay for 5, Pay for 4)
- Platinum Elite perks: Welcome amenity choice offers $30 per day food credit in lieu of free breakfast (must be used on separate days). Chance of room upgrade. Late checkout when available. Welcome gift includes coupons for free rum drinks (1 coupon per adult 21 or over).
- Resort fee: $35 per night
- Closest airport: Lihue Airport (LIH) is about 20 minutes away by car.
Koloa Landing’s best features
- Location: Poipu, on the south end of the island, tends to be sunny all year. Additionally, Poipu is a great home base for day trips to explore both Waimea Canyon (head west, then north), and the north shore (head east, then north).
- Rooms & Villas: Rooms are clean, spacious, and nicely decorated. Every studio room & villa includes a lanai (balcony), sleeper-sofa, kitchen appliances, and washer & dryer. Those upgraded to 1, 2, or 3 bedroom villas additionally get a full kitchen, one full bathroom with each bedroom, and a large living room and dining room combination.
- Spacious lanai: I don’t think all of the lanais are this big, but the 3 bedroom unit’s lanai is huge. 7 of us easily sat around an outdoor dining table on our lanai for each meal we ate at “home”. One of the bedroom’s even had its own private lanai.
- Pools: Pools are beautifully landscaped and include features such as waterfalls, slides, etc. A small and separate adult-only pool with a waterfall and hot tub is available behind a locked fence (accessible with your room key).
- Easy parking: Parking is available immediately outside of each building (the resort is made up of quite a few separate buildings housing studio rooms and villas).
- Easy access to shopping and dining: A fairly large outdoor shopping center (Kukui’ula Village) is only a 5 minute walk from the resort along a sidewalk. The shopping center includes numerous restaurants, a small grocery, a drug store, and more.
- Free shuttle: A free shuttle is available to take you to nearby beaches, shopping, hiking, etc.
- Housekeeping: Housekeepers visit daily and were very friendly and efficient during our stay.
Koloa Landing’s worst features
- Resort fee: I hate resort fees. At $35 per night, Koloa Landing’s resort fee isn’t the worst, but it adds up. Unlike Hyatt and Hilton, Marriott doesn’t waive resort fees on award stays.
- Ocean views: Yes, you can see the ocean from many parts of the resort, but the views are never completely unobstructed. Fortunately, it’s a very short walk to the ocean from the resort.
- Beach access: The ocean just outside of the Koloa Landing resort doesn’t have a sandy beach. Instead, there are lava rocks that you can walk out on to watch the sunset (which is very nice by the way). That said, the very nice Sheraton Resort beach is only a 5 minute walk away and it is open to the public. The Poipu Beach Park beach is approximately 15 minutes walk. You can also take a free shuttle from Koloa Landing to any nearby beach.
- Dining: The resort has just one restaurant so options are limited. That didn’t bother me at all since we prepared most meals in our villa, but it may bother some.
Koloa Landing vs. Grand Hyatt
There’s no doubt that the Grand Hyatt is a beautiful resort with beautiful ocean views, and a great location. On my trip, I was tempted to book it, but I didn’t. We were traveling with a total of 7 adults and would have had to book three separate rooms at the Hyatt. Koloa Landing had the edge because we were able to book a three bedroom condo to house everyone. Additionally, I had a category 6 seven night stay certificate that I wanted to use up and so I booked Koloa Landing before the resort was moved up to category 7. I contacted the hotel to ask about upgrades and was told that we could upgrade to the three bedroom unit for $300 per night. The other two couples traveling with us were more than happy to chip in $150 per night each (compared to 25K points per night at the Hyatt, this was a bargain for them).
While many would prefer to eat in restaurants during their vacations, we decided that we would rather prepare most meals ourselves. Our villa’s kitchen made this a practical option. And it was awesome eating as a group most evenings on our huge lanai.
I wouldn’t argue that Koloa Landing is better than the Grand Hyatt. Both are very good for different reasons. If you’re looking for a full-on resort experience, go with Hyatt. If you’re looking for something more like a condo, but with some resort features, go with Koloa Landing.
Of course, these aren’t the only lodging options in Poipu. Another Marriott property, Waiohai Beach Club, is arguably in the best location in town. The Sheraton is undergoing massive renovations and may be a great option soon. The best option, though, may be to look for timeshare rentals. There are tons of timeshare properties in Poipu and it’s often possible to rent multi-bedroom villas at very reasonable rates. The Timeshare Users Group is a great place to look for these rentals (found here).
How to get to the beach from Koloa Landing
It’s very easy to get to the Sheraton beach, but if you want to visit Poipu Beach, the path is not so obvious. So, I made a video showing how to get there. Even if you’re not planning to stay at Koloa Landing, you may enjoy watching the video to get a sense of Poipu as a destination.
Photos
Photos and captions of Koloa Landing follow…
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[…] I also had a Marriott 7 night stay certificate that I wanted to use before it expired. As you’ll see from my review, this was perfect for a group trip: Koloa Landing Resort at Poipu (Kauai, Hawaii). […]
[…] Koloa Landing Resort at Poipu, Autograph Collection. I used one of my 7 night certificates here last summer. Read about my experience here. […]
Nice meeting you guys at FM to Go Bay Area Edition, and thanks for using my microphone. Just wanted to give you a recommendation for a great uncrowded beach in Po’ipu. It’s called Baby Beach (for good reason and it’s perfect for Baby Rey!) It’s located down an unmarked walkway off of Hoona Road, a very short drive from Koloa Landing. If you find the Baby Beach Bungalow 2 on Google Maps, the beach is across the street. If you decide to take the advice of others and choose a Parrish Collection property, at least two of the houses there would be great choices. Cheers.
[…] Koloa Landing Resort at Poipu (Kauai, Hawaii) […]
your justification of a large group and “I had a category 6 seven night stay certificate that I wanted to use up and so I booked Koloa Landing before the resort was moved up to category 7” was the difference between a deal and getting “bonvoyed” again…
an abundance of points, and willingness to put up with resort fees, parking fees, bonvoy fees, ect. is the only reason most people would choose a Marriott over a VRBO in Hawaii…..you get so much more with a condo or home than with a hotel room.
Marriott also offers condos, & Bonvoy points are accepted as pmt.
W2U
I use to travel with a Large group as 32 @ one time in my Timeshare but they wanted ME to direct everything . I ditched (sold) that and travel anywhere with a Good front desk IF IF I’ve never been there before .All my front desks have been priceless for my trips and their tipped that way .
Great Deal if that works ..
CHEERs
Last summer we rented a house in Princeville and is was incredible. The scenery at the North Side of Kauai is unforgettable. Poipu not as much.
For large groups, I think VBRO rentals is the best way to go on Maui and Kauai. At the least add it to your list when planning a Kauai trip.
I absolutely agree. The north shore is stunning. My original plan was to rent something in that area but we also wanted to spend time in Waimea Canyon which is quite far away from the North Shore (by car)
Looks great for a larger group / family!
J
That’s the deal Hawaii and Vegas is a super deal with 4 people ..
CHEERS
Marriott Kalanipuu is the best ts going on the entire island. Gorgeous & well positioned. 3-br available but is a Cat 7. But I also get you were burning your 7-nt cert & were able for others to subsidize the upgrade so is a big trade-off.
I just looked at photos of that one. Looks amazing!
I remember the beach from many years ago. Great job on the video. I’m a little tired from the walk!
To travel so far and choose an off-beach, second-tier property isn’t something I’d have chosen. For longer stays, consider renting beachfront homes from the Parrish Collection – a bit pricey, but some are great value-for-money considering ocean/beach is right outside and views are glorious (split between 7 adults the prices aren’t much more than upgrading at Koloa Landing). Best properties need advance bookings (often a year ahead for popular times). On way from the airport, stop at Costco or the nearby relatively new Safeway in Lihue for groceries – few shopping choices in Poipu.
Good post I ate @ the local places to help them out .But got Gas @ Costco ($10 per day) and got a Hotdog too . That’s the deal there everything is like 15 or 20 mins away so Good Post .
CHEERs
there is validity to the argument that better value can be had than koloa landing. but there’s no way Koloa is a second tier property. the accommodations are spectacular- wolff appliances, granite counter tops, spacious comfortable bedrooms. the property is beautiful and well maintained- pools are great and there’s easy access to great snorkeling and diving right off the rocks near the boat landing where Greg was watching the sunset.
At $300 per night plus a $35 resort fee you could have gotten a nice condo or house on Airbnb or VRBO in Poipu. Plus you’d still have the 7 night certificate to use somewhere else.
That idea occurred to me too late. We were already there, so I never checked to see if I could get a place as nice that way. Anyway, it was nice having resort features: daily housekeeping, $30 per day food credit (I picked up food each day to supplement dinner), beach towels, yoga classes, etc.
I stayed @ the Sheraton 5 nites Free ocean view room too .That’s all the staff did was brag about the beach ” We were here first (60’s) so Sheraton got the Best beach ” … Very glad I read the blogs up north it rained all 5 days but never by me .
I stopped @ the local real estate lot’s of better value there but Free is better.
Thank You nice Video which I will save my camcorder was broke . I love walk around u can see what u will get Do More Please. The locals were very Nice and very helpful too they want u there .
CHEERs
I enjoyed my stay there a few years ago. Especially because, back then, it was a Wyndham property and a one-bedroom villa went for 15k Wyndham points per night.
I am sorry that I missed that deal. I believe that Marriott has made a lot of improvements. Can you tell from the photos or does it look similar?
To be honest, it looks very similar to when I was there in 2015. The kitchen and living/dining room are 100% the same. They were expanding the resort at that time with new construction. After leaving Wyndham, the hotel went independent for a while before rebranding to Marriott.