Priceline Hotel: 1* Kauai (Kapaa-Lihue-Koloa) Kauai Sands

[russjones]

Hello,

This is my first post to the board. I am looking for a 4* or Resort hotel on Kauai. We are not very picky about where on the island (unless there are suggestions). I am planning on using Priceline and would appreciate any tips for placing bids.

We are arriving in Kauai on Wednesday September 15 and leaving Wednesday September 22. I will also be trying to get a rental car through Priceline.

I would appreciate any information someone may have as to bidding techniques. Should I start bidding now or wait until the last couple days before I go? For the rental car, I am looking for a bigger sized car (full size or luxury).

Thanks in advance for you help.

Russ

[Scorp]

I can probably help a bit with this, but don't have much time tonight.

A couple of quick suggestions. First, do check out Hotwire for both car and hotel for your dates. It will give you a starting point, at least. Are you sure you want only 4* or Resort accommodation? (Because Hawaii often does have some good condo choices, but it depends on what kinds of amenities and service you would like....and Hotwire will give you some details on these other properties.)

For a full-size or Premium car, I would think you would find success between $18 and $25/day, but if you start bidding early, it gives you more time to try out lower bids. I would start for a full-size at $15 or $16/day if I were you and I would do it sooner rather than later. I don't know about Luxury cars, they can be very pricey, if available at all, even through Priceline. I would guess $35-40/day, but someone else may have a better guess.

I think the Marriott is the most likely Resort property. The Radisson seems to jump around a lot in terms of its rating. What types of amenities do you prefer? And do you have a price limit in mind? There are some nice 3* properties on Kauai, are you sure you want to rule them out? And it won't hurt to try bidding for a hotel now, your travel is not that far away.

[thereuare]

I'll wait to see your answers to the above questions as well as see what else Scorp has to offer in terms of advice. It would also help if you indicated what price you expect to pay (an upper bidding limit) as well as if you have a back-up reservation made (if so, where and at what price).

[russjones]

I checked out Hotwire and here are the results:

Full-Size car

[thereuare]

The Hotwire hotel you describe above seems to match the Radisson Kauai Beach Resort and the REVIEWS are somewhat mixed (although non are terrible). Also note that this hotel has a Tennis amenity icon but it's not revealed until you click the link "show details and full amenity list".

Given that other areas are much higher this might not be a bad choice if you feel it suits your needs. Given that i'm reasonably confident that this is the Radisson (no guarantees though) i would find out if/what the resort fee is at this property and what it includes.

Let us know what you decide to do and/of we can be of more help.

BTW, this hotel is also available for $558/pp in the hotel + car package... might be ok considering this includes taxes and Hotwire's fee and if you want to guarnatee this property.

Another suggestion is that there are some high rated hotels for just a bit more ($155 or so) in the Poipu section of the island.

[Scorp]

OK, here is a summary of what I see for options.

I suspect the most likely Priceline Resort property in Kapaa-Lihue-Koloa is the Marriott and might require a bid of about $120 or $130.

The Hyatt may be available through Priceline but would be a much higher rate and you could always end up with the Marriott (and an overbid). If you wanted true luxury and a really special resort, the Hyatt would be the one, but it is PRICEY! I think it is the 5* property that is available through Hotwire and I see $269/night for your dates for it. (Starts at $338/night on the Hyatt website, though)

The 3* properties on Priceline for the same zone probably include the Radisson and the Sheraton. They would probably be available for a bid of about $100.

The Radisson, Sheraton and Marriotts are all nice properties, but you might be disappointed if you wanted a really super-luxurious resort. They are decent, but the rooms (and views!) can vary quite a lot. Still, you are most likely to be satisfied, even if not completely thrilled. There might be some additional charges for parking, but these usually aren't high and include valet service, if you wish. I don't think most of them charge a resort fee, but you could give them a quick call to ask. I am pretty sure the Radisson does not charge a resort fee.

There are 2 and 3* properties in Princeville on Priceline, but I think you might find these feel a bit out of the way (unless that is what you want?) and I would think they would be $70 - $90 for a winning bid, but that is just a rough estimate. Haven't really researched it.

On Hotwire, I do see a 2.5* condo for $87/night, but this is only useful if you really want a separate bedroom and kitchen.

Personally, I would make the decision this way - where do you really want to spend your time? If you want the total resort and luxury experience, and plan to spend most of your time around the hotel itself and its pool and want full-service everything, then you probably want the Hyatt. But your budget says you should try for the Marriott. This would be the Resort category and I would bid it on Priceline as outlined above.

If you want to be able to spend half your time at the hotel and you want some decent service but don't need all the luxury, go for the 3* properties through Priceline.

However, there is one other option. If you know you are going to be out and about and exploring the island and its beaches and eating in different areas each night, then maybe you could go for the budget option. The 1* property on Priceline may be the Kauai Sands and it is humble, but clean and well-located. You can walk to a lot of things and it is a pretty beachfront area and a short distance to good swimming beaches (Lydgate Park, for example). There's probably no room service and no one will bring you drinks by the pool, but you may be able to get a room here for $45 - $55/night. I believe it is the same one that shows as a 2* on Hotwire for about $56/night.

My personal favourite would be to book 4 or 5 nights at the Kauai Sands (while I am busy exploring) and then 2 or 3 nights at the Hyatt (for kicking back and enjoying the BEST of the rest). But some people would never want to stay at the Sands and would never want to spend the extra money for the Hyatt! Still, if you combine them this way, you don't spend much more than you would for the intermediate properties... for example, $200 for 4 nights at the Sands plus $800 for 3 nights at the Hyatt gives you a total of $1,000, but you would spend about the same for 7 nights at the Marriott. But this is my own idiosyncratic take on things, and may not be right for you! Feel free to ask me more about why I would do things this way, if you wish.

Check out the reviews on TripAdvisor.com to help narrow things down.

As for cars, I would try bidding Priceline - about $18 to $20 for a full-size and $22-24 for a premium, but make sure you check for special weekly rates through the usual sites first.

And thereuare, feel free to add any additional wisdom or let me know if I am missing anything.

[russjones]

Thanks for the awesome info! I like the idea of splitting our dates between the two hotels. I hadn't thought of that before. I will keep you posted and let you know how it works out.

[russjones]

Great news! After reading the GREAT REVIEWS about the Kauai Sands Hotel and the good suggestions from Scorp, we decided to give it a try on Priceline. I started with a low-ball bet of $45 for a 1* in the Lihue-Kapaa area. It gave me the obvious warning of too low but I continued. That bet was rejected so I placed another bet of $50 (adding the Princeville area that has no 1* hotels for the free bid) and that was accepted. We are staying there for the full seven days (9/15 - 9/22) for a grand total of $400.

Thanks again for all of you help. I hope this info helps others.

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your win!

Thanks for sharing your results with the board.

Just to make sure you don't make a mistake on future bids, Princeville was not a re-bid zone. Although the zone has no 1* properties, your star rating selection is the minimum you are willing to accept. Given your bidding you could have easily been upgraded to a 2* property in the Princeville zone... fortunately this didn't happen and it worked out well for you.

Enjoy your stay.