My husband and I visited the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa (and the island of Kauai) for the first time in early May 2026. Overall we enjoyed our stay and would return to this hotel in the future. This property is quite gorgeous…super lush like much of the island, has an unforgettable floral smell in the air, and is set on 50+ acres of beautiful land with sweeping views of the ocean. It is almost immediately dreamy when you arrive there. There is a walkway that spans the public beach through the hotel and over to the condos next door for a nice scenic walk. The public beach is busy but there is another side of the beach that is more in front of the hotel that is more private/quiet…we saw a sea lion sunbathing there one day near the tide pools off the beach that you can walk around before the tide comes in. There are also seaside bench swings to swing in and look at the ocean, especially at golden hour. It is a great property for points redemption to turn your hard earned work travel points into something you can actually enjoy.
Now that you have first impressions, let’s get to it. We were in a pool suite that technically was on the 2nd floor (nice it wasn’t ground floor) and was ready for us early by a few hours. Yes, the room was dated and very used but was clean and well maintained. We did have a cock roach in our room at one point, which admittedly was gross, but seems pretty common on the island and it comes with the territory. Our toilet was broken and we had to have a tech come out to fix it a couple hours after we checked in, they came and fixed and it was a non-event. The ceiling fan in our bedroom did make an annoying noise, but we kind of tuned it out. But overall, the pool suite is spacious, we had an incredible ocean view which I think the guest experience team made happen for us (many thanks to the team), and I can confirm the bathroom is like a big wet room (shower is large with the tub in there) and is kind of awesome if you are planning to spend a lot of time at the pools, hot tubs, and beach.
Things we enjoyed:
We really enjoyed our couples massage in the garden at the Anara Spa. What a sensory experience with the breeze blowing through the palms, trickling water through the ponds, and fresh floral smells. We loved the outdoor showers and wish we had time to come back later to cold plunge. As Globalist, we were given a pass to come back on another day to enjoy the amenities again, which was very nice.
The pool(s) are spacious with several pockets throughout you can find your place to hang for the day. The lazy river is a little overrated—too slow, doesn’t keep you moving, and is short and doesn’t loop. We enjoyed the beach adjacent to the public beach in front of the hotel (no chairs or umbrellas provided by the hotel, just beach) and we loved the lagoon with the faux sand.
Club access we received for being Globalist and it was very good. Solid spread for breakfast . We did not use for the other service times (snacks, hors d’oeuvres, desserts). A lot of birds inside so put your stuff down at a table before you get a plate and sit down. Plates left unattended are bird food! Shout out to the staff at the Club for great service!
We enjoyed cocktails and small bites at Seaview Terrace, dinner at Stevenson’s, and dinner at Tidepools. All were pretty great with exception of note below on Stevenson’s.
Clearly we did enjoy our time, and I did say we would return to this property, but the hotel is not a 5 star as described. Initially, I thought this hotel competes with The Ritz Maui but quickly determined it does not. For us, this came down to personalization, lack of anticipatory service, and public area maintenance. A few experiences to explain why and to be aware of are below.
Wristband and hotel room key wristband system is a nightmare. The hotel allows non-hotel guests to access the pool and spa for a daily rate which 100% negates and devalues the hotel guest. The staff doesn’t always give you a wristband when you get towels and heaven forbid you take your daily wristband and room key wristband off, you are policed and won’t receive service. We found that the staff in most cases would not help you but they would police you. That did not sit right with us and is not at all a 5 star experience.
On another day, we rented an oceanfront cabana which was worth all of the dollars really just to see the ocean and enjoy being right up front there facing it. But that price did not come with service. We weren’t set up at the cabana by an employee member like you would anywhere else and a server came around every 1.5 hours at best. We weren’t able to order lunch until way later as our server was MIA. We were asked at one point if we needed sunscreen or towels, which was a nice touch. However, about an hour or so later, saw the same person and asked for a towel and was told “no sorry” not “let me go get one for you or I’ll have my colleague bring you one and how many do you need”. In addition to that, at 3:30pm we were warned about rental expiration at 5pm and then stalked at 4:15pm similar to the way a dog will stare at you if you have a big, juicy piece of bacon in your hand. Again, not even close to a 5 star experience especially at the rate of ~$650 for the day.
Stevenson’s we enjoyed for dinner one night and went back for snacks and a night cap on our last night. Be warned, after 9pm on a Sunday the bar turns into employee happy hour. Alot of employees, rowdy, and is just a bad mix with that going on and guests dining. We found this in poor taste and is not the 5 star experience we’ve personally had at a 5 star hotel.
On public area maintenance, we saw many people working on the gardens and the upkeep there but it was common to come to the pool in the morning and see unclean pool decks (bandaids, rogue hair ties, cups astray). We understand the staff is doing their best but calling it out on the point of not being a 5 star experience.
In summary, we had a great trip and would stay here again. We hope the hotel will take into consideration and improve upon some of the feedback provided & travelers hope you find this helpful.
Hot Tip: plan to bring bug spray if you are the type like me who the bugs love. The mosquitoes are abundant, apparently the locals are very tuned into this as mitigation efforts are minimal compared to other islands, and it is generally just buggy. Don’t buy Off and ruin your vacation gel manicure with DEET. Plan ahead and bring your Picaridin-based spray from home!
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