Jessica R.
Yelp
This is our second trip to HCR and it's different this time around, but not bad. The last time we came, we were with another couple and had a fabulous time. This time, we brough our 13 & 16 year olds along for the ride. We had an oceanview room that was great but we had small children in our unit, which was not so great. Personally, I think the resort should put all small children in the same unit (by type, of course). So if there are three families & small children with gardenview rooms, they should all be put into the same unit. Also, oceanview rooms should be for adults only. There is no reason to have a 2 & 4yr old in an oceanview rooms. That would be my biggest complaint this second time around. We woke up every morning to small children running up and down the hallways while the parents could have cared less (or perhaps were still sleeping).
Ok, off my soap box on bad parenting. The last time we came (2.5 years ago) the resort was under construction. Same thing this time but it is not disruptive at all. They have limited construction hours to times when you should be out on the beach anyway. Also, the last time there was no internet in the rooms but now they do. The idea is to not use electronics and to enjoy your trip but sometimes it's inevitable so it was much more convenient this time around.
Since we had our children, we decided to do a lot more cooking indoors & less dining out (very expensive on this island). This was not only a spectacular decision but also much cheaper. The food in Kauai is not a knockout by any stretch. HCR's Mediterranean restaurant is ok but pricy and very small portion sizes. For us Iowa diners, this is kind of a waste. CJ's steakhouse in Princeville is fantastic & we highly recommend Olympic Cafe as a breakfast/lunch place. Their banana pancakes are not so much pancakes as just large fluffy cakes with bananas on them...yum. And enough to bring home for breakfast the next day; our kind of deal!
HCR lacks in beach chairs so plan on sitting on a towel on the beach, which is just as fantastic. The sand is coarse so beach shoes or flipflops are essential.
HCR's outdoor grill is a gem & I highly recommend hitting up Costco & making meals indoors. It's far better than most of the island's dining.
Both times here at HCR we had an ant problem. If you plan to cook, do NOT leave food &/or dirty plates out; you'll come back to ants that are microscopic in size but there are thousands in a matter of minutes. After the last experience, I learned to ask the main office for cleaning supplies before our arrival, & hosed down the kitchen after every meal, no matter how large or small the meal.
HCR is limited. It's just the livingroom, bedrooms, kitchen, and bathrooms. The idea is to get out and do stuff, not sit in a hotel room. No tv's, no phones, it's great! The bedrooms are divided only by screens that go up 3/4ths of the way to the ceiling so very little...privacy. Again, it's very simple living. If you stay here, plan to walk in the door and clean. Both times our plates had old food crusted on them from the last users and the drawers were full of sand. I think housekeeping does the basic cleans and we're left to do the small stuff which is fine by me; I'd rather clean it once through myself to know it's clean.
This is a great place for adult relaxation. I don't think it'll be our last time here. Out of all the islands, this is the only one we desire to return too & will most likely stay at HCR again.
One last thing, I did get bedmite bites after our first stay here but they did take care of the problem and fumagated the entire resort, condo by condo. Also, I was the only one out of four people and I have very sensitive skin. I really think this was a fluke and it did not deter us from returning again, where we did not have any bedmite problems!
Just plan to always have cleaning supplies from housekeeping, don't leave food out, clean up after yourself, and we purchased bug coils for the patio as a preventative and it was a wise choice. I wish I could have used bleach but HCR does not allow bleach in their septic tanks but their alternative cleaner works great.