Kaha Lani Resort — Hotel in Kauai

I've stayed at Kaha Lani every time I've been to Kauai. It's like having your own apartment. The different layouts are layed out well, the beds are comfortable, bathrooms are nice, and you get everything you need to feel right at home including some beach fun basics in the closet, and a washer & dryer. I like having a kitchen while staying in Kauai because it allows me the most flexibility (and saves me some money) to plan my day how I like while not having to worry about where to get a meal. The access to Lydgate park is amazing and the swimming cove there is some of the best and easiest snorkeling on the island. You get a peek of the ocean from any room and it's quiet. Plus the chickens and cats are so sweet. The pool is also nice with an outdoor shower to rinse the sand off before you get in as well as a couple grills for guests to enjoy. The water is perfect and not overly chlorinated which I appreciate and is lit well for you to enjoy an evening swim when you can't be in the ocean any longer.

The price is fair, especially since most units can fit 4-6 people, great for traveling with friends and/or family. I also like the location a lot. It's only 30-40 minutes for me to get to Hanalei or to Waimea Canyon and everything else is only 5-20 minutes. It's an easy 10 min drive from the airport and I like that it's quiet and "chill" compared to staying at one of the luxury resorts on the South Shore, which while I can appreciate them I generally prefer the flexibility Kaha Lani gives me.

While I can manage okay guests should know that these units have NO A/C. You pretty much just leave the windows/sliding glass open and fans on all day to get a breeze. It's not too bad and isn't sweltering like it can be if you're in direct sun but on occasion it can be a little stifling inside and I can understand travelers prefering an A/C to cool off in. While I love having a kitchen I will note that some of the things provided in the kitchen are pretty rough. I don't expect the highest quality items nor do I expect things to stay brand new but it feel like they may want to do some refresh in this area - the pots, pans, and trays were very rough this last visit; none of them having a flat bottom and many of the items were rusting (as you can expect of items with inconsistent usage in a humid and salty environment). Like I said, I worked around it this time but I just feel this might need an audit.

Sorry my photos aren't super informative I didn't think about taking review photos...

Kaha Lani Resort is in a great location right on a very walkable, long beach. Sunrises are awesome over the water. The staff was very nice and helpful. The grounds are very well kept, the pool is a good size with lots of lounge chairs, as well as some tables. There are two nice Weber grills that are very well maintained, we grilled dinner couple times while we were there. And we need to talk about the (insert curse word) chickens. Kauai is known for lots of chickens, this area is no different. I don't mind watching them run around during the day, fun to see the little ones, and don't mind the roosters crowing off and on, even at sunrise would be fine - as is in their job description. But there were chickens crowing at all hours - like as early as 3:00 AM. I don't know that the resort can do much about that, as they are all over the island, and I'm sure are at the other resorts. Just something to be aware of. Specifically for unit 112, it was first floor, with a good view of the water, between two other buildings. The photos for the unit were accurate. Being on the ground floor and where the unit was located, people were walking across the lawn right past the back patio. Not a huge deal, the people were nice, but not a lot of privacy. There were people in the unit above us and when they were walking it was very obvious, I don't think they were necessarily walking heavy, just some thin floors. All could be solved by getting a top floor unit. The unit we had could have been better maintained - although it was cleaned well. There was a leaky faucet, rust on some of the switch cover screws, rusty light fixtures, many of the window blinds didn't work properly. I know the sea air can lead to that, but a few hundred $ would spruce it up nicely so you don't notice those obvious things and are then on the lookout for others. The unit had utensils, dinnerware, pots and pans, but no cooking oil, and just salt/pepper for spices. We've stayed in many other places like this that had some of the minimum things for cooking, obviously we don't expect food to be left, understanding there may be weeks when it isn't occupied. but items such as cooking oil or spray could be sealed. Again, something to be aware of when you do your shopping. Maybe check the unit first in case the last people left some - which we did :-) . We wouldn't hesitate to rent at Kaha Lani again, just...

I have multiple complaints, starting with the price, I paid $3500 including the flight, but we also had to pay $370 at the front desk for the cleaning fee, which is crazy expensive! The resort had no cleaning at all and we had to spend 10 days in a room that did not get cleaned and there was no washing or drying machine. Second of all we got a room which 5 people were supposed to fit into and there were only 3 beds and a couch which is IMPOSSIBLE to sleep on, slept on it for 1 night and woke up with HUGE back pains, the 2 beds upstairs were small and uncomfortable as well. Third of all, everything was so rusted because of the humid/hot air, the windows didn’t close which means there was no privacy in the bathrooms, the walls started rotting! the shower door downstairs did not close at all from all the rotting and the bathtub was clogged, the door into the downstairs bedroom was about to fall off, the lights didn’t work is most of the rooms in the apartment. The cabinets in the kitchen all started rotting as well and the dishwasher STINKS, there was plates, pots, and cups but it was so dirty that I have to go buy new one because it was just gross eating out of them. The carpets on the stairs and in the dining room were all old and gross. The hotel only has 1 small TV for the whole apartment and there was completely no air conditioning, there are fans but some of them don’t work and squeak at night, we got lucky because we came in December and the temperature at night is about 70 degrees but could you imagine how hot it is here in the summer!? The chairs on the balcony were all ripped up and broken so there was no place to sit. If I could add photos of the hotel you would be terrified since all the photos on the site are from 10-15 years ago when the hotel (apartment buildings/ rooms) was remodeled. Since the windows don’t close at night you can hear everything that is happening outside and you get woken up at 4 in the morning because of the roosters. Not far from the building where I lived was a parking lot where a bunch of homeless people lived and wrecked cars, it stank so bad. all of this was review of only apartment 201 but looking at the other reviews I don’t think it was just one apartment/room but multiple. Over all me and my family are not satisfied with the hotel and would...