My family of five visited Hawaii this past Spring Break, and I’m slowly getting around to writing about the details of our trip. (You can read more about our stay at Disney’s Aulani Resort here and here as well as a review of sugar cane canal tubing in Kauai).
We really enjoyed our time on Kauai, and I think one of the reasons we loved the island so much was our comfortable accommodations. Although I debated on reserving two hotels rooms vs. renting a condo, we ended up very happy with our choice to rent a condo at Waipouli Beach Resort.
Location of Waipouli Beach Resort
Waipouli Beach Resort is located in Kapaa, about six miles north of the airport in Lihue.
We arrived around 11:00 p.m. and the front desk was closed. A friendly security guard gave us our room combination and a map of the resort.
We loved the resort’s central location on Kauai. Most of our excursions were in the Kapaa/Lihue area, and we were almost halfway between Poipu to the south and Hanalei Bay to the north.
The resort is near Sleeping Giant. Unfortunately, we did not get a chance to try one of its hiking trails during our stay.
Waipouli Beach Resort is right on the beach, and even though we rented a condo with a “garden view”, we could still see a bit of the ocean from our patio.
The best thing about the resort’s location is the shopping center directly across the street. There are two grocery stores and several restaurants, including a McDonald’s which my kids were happy to see. Having a traffic light at the resort’s driveway made it easy for us to cross the street on foot and also made it much easier to turn left on the main road during high traffic times.
If you go to the light and walk about a block to the right, there is a paved walking/bike path that hugs the ocean for about 5 miles. My husband rented a bike in the hotel lobby and visited a few secluded beaches along the path. I walked the path a few times and saw several Hawaiian monk seals along the way.
Two-Bedroom Condo with Garden View
When we walked into our condo late that first night after an entire day of flying, we were all exhausted. I just wanted to set our stuff down and crawl in bed.
However, we all sprung back to life once we entered our condo, #D103. It was much larger and nicer than we imagined!
After a small hallway that contained a laundry closet and bathroom, we entered the kitchen.
We were surprised to see two queen beds in the second bedroom. Our kids decided to share those beds, so our oldest never needed to use the sleeper sofa in the living room. They were thrilled to have their own space with their own TV.
Our bedroom was off the other side of the living room and had a king bed.
We loved having the living room space to share and enjoy instead of sitting on our beds like in a standard hotel room. And we had three TVs, so everyone could watch what they wanted.
Our condo had three bathrooms. One was in the master bedroom, one connected to the second bedroom and one connected to the hallway.
The furniture and trim in the condo were all high quality and durable. Much nicer than in our own home!
We had two small patios that opened up to a garden view. We ate breakfast outside every morning.
It was so nice to stay somewhere with so much space!
Pool and Beach
One big reason I picked Waipouli Beach Resort over other condos in Kauai is because of its pool area. My kids are water babies and love hotel pools!
The main part of the pool has two small water slides.
The front section of the pool is a long, winding lazy river (without the current). It has several waterfalls and grotto caves along the way.
The far end of the pool is a zero-entry sandy bottom pool. My daughter loved this part!
The pools were all heated, which was a good thing because while we were there it was cloudy and not very warm on most days.
There were three hot tubs—two were adult only, and one was for the entire family. I found the adult hot tub near the slides to be practically empty most nights.
We did have to sign a log to check out pool towels and return them before we left, but I did not find the process to be that different than at other resorts.
A paved path behind the pool led to the beach.
The resort had plenty of chairs you could pull up to any section of the beach. This beach was fairly cold and rocky with very strong waves, so it’s definitely not a swimming beach. However, my kids founds lots of treasure there! I enjoyed lounging at the beach and listening to the waves.
A monk seal hangs out at the beach a few times a week.
On-site Restaurant
Waipouli Beach Resort has one on-site restaurant, Oasis on the Beach. Several locals recommended this restaurant, so we decided to try it. My husband and I fed the kids McDonald’s in the condo one night and headed here for dinner by ourselves. We didn’t have a reservation, but they were able to squeeze us in if we promised to be done in an hour.
The food was ok, but we had better food in Kauai for less. Plus, we felt rushed.
With so many tasty and more affordable restaurants within walking distance, we did not feel the need to repeat this restaurant. We did notice that we could order pool-side service from the Oasis from our phones.
Saving Money on Waipouli Beach Resort
We used Chase Ultimate Rewards to book our stay at Waipouli Beach Resort. My husband applied for the Chase Sapphire Reserve when the bonus was 100k. Each night in our two-bedroom condo was ~18,000 points, but the price varies by season.
You could also use points from the Citi ThankYou Premier card or even use AA miles, as well as points from the Capital One Venture Rewards card.
Bottom line: If you’re looking for a spacious condo with a convenient location that also has a resort-style pool, I recommend Waipouli Beach Resort.
Have you stayed at Waipouli Beach Resort?
Click here to view various credit cards and available sign-up bonuses
Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
We stayed 3 nights there last summer and we absolutely loved it and the location. On the way to the beach, my kids found the biggest snails I have ever seen. This place is a steal for 18,000 points per night. I ended up going thru VRBO for our 2 bedroom condo because we used 75,000 UR to Hyatt pts to stay 3 nights at the Grand Hyatt. If we ever go back to Kauai, I would definitely stay at Waipouli Beach Resort.
@Stephanie I’m glad you enjoyed Waipouli Beach Resort! Did you stay there before or after Grand Hyatt?
We stayed before the Grand Hyatt. I loved the grounds at the Grand Hyatt and having access to the lounge, but having space, a kitchen, and laundry facilities is more important to me.
Looks cool, we visited that Starbucks in the background several times during our time on Kauai. Did your condo have air conditioning? Last year when we stayed at the Westin Princeville (on the north side), we were told that most of the other condo resorts on Kauai did not have AC.
@Erik Yes, it had air conditioning. That was one of my requirements in picking a condo, along with a washer/dryer in the unit. Turns out we didn’t really use the A/C though!
What hotel chain is that?
@Scott It’s affiliated with Outrigger, but many of the units are individually owned and can be rented from various sources.
This place looks awesome! If we ever take kids to Kauai, this will be the first place I look at. What a deal for 18,000 UR points per night.
@Leana My kids would be so thrilled with a return trip to this place. It was a relaxing, laid-back week!