Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

11024 reviews

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  We Wanted to Love the Grand Hyatt Kauai, but Our Anniversary Stay Was Deeply Disappointing

  Firstly, I do understand that there was just a hurricane here and they were short staffed and I do give a lot of grace to that. As an American Express Platinum cardholder and someone who has stayed at and loved many Hyatt properties, I was genuinely excited to celebrate our 10-year anniversary at the Grand Hyatt Kauai. Unfortunately, what should have been a beautiful and memorable experience became one of the most disappointing hotel stays we’ve had. I am chronically ill, and one of the main reasons we specifically chose this property was its saltwater lagoon. Due to my medical conditions, I cannot swim in heavily chlorinated pools, so having access to the lagoon was especially important to me. When the hurricane affected the island and several resort amenities were closed, we were completely understanding. We knew the community had been through a difficult time, and we genuinely wanted to continue with our trip, support the local economy, and celebrate our anniversary at a hotel we had been looking forward to visiting for months. Unfortunately, things started going wrong almost immediately. We had called ahead and were told our room was available for early check-in. When we arrived, however, it wasn’t ready. That alone wouldn’t have bothered us, but the interaction with the gentleman checking us in was surprisingly unpleasant. I was genuinely excited to be there and mentioned that we were celebrating our anniversary. I also politely explained that we had been told there would be notes on our reservation regarding accommodations promised because of the unavailable amenities. Without even looking, he immediately told us there were no notes. After eventually checking, he acknowledged that our resort fee had been waived and that we had spa passes for the following day. He repeatedly insisted that the spa access was attached to our room keys, which turned out to be incorrect. When we attempted to use the benefit, we encountered further confusion and were initially told it wasn’t something we had access to. This was particularly frustrating because we had already enjoyed spa treatments, which were wonderful, and had specifically been told we could return the following day. Another disappointment was the complimentary breakfast for two included through American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts. We only discovered upon arrival that the breakfast benefit was limited to the buffet. With a particularly bad flu season and my chronic health conditions, buffets are something I need to avoid because of the increased opportunities for shared-contact contamination. Had we known this beforehand, we could have planned accordingly. Unfortunately, this meant another benefit included with our stay was something I couldn’t comfortably use. The pool wristband policy was also strange. Check-in is at 4 PM, but wristbands are apparently only distributed until 5 PM, even though the pools are accessible 24 hours a day. Because of this, we were approached by a security guard while swimming, who then had to call the front desk to verify that we were actually guests. It was an awkward and unnecessarily intrusive experience. Then there was the room itself. We had requested a higher-floor room but were placed on the lobby level, which we were perfectly willing to accept. However, when we entered, everyone immediately noticed a strong musty, moldy smell. When we moved the bedside table to plug in our phone chargers, a significant amount of what appeared to be moldy debris was disturbed, making the smell even worse and leaving us feeling physically unwell. As someone with chronic health issues, this was especially concerning. I want to be clear that not everyone we encountered was unpleasant. Quite the opposite. Many of the food and beverage staff were absolutely lovely, and several employees throughout the property were warm, friendly, and welcoming. Our spa treatments were wonderful as well. In fact, that’s part of what made this experience so surprising. I’m normally an incredibly easygoing and enthusiastic hotel guest. I love chatting with staff, getting excited about the property, and making the most of wherever we’re staying. I’m not someone who expects everything to be perfect or complains about every little inconvenience. Especially considering the recent hurricane, we arrived with a great deal of understanding and flexibility. But the accumulation of issues, particularly the dismissive check-in experience, the confusion surrounding promised accommodations, the unusable breakfast benefit, and the condition of our room, made it difficult to feel welcomed or cared for. For our anniversary, we were offered a bottle of champagne or sparkling apple juice to be delivered to our room. While the gesture was appreciated, it felt somewhat impersonal compared with the thoughtful experiences we’ve had celebrating special occasions at other Hyatt properties. We also had a guaranteed 4 PM late checkout through American Express, which we appreciated. However, the benefits associated with our reservation should have been clearly communicated and straightforward to use rather than requiring repeated explanations. We weren’t expecting perfection. We understood that the resort had been through a difficult period, and we truly wanted to have a wonderful experience. We simply expected a clean room, clear communication, and the hospitality that Hyatt is known for. We did manage to enjoy parts of our anniversary, and I’m grateful to the wonderful staff members who helped make those moments special. But overall, this was one of the least celebratory and most disappointing Hyatt experiences we’ve had. We arrived excited to support the property and left feeling that the experience simply didn’t live up to its reputation, its price point, or the standard of hospitality we’ve come to expect. Sadly, despite how much we wanted to love the Grand Hyatt Kauai, I don’t think we’ll be returning.

  Oct 11, 2026
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  My favorite resort on Kauai!

  You're wowed from the moment you walk into the grand reception hall to check in. The most beautiful resort! The breakfast buffet food and setting were amazing! The grounds and pool area are beautiful!

  Oct 10, 2026
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  We canceled due to Hurricane Lowell

  We canceled our mid-October 10-day stay at the Grand Hyatt Kauai after experiencing cancellations from many of the island attractions we planned to visit. The hotel was cooperative and processed a full refund of our up-front payment. I have lots of status and history with Hyatt, so your mileage may vary!

  Oct 09, 2026
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  Old but good but overpriced

  This is a beautiful resort but am keeping in mind I went after the hurricane lowell. For how expensicve it is though, it is very outdated and old now. There were bugs everywhere, the AC doesn't work well, bad smell coming from carpet, moths in the rooms and closet. Kept feeling like there were bugs crawling in bed. Found cockroaches in the room as well. Bathroom and wallpaper old and peeling. For what I am spending, it could be better and renovated. They didn't offer a room change or anything with the cockroaches...they just sent a guy who grabbed one and left. Some of the amenities were closed like the club. Saltwater lagoon was closed due to hurricane damage. The pools also had a lot of leaves and branches and twigs which is understandable due to weather but also clean the pool? They are also stingy with the sunscreen which I found odd...they give a tiny amount in plastic containers which kind of seems against the sustainability movement they are trying to be a part of. Another 5 star Hyatt property I stayed at in Maui just had the bottles out for guests to use which seems more environment friendly. Towels and sunscreen only available between 8a-5p because a worker has to give it to you which I also found odd. Campus is beautiful and otherwise everyone is incredibly kind and helpful. But it did seem overpriced for what we experienced.

  Oct 08, 2026
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  Beautiful Resort and Wonderful Staff, but Disappointed by the Lack of Accommodation

  We enjoyed our stay at the Grand Hyatt Kauai overall, and I want to start by saying that the staff was very friendly and welcoming. It’s a beautiful resort, and our family still had a good time. That said, we were disappointed with how several issues related to the hurricane were handled. The lagoon was closed during our stay, and room service was also unavailable. We completely understand that weather and hurricane-related circumstances are outside the hotel’s control, but these are significant amenities at a resort of this caliber and price point. We were surprised that no discount, resort credit, or other accommodation was offered to guests to make up for the reduced experience. Our check-in experience was also disappointing. On our first night, we were placed on the far side of the resort in an area that felt almost completely empty, despite having booked through American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts. We were not offered a room upgrade, even though that is one of the benefits of the FHR program when available. Given how empty that section of the resort appeared, it was difficult to understand why an upgrade or better room location wasn’t available.

  Oct 06, 2026