Grand Hyatt Kauai Points Review

The Grand Hyatt in Poipu, Kauai is about 30 minutes from Lihue Airport and located at the edge of the Poipu resort area. It is just steps away from Shipwreck Beach, where the rooms and suites are only separated from the beach by the resort’s lazy river pool and saltwater lagoon. The grounds are expansive making it easy to find a quiet place to relax or an open space for kids to release their energy.

Booking the Grand Hyatt with Points

Hyatt uses an award chart to determine the points needed to redeem a free night. The Grand Hyatt Resort is an award category 7 hotel, which means that it will cost 30,000 points for a one-night standard redemption. The points price can go down to 25,000 during off-peak times and up to 35,000 per night during peak times. 

As an example, we chose a night in November where you can book a standard room for 25,000 points plus a $45 nightly resort charge (increasing to $55 per night in January 2024). If you were to book this room in cash, you’d pay $1,300 per night including all of the taxes and fees. 

Booking the Grand Hyatt Kauai with Points

If you want to get four fabulous nights for free, these two cards can help you do that:

Why we love the Grand Hyatt

This property achieves a hard to find balance of relaxing, upscale, quiet retreat and family friendly fun.

The location is fantastic, it is directly next to the Poipu Bay Golf Course and Shipwreck Beach, which has the trailhead for the Maha’ulepu Heritage Trail. It’s also a bit removed from the main Poipu resort area, making it more mellow and laid back.

This is a great place for families as there is plenty of space for the adults to unwind and the kids to play and have fun. The multi-level lazy river pool is really nice and the saltwater lagoon with its own little islands is perfect for little ones or days when the ocean is too rough for a proper beach day.

There are a ton of on-site amenities and they’ll be upgrading what is included in January 2024. They currently have a Hawaiian Cultural Center, yoga classes, nightly entertainment, koi fish feeding and parrot talk, an arrival/departure lounge, and more. Starting in January 2024 they’ll be adding to that list: a kids under 5 eat free program at Ilima Terrace, an airport shuttle, wifi, garden tours, 2 mai tais and an appetizer or dessert, and more.

Things to know before booking the Grand Hyatt

It is a bit far from the main resort area. This has its benefits and its drawbacks. It is over a mile from most of the other Poipu resorts and Poipu Beach and is over 2 miles from the main shops in Poipu. There is a lot to keep you busy on-site, but if you want to spend time in the main resort area for other restaurant and activity options, it’s a short 5 minute drive or a 30+ minute walk.

The restaurants may leave a lot to be desired. The reviews are mixed, some people are perfectly happy with their meals and experience while others are underwhelmed. They can also be hard to get into, which can make a meal that was just good feel less worth it. It’s worth noting that this seems to be changing for the better, so you’re more likely to have good food and a positive experience. If you do decide to give the restaurants a try, reservations should be made well in advance for the restaurants that require or recommend them.

The resort fee will be increasing in line with the upgrades to their amenities. Effective January 1st, 2024 the resort fee will be $55 per night. This does include parking, which is nice because that is often a separate charge.