kauai

Wyndham Opens New Hawaii Hotel

Wyndham Hotels and Resorts has completed the first phase of its 322-unit Koloa Landing at Poipu Beach Wyndham Grand Resort, the brand's first new build project in Hawaii. The property on Poipu Beach on the south shore of Kauai, is the first property in Hawaii to fly the Wyndham Grand flag.

Phase one opens up 85 villas, pools, the fitness center and more. Construction started in 2008 and the project will include one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom luxury residences. The second phase of construction is expected to begin in May 2011.

Koloa Landing at Poipu Beach Wyndham Grand Resort is a master-planned community with shoreline access to local beaches. Once it is finished the resort will have a central pool with water slide, sand bottom area, cascading waterfalls and swim-through grotto, lagoon-style pools, several hot tubs, fitness center, day spa, poolside bar and grill, covered parking and semiprivate elevators to each front door. The villas themselves have top-of-the-line appliances, granite countertops, central air and indoor and outdoor living spaces and floor-to-ceiling glass doors leading to spacious lanais. Prices range from the low $900,000's to $3.5 million for the penthouses. Rates for stays at the hotel start around $150 a night.

Tags: hawaii real estate, kauai, poipu, wyndham grand resort

Michael Crichton's Hawaii, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

We've spent a lot of time talking about the belongings of the late author Michael Crichton lately. His art collection achieved records and his real estate is selling well too. One home in Hawaii sold in December for $10.1 million and, as the Wall Street Journal's Private Properties column reports, a second Kauai home is on the market for $12 million through Bali Hai Realty. The home is a classic 1926 plantation style estate on Kauai's Hanalei Bay, surrounded by mountains and adjacent to the beach.

The nearly 1.2 acre estate includes citrus trees and spans over three parcels, one of which is vacant. There is a two-bedroom guest cottage as well as the two-bedroom, 3,000-square-foot main house. The main house has a casual feel with low whitewashed wood ceilings, long verandas facing the ocean and a country kitchen. Other buildings include a yoga studio and a detached three-car garage.

Gallery: Michael Crichton's Hawaii

Tags: celebrity real estate, estate of the day, hawaii real estate, kauai, michael crichton

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Paliku Place, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Following hot on the heels of the successful Hawaiian real estate auction last month, Concierge Auctions has announced another auction scheduled for March 8. This auction on the island of Kauai will include a 6,015-square-foot ocean bluff estate on 5.79 acres. The estate was previously offered for $9.995 million and is being auctioned with a reserve of $2 million and a pre-sale estimate of $3 to $7 million.

The home in Kealia Kai is perched atop Paliku Point and offers ocean views. The home has three bedrooms, study, exercise room, gourmet and a large great room as well as plenty of covered lanai space and a terrace. There is also a pool and spa and a detached guest house with full bathroom, kitchen and garage. The home is secure against the weather with doors and windows rated for 80-120mph winds and a whole-house generator. Other features include a digital security system, central air conditioning and central vacuum.

Also up for auction is an adjacent ocean bluff lot. The five acre lot is being sold absolute (no reserve) and has a pre-auction estimate of $500,000 to $1.5 million. The sale is being conducted in cooperation with Neal Norman, Founder and Principal Broker of Koa Properties. For more information on the auction, contact Concierge Auctions at 877-215-2370 or visit www.KauaiLuxuryAuction.com

Gallery: Paliku Place

Tags: concierge auctions, ConciergeAuctions, estate of the day, EstateOfTheDay, hawaii real estate auction, HawaiiRealEstateAuction, kauai, luxury real estate auction, LuxuryRealEstateAuction

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Grand Hyatt Kauai Room Renovation Beginning

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

The Grand Hyatt Kauai is one of my favorite places to hang out on the island -- a perfect afternoon would begin with a Lomi Lomi massage at the hotel's Anara Spa, followed by an outdoor shower. Then a stroll along the resort's pretty stretch of beach at sunset, and then cocktails in the wood-paneled Stevenson's Library lounge that's like a good ol' boy's club, but not in an obnoxious sexist way.

So I was pleased to learn that all the guest rooms are getting a face lift, starting in April 2010-- from the renderings I've seen, the rooms look to be getting a sleek and simple décor, with local touches, including plantation-style wood shutters and hand carved headboards of sapele wood (similar to mahogeny), imprinted with the native hapu'u fern. The renovation will be done wing-by-wing, so you shouldn't be next door to drilling and hammering if you visit over the next few months. All the guest rooms are expected to be renovated by 2011.

Tags: cocktails, hawaii, hyatt, kauai, spa

Kaua'i Grill To Open In Hawaii

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Luxury Travel & Hotels

Culinary Concepts by Jean-Georges, the global restaurant company by the renowned chef and his business partner Phil Suarez, has announced their first restaurant in Hawaii. The Kaua'i Grill will open at The St. Regis Resort Princeville at the start of November. The grill is the resort's signature restaurant and has stunning views of Hanalei Bay through panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows. Chef Vongerichten and his team have created a menu that will utilize the freshest fish and ingredients indigenous to the islands while adapting recipes and culinary techniques to showcase the chef's unique approach.

The interior will be done in shades of cocoa, ruby, and bronze with zebra wood. The spiraling lit fabric ceiling evokes the shape of a nautilus shell. Cascading from the center of the ceiling is a hand-crafted fiber optic and ruby glass hibiscus chandelier. The restaurant will be open for dinner nightly from 6 to 10 p.m. for resort guests as well as the public.

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Tags: fine dining, FineDining, hawaii, hotel restaurant, HotelRestaurant, jean-georges vongerichten, Jean-georgesVongerichten, kauai, st regis, StRegis

Adrenaline Thrills Without the Audience in Kauai

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

The great thing about visiting an island like Kauai is that so much of it isn't easily accessible -- if you really want to get to the most stunning parts of the island, you're going to need to engage a guide. And for most people, engaging a guide means heading out with a group of strangers. This doesn't work out so well in the new movie A Perfect Getaway set on Kauai -- but of course, that horror flick is fiction. Although it's not fiction to say that one definition of luxury travel is being able to avoid what most people have to do on a holiday -- and that a luxury traveler's definition of horror could just be a lack of privacy.

Luckily, there's a way around such difficulties. Outfitters Kauai, on Poipu Beach, offers a host of adventures taking you to the parts of Kauai that make you feel like you've entered into a computer simulation of the most beautiful place on Earth. (Like, for instance, a sea kayak of the Na Pali coast.) These are group trips, but, when country music star/actress Reba visited Kauai last Fall, and decided she wanted to zipline through the island's tropical forest and waterfalls, she did the only sensible thing: she bought out the whole tour that day. Rick Haviland, owner of Outfitters Kauai, says that most of his excursions accommodate 13 people at a maximum, so if you purchase every single slot, no stranger can join you and your hand-selected group. A Na Pali sea kayak, for instance, will cost around $3,000, before taxes and guide gratuity.

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Tags: hawaii, kauai, movies, reba mcentire, RebaMcentire, travel

Koa Kea: Kauai's New Luxury Boutique Hotel

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Photo of Poipu Beach Access at Koa Kea Hotel & Resort Kauai Hawaii

This is the first season for Koa Kea, a new hotel & resort on Kauai's Poipu Beach. The hotel and resort opened in April 2009, and it's built on the grounds of the old Poipu Beach Hotel which was shuttered in the aftermath of Hurricane Iniki in 1992.

Other than the footprint, the resort has been completely rethought. It has three separate buildings that create something of a U-shape, facing the ocean. Before renovation, the former hotel had some rooms over the lobby that faced away from the water -- basically no view at all save for the parking lot. No longer, those rooms without a view have been (very wisely) transformed into a spa, and a departure lounge for late or early arriving guests.

Koa Kea has a retro vibe going on -- in this sense, it reminded me of the Valley Ho in Scottsdale, one of my favorites. In the lobby and in the guest rooms, the dominant impression is of white textiles and dark brown wood, with accent colors of fuschia, teal and coral -- very bright, but designer Anita Brooks used an appropriately light hand. It's all quite a nice foil for Poipuand Kauai's exuberant greenery and bright blue ocean. There are six ocean-front suites and three ocean-view suites, the ocean front suites make more use of traditional sand, pale green and blue beach tones that you often see in ocean view rooms -- because really you're not going to be admiring the bed spread if you're right on the ocean.

All rooms are well equipped with Anichini linens, flat screen TVs, Nespresso Espresso coffee makers (read the instructions!) and iPod docking stations

Koa Kea has 121 rooms, six ocean-front suites, and three ocean-view suites. Opening promotional rates from $299 (for a garden view) to $2575 for an ocean front two-bedroom suite.

Gallery: Koa Kea Kauai

Surfers Head Out to Poipu Beach from Koa Kea

Tags: hawaii, hotels, kauai, ocean

Kalihiwai Road, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

This home is a chance to experience a more private side of Hawaii. This home on Kauai is on over five acres of beautiful land and has a private gated path to Secret Beach. The home has ocean vistas with views of the Historic Lighthouse and Bali Hai. The four-bedroom home also has a pool and spa. The home is charming enough but the vista and the natural environment is the selling point. It is listed at $6.15 million. After the jump, ocean views from nearly every angle.

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Tags: bali hai, estate of the day, hawaii, hawaii real estate, kauai

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Koloa Landing

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Luxury Travel & Hotels

We are back to Hawaii today for a look at a new resort condo project on Kauai. Koloa Landing at Poipu Beach will be the first major oceanfront real estate development in Kauai since 1990. Koloa Landing will be home to 323 upscale resort condominiums from 1,000 to 2,800 square feet. The units will have private lanais, natural wood finishes, stone and wood flooring and glass patio doors. They will also have complete kitchens with top-of-the-line appliances, baths with two-person soaker tubs and owner's storage and in-suite laundry areas. On the grounds there will be four lagoon-type pools with rock islands, waterfalls, swim through grotto/cave and a waterslide. To add to the resort feel a full service spa and fitness center, as well as rental management and housekeeping services are planned. Construction is scheduled to begin September 2007 with anticipated completion of the first phase in 2009. Pre-sale reservations begin in July.

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Tags: condo, condominium, hawaii, kauai, koloa landing, KoloaLanding, resort

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