We’ve been traveling to Kauai every other year for the last five years. Each trip we’ve made it a point to spend a day at a local hotel resort to have a little extra fun. This year it was the Royal Sonesta Kauai.
We stay at Bali Hai Princeville, an amazing place that features two pools and spacious three-suite condos but it doesn’t have the special poolside service and immediate beach access that many of the Hawaiian hotel resorts have. So that’s when we looked into a day-long excursion to a local resort.
It started in 2019 when, a bit by accident, we discovered that the St. Regis in Princeville sold day passes. For $25/person, you could come and lounge by the pool, get poolside service and run back and forth to their amazing beach. It was paradise, in paradise.
In 2020, the resort closed down and a new hotel, the 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay, opened on the Princeville property. However, they do not do day passes. We tried.
So this year we turned to an app called Resort Pass and booked a day room at the Royal Sonesta Kauai resort.
Funny enough, this was the same hotel (albeit much different now) that my parents honeymooned at 55 years ago!
Royal Sonesta Kauai Day Room
On the other side of the island in Lihue, near the airport, this resort was exactly what we were looking for.
Check in was at 10 a.m. but because of a major accident that temporarily closed the main road from one side of the island to the other, we didn’t arrive until a bit after 11am. Check out was 8 p.m., more than plenty of time to have fun.
While we only intended on using the pool and beach, we ended booking a day room to give us a bit more flexibility.
The room was very clean, had two queen beds, TV, refrigerator, beautiful spacious bathroom and a balcony that had an amazing view looking over the pool and into the bay. I’m not sure we could have requested a better room.
We brought our own lunch and a few snacks (and drinks) which we stored in the in-room fridge and had a safe place to store all our clothes and belongings.
The exceptional service started from the moment we pulled up to the front of the hotel with the valet parking (which was free) and continued with the front desk during check in.
There was construction going on while we were there (May 2023), which included a temporary front desk area and remodeling to some of the exterior but we never heard it or even experienced an inconvenience because of it.
Where to Play?
The Royal Sonesta Kauai has an amazing pool, lounge and beach area. The massive circular pool features multiple hot tubs, fountains and a bridge to swim under. It truly is gigantic.
Nearby, there is a smaller kids pool that features a short waterslide, which our boys found fun but a bit underwhelming for more than a few slides at a time.
And then there is the beach.
Just steps from the pool, Kalapaki Beach is a great place to go swimming, relax in the ocean or do some snorkeling. Gentle waves lap ashore with plenty of sand to play in for fun for everyone in the family. There were even several beach volleyball courts set up with players serve and volleying nearly the whole time we were there.
There was also a nice grassy area that had lounge chairs and cabanas (for rent) set up if you preferred to have a beach view instead of a pool view.
You won’t find much surfing happening here but the chance to leisurely float in the Pacific Ocean is a pretty nice trade off.
Poolside Service
Once we arrived at the pool, we easily found enough lounge chairs for our family and established our basecamp for the day.
My dad, not one to spend too much time in the sun, promptly had his feet up and a beer in his hand, ready to settle in for a day at the pool.
Our boys (7 & 9) were ready to do everything all at once so we hit the small waterslide, jumped in the pool, walked the beach and enjoyed an entire day of fun.
Our server was rather busy, and at times was a bit difficult to locate, but she was eager to replenish our mai tais as quickly as she could. Even bringing virgin ones for our boys.
The pool area had a hut dedicated to towels, quick purchase items like sunscreen, goggles, fins, floaties and other pool items, plus had ample shave ice ready to go.
Across the the pool, there was Kukui’s on Kalapaki Beach, an open air restaurant that served all the things you’d expect at a beachside hang out.
Lesson learned – we chose not to eat dinner at the resort, instead opting to head home. That was a mistake. The drive to Princeville is longer than you think after a long day and our boys went from happy to hangry in no time. Next time we plan to stay and eat there.
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Treat Yourself, Book a Stay at the Royal Sonesta Kauai (even if only for a day)
More than 9 hours after we first arrived, we were packing up and waiting for our car to be brought around. Tired, yet filled with happiness and memories, we were ready to head back to our Princeville condo.
Using Resort Pass was easy and quick. We booked just two days in advance and there were no issues at all.
The staff at the Royal Sonesta are clearly accustomed to folks showing up for the day and had all the necessary paperwork ready to go. For $450 for six people, which included the day room, nearly 10 hours of pool and beach use, free valet parking and endless memories, we found it to be an expense well worth it.
Poolside food, beverages and shave ice were extra but helped make our time there feel unique.
We’re already planning the 2025 (or maybe 2024) trip back to the Garden Isle and the Royal Sonesta Kauai will 100% be on our itinerary.
Do yourself a favor, book a stay – even if it’s only for a day.
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