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Kauai Tiki report |
Tangaroa
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 25, 2002
Posts: 1550 |  Posted: 2005-08-19 10:41 am Permalink
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On 2002-09-26 19:37, DawnTiki wrote:
I think that this superior attitude has alot to do with why there are almost 500 members but just a few of the brave are willing to post comments. |
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Wow - can it be 3 years later there are 3553 members on this board!!!!!!
This thread too took me back to our first vacation on Kauai. It was great! I wish I could go back... Oh well - not for a few years anyway....
I'm going to dig out my old pictures & scan them for this thread - in the meantime, here's a few that remain from my old website....
We stayed here:
Kamahana
It's about $120 a night.... very nice!
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[ This Message was edited by: Tangaroa 2005-08-19 10:42 ]
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freddiefreelance
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 15, 2003
Posts: 2983
From: San Diego, Ca.
| Posted: 2005-08-19 1:04 pm Permalink
Your wife has a beautiful left ear.
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Tangaroa
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 25, 2002
Posts: 1550 | Posted: 2005-08-19 3:29 pm Permalink
That's what I keep telling her - but she thinks it's too fat! I've always been an ear man....
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Benzart
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 09, 2004
Posts: 10306
From: Port Saint Lucie, Florida
| Posted: 2005-08-20 08:45 am Permalink
WOW!! Sherry and I have never been to the Islands but really plan on going some day. I Must say that this thread has almost Taken me there. With every post I was smelling the salt air, seeing the turtle, getting high from the Maitai's, salivating at the luau's and spending all my money for all the tikis everywhere. Thanks to everyone here so much. This has been a fantastic trip. Nowhere but on TC can you get such a great trip for so little airfare! Thanks
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christiki295
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 09, 2003
Posts: 3616
From: LA-2547 mls east Hawaii &5500 Easter Is
| Posted: 2006-01-09 9:05 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2002-09-25 11:51, Tiki-bot wrote:
Oh, and the best place to do all your tiki shopping: Walmart! They have a whole tiki section, cheap mugs and everything. Sure it's not "collectable", but we seemed to have collected an awful lot from there anyway!
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Conviently located next to Hilo Hattie, the Kaua'i Walmart did have a very large section of made in Hawaii products, apparel, foodstuffs, tikis, Hawaiian music, etc. I almost forgave myself for venturing inside.
However, Walmart was sold out of tiki torches!
It may be the island's 2nd largest employer, after Wilcox Hospital (also located next door).
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greg_surfs
Member
Joined: Dec 05, 2006
Posts: 7
From: Oregon
| Posted: 2006-12-05 09:40 am Permalink
Ah, Kaua'i...just back, again. My five-year plan is in action and I'll plant myself in Hanalei soon, to rust and rot in the jungle and warm ocean swells. Spent at least four nights in Tahiti Nui. Gotta tell you guys, if you're gonna go to this island, skip the hotels and get yourself a house/studio rental in Hanalei. There are always places available and you can get in for $100-120/night, or more if you want to pay higher. Very competitive with the hotels, plus you live like a local and have access to bikes, snorkel gear, etc.
If you're gonna hit up the Nui, do it on a Thursday night and get in there before 6p. That's the night for the local music and Auntie Louise's nephew Bill will do his hula at some point.
As for Walmart, I take a little gentler approach to their presence in the islands. Sure, I know your small town in Iowa might be challenged by the presence of the big discounter and it may up the pace of change affecting small stores, etc. But there's a different mindset in the most remote island group in the world. It's cargo culture, baby! Stuff is hard to come by and prices are high. If somebody can come in and drop the prices, people are happy in the islands. So, yeah, I buy my souvenirs from the locals, usually find a contact who can get me a sunrise shell necklace, or Niihau leis, at a good price, but certain to have been made locally, and NOT imported from P.I. However, I'm happy to get my Hawaiian Host chocolates and all the other cheesy stuff to bring back to the Mainland, at a good price in Sam's store.
I voted Democrat in every election since 1981 (when i turned 18) and I'm very liberal.
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VampiressRN
Grand Member (5 years) 
Joined: Nov 23, 2006
Posts: 5085
From: Sin City Lincoln Hills (NorCal)
| Posted: 2006-12-05 10:02 pm Permalink
This is a good thread indeed...great read. I wish I had discovered this board before my last trip to Kauai in October. I feel I missed a lot of good things, but HEY....I have ideas now on what to do next time I go.
Those turtles are cute as can be. We saw one when we were coming into the harbor after a day on a catamaran tour of Na Pali coastline. He was just swimming casually along, then stopped, lifted his head and slowly looked all around, then put his head down and sauntered away...stroke...stroke...stroke. What a delightful little personality.
(I missed Walmart....but who cares, I only have 8 clear glass tiki mugs I got at Applebys last year...hmmmmm. Just think of how much fun I can have buying mugs.)
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 "Oh waiter, another cocktail please!!!"
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christiki295
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 09, 2003
Posts: 3616
From: LA-2547 mls east Hawaii &5500 Easter Is
| Posted: 2006-12-07 12:58 am Permalink
Quote:
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[i]On 2006-12-05 09:40, greg_surfs wrote:
As for Walmart, I take a little gentler approach to their presence in the islands. Sure, I know your small town in Iowa might be challenged by the presence of the big discounter and it may up the pace of change affecting small stores, etc. But there's a different mindset in the most remote island group in the world. It's cargo culture, baby! Stuff is hard to come by and prices are high. If somebody can come in and drop the prices, people are happy in the islands. So, yeah, I buy my souvenirs from the locals, usually find a contact who can get me a sunrise shell necklace, or Niihau leis, at a good price, but certain to have been made locally, and NOT imported from P.I. However, I'm happy to get my Hawaiian Host chocolates and all the other cheesy stuff to bring back to the Mainland, at a good price in Sam's store.
I voted Democrat in every election since 1981 (when i turned 18) and I'm very liberal.
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It also may be the 2nd largest employer on the island, behind Wilcox Hospital next door.
Not that Walmart provides good jobs - they don't and are ruining good jobs and labor here in the US - but a Walmart is better than nothing.
PS - you may wish to buy your tiki souvenirs at Hilo Hatties, next door on the other side.
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christiki295
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 09, 2003
Posts: 3616
From: LA-2547 mls east Hawaii &5500 Easter Is
| Posted: 2006-12-07 01:00 am Permalink
Next time definitely stroll the Hyatt and have dinner at the tiki mecca, Tidepools.
[ This Message was edited by: christiki295 2006-12-07 01:03 ]
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greg_surfs
Member
Joined: Dec 05, 2006
Posts: 7
From: Oregon
| Posted: 2007-01-24 12:29 pm Permalink
Is there an echo in here?
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VampiressRN
Grand Member (5 years)
Joined: Nov 23, 2006
Posts: 5085
From: Sin City Lincoln Hills (NorCal)
| Posted: 2007-01-27 11:39 am Permalink
Just wanted to share the names of a couple of restaurants that I really liked.
Coconuts Island Style Grill & Bar
http://www.coconutsislandstylegrillandbar.com/
4-919 Kuhio Hwy, Kapa'a, HI 96746 · 808-823-8777
More Details from the sight:
Alcohol Served
Beer, Liquor, Wine
Ambiance
Cozy, Fun / Festive
Cuisine
American, Continental
Dress
Business Casual
Features
Family Friendly, Non-Smoking
Meals
Lunch & Dinner
Reservations
Accepted - Groups
A tropical ambience, complete with colorful artwork and furnishings of coconut wood, characterizes this popular establishment, which is frequently crowded with patrons eager to sample the delicious cuisine. The menu includes burgers, pastas, fresh island fish, steaks, and chicken. Teriyaki-dipped salmon is a perennial favorite, as are the lobster ravioli and spice-cured pork chop. If you have to wait, enjoy a cool drink at the bar, and preface your meal with something tasty from their array of appetizers.
Hours:
Mon-Sat 4pm-10pm
Pricing:
Average Main Course Price: $16.00
Payment Methods:
Visa, Master Card, Discover
My friend and I both had lunch there and had a tempura platter with ahi tuna relish and cabbage with Thai jasmine rice. It was all absolutely delicioius. Drinks were expensive and average. Certainly worth the visit, it is clean and the decoroations are very tropical.
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Wrangler's Steakhouse (Frommer's Recommended)
Cuisine STEAKHOUSE
Hours Mon-Thurs 11am-8:30pm; Fri 11am-9pm; Sat 5-9pm
Address 9852 Kaumualii Hwy
Location Western Kauai
Phone 808/338-1218
Prices Lunch $8-$12; dinner main courses $17-$30
Credit Cards AE, DISC, MC, V
Frommer's Review
Good service and pleasant veranda seating are among the pluses of this family-run operation. Western touches abound: a wagon in the loft, log-framed booths with gas lanterns, and lauhala paniolo hats in the made-in-Hawaii gift shop. A combination of cowboy, plantation, and island traditions, Wrangler's serves lots of steak -- big, hand-selected cuts -- and adds some island touches, from vegetable tempura to grilled steak to ahi with penne pasta. Families like Wrangler's because its multicourse dinners won't break the bank.
My friend and I both had one of the specialities which is a Tempura Tin Lunchbox and it was fabulous.
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I don't suggest the Kauai Hulagirl Bar & Grill in the Coconut Market Place. Poor service and food is expensive and not that great.
We were on a tight budget so we shopped Safeway and cooked in our room. Unfortunately we couldn't get to a luau d/t ticktes were sold out to the one that was recommended. Gonna have to do that next time I go to the islands. 
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"Oh waiter, another cocktail please!!!"
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hodadhank
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Dec 28, 2005
Posts: 1682
From: Mission Beach, CA
| Posted: 2007-01-30 7:07 pm Permalink
Just got back from a nice stay in Princeville. Just above Hideaways Beach and only a short drive to both Anini Beach and Hanalei Bay.
Looking down on the Hanalei taro fields from Princeville.
Bali Hai in the distance...
High tropical brush below Princville on the short road into Hanalei (This pic reminds me of the beginning of Apocalypse Now!)
The infamous Tahiti Nui!
Drinking some Blue Moons at the Tahiti Nui. Bartender said live music is mostly classic rock except for some acoustic slack key & uke one night a week. Hidden behind a speaker was a framed Shag Don Ho print signed by Shag and Don! (Ona might want to pack a screwdriver next month.)
The Java Kai in Hanalei. Yummy coffee, breakfast... and cigars!
Pokolololita enjoying her papaya banana waffles and guards my box of Kauai Cigar Company sampler! Pure organic Hawaiian grown tobacco!
This exotic pavillion is at a resturant across the street from [b]Chin Young Village[b] in Hanalei town. I forget it's name but there's also a neat antique shop just to the right with a huge selection of vintage dashboard hula dolls.
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bamalamalu
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 20, 2006
Posts: 383 | Posted: 2007-03-01 9:53 pm Permalink
Hi, thanks to everyone for all the Kauai tips posted here (and in other threads). I finally made it back a few weeks ago after a painfully long absence and the info here came in handy!
I will join the chorus recommending the Tidepools restaurant at the Poipu Hyatt. Though I'd been to Kauai before and did tons of recent research, I never would have known about this place without TC. We made reservations there for a 70th birthday dinner and it really is a cool place. It was much more Tiki than I expected, with tons of bamboo & tapa everywhere; and the Koi just below the tables is a fun touch (request a table on the outside edge when you make a reservation). A nice restaurant that you can bring your parents to, and still get your Tiki fix at the same time. It's not inexpensive, but all the meals and the service were very good, and their Tai Chi drink was good enough for an encore round. (It wouldn't be a bad idea to call to reconfirm your reservation - I had made ours for 7:30pm, but when we arrived they said they'd had us down for 6pm) Next time I'd like to swing by during the day to try and get a better look at everything.
Another food stop I haven't seen mentioned here was Scotty's Beachside Barbeque. Right on the water in Kapaa, they have a great setting. There's a small park right outside the building, with the ocean just behind. The whole beachside wall of the restaurant is open - it's just huge garage doors that they roll up while they're open, so it's a totally unobstructed view. It can get windy if you pick a rainy/cooler evening, but it's still nice, and hard to beat on a sunny afternoon. Food was excellent & plentiful, good service, casual, relaxed atmosphere. The picture below with the cruise ship between the palm trees was taken from our table.
We did the Smith Family Luau, which was pretty much exactly as I remembered it. As a bonus, their Mai Tais were among the most palatable we found on the whole trip. I really like the East Coast area and booked there again this time. We ended up at the Lanikai in Kapaa in a large two-bedroom oceanfront condo. Very nice. I'm having trouble sleeping without the sound of the surf now that I'm back home.
Went for a Na Pali catamaran tour and managed to pick the one day with astonishingly calm seas for February. In addition to the stunning scenery of the land, we saw tons of dolphins and whales and a few turtles to boot. We went with Liko Kauai, who did a great job. Also did a helicopter tour this time, which I'd never done before. Waaaay cool.
As usual, there wasn't nearly enough time to do (and eat!) everything I wanted to. We were in Hanalei too early for Tahiti Nui, I never made it to Hamura's...but I'm planning to get back before the end of the year to remedy that.
 
 
  
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jbarrow
Member
Joined: Dec 30, 2007
Posts: 2
From: Atlanta
| Posted: 2007-12-30 6:49 pm Permalink
Aloha, first time poster here.
My wife and I are visiting Kauai during the winter holidays and are staying in Kapa'a. This is my first time. She has been here before, in 2002. I found this board after searching for a bit of information about Tahiti Nui. We were trying to find lunch in Hanalei and, being put off by a 30 minute wait for a fish taco in an establishment overrun with misbehaving children and NO adult beverage service, we trudged down the muddy road to find Tahiti Nui, open, not crowded and without a tremendous wait for service.
I guess you could say our expectations were low or non-existent, but we had a nice time, first sampling a local lager and then ordering a Mai Tai to accompany our pizza after being reminded that such drinks exist when a group of wahine barged in with the chant "We're here to drink Mai Tai's". Yeah, good idea, we'll have a couple of those! They weren't bad. They were definitely not watered down, though with some practice I am sure I could do better. Pat was a great barkeep and his dog Pinto was fun to play with.
My last true Tiki experince was a few years ago when a co-worker had a tiki party and gave me a set of tiki glasses as a Christmas gift. Before that were my highschool years and the time spent at the Aloha in Rochester NY, downing Zombies, Mai Tai's and Aloha bowls and listening to the Willams Hawaiian Trio. That place closed a long time ago and the only souvenier I have is a pack of cigarette matches.
This has been a very helpful thread. We will be visiting Duke's Canoe Club, Kieko's Paradise and the International Surfing Museum before we leave.
Aloha.
James
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jbarrow
Member
Joined: Dec 30, 2007
Posts: 2
From: Atlanta
| Posted: 2007-12-31 8:07 pm Permalink
The Honey and I made it to our most important destinations today, Duke's and Keoki Paradise. Sadly our third objective, the International Surfing Museum, opened in the summer of 2004 after two years of effort, closed after only a few weeks according to the long-time Lihue retailer I talked to. Too bad. Here are some photos of what existed at the time.
http://community.webshots.com/user/intlsurfinghalloffame/untagged/photos
We arrived at Duke's just after they opened. Early yes, but not too early for a pre-lunch Mai Tai. Service was great, the drink was great (better than I had at Tahiti Nui a few days ago) and the setting could not have been finer.
Keoki's Paradise was our next stop. Arriving after lunch service began we decided to enjoy lunch along with our drinks. I had the Pina Colada while my wife had a Mango Colada. Both were very good and we found it curious that the drink selection between Duke's and Keoki's was much the same, then we remembered that they were owned by the same company and quite of bit of Duke memorabilia was on display at Keoki's. Keoki's is located in an upscale shopping center near a resort. Meandering tourists and loud children come with the territory.
And here is a quick shot from Tahiti Nui.
James
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