Newsletter

Information concerning new restaurants and activities on the island
 

The Poipu Beach Broiler opened in November, 2002 at the former site of The House of Seafood in the Poipu Kai Resort.  The Broiler is likely to be a popular gathering place with its cocktail bar and restaurant.

Marriot's Waiohai Beach Club After more than 10 years of closure, Poipu's popular resort location, formerly known as the Waiohai, has opened 78 units.  An additional 23 units will open in March, with more units available in early 2004 and final completion slated for late 2004.  When construction is finished, the resort will contain 231 two-bedroom, two-bath units, most of which will be occupied by time-share owners.  Some units will be available in a rental pool as well.   The Beach Club also offers two heated swimming pools, a 3,000 square foot fitness center, a restaurant and undeground parking.

Entry to Marriott Waiohai Resort next door to Kiahuna.

Starbuck's has opened in the Market Place of the Marriott

Kiahuna Beachside can now offer fly/drive packages.  For information call us at 800-937-6642

AIRLINE INFORMATION

United Airlines is now providing non-stop, round-trip  service between Kauai-San Francisco and Kauai-Los Angeles.

Aloha Airlines offers a non-stop flight to Lihue from Oakland Airport.

Equipment:  Boeing 757-200, Flight 33

Depart San Francisco:   8:50 AM  -  Arrive: Lihue   12:26 PM

Flight #32, Depart Lihue:  2:30 PM  -  Arrive San Francisco  9:17 PM

Los Angeles Flights:

Flight #31, Depart Los Angeles:  4:10 PM  -  Arrive Lihue 7:59 PM

Flight #30,  Depart Lihue  10:05 PM - Arrive L.A.  5:15 AM

Plans are now being made to rebuild the Poipu Beach Hotel, which has been closed since Hurricane 'Iniki in 1992.
 

 The last operator of the Poipu Beach Hotel, one of two Kauai resort properties still not reopened since Hurricane 'Iniki hit in 1992, is planning on rebuilding the hotel.


Representatives of CTF Hawai'i Hotel Partners have been meeting with design engineers and contractors, and are eager to get the rebuilding process underway, the company's attorney said this week. "We intend to rebuild the hotel," said John Komeiji, attorney for CTF.
"And we've started the process, or at least started talking to people about what would be involved in rebuilding the hotel," he said. "We've met with design professionals and contractors to try and line up somebody that we feel confident in working with, and we're putting together something now," said Komeiji, with the Honolulu firm Watanabe, Ing, Kawashima & Komeiji. "We want to do it as soon as possible," though there is no rebuilding timetable yet, he continued.

He would not discuss why it took nearly 11 years to get to the rebuilding phase, as there is pending litigation between CTF and three Knudsen sisters who own the land under the hotel. Komeiji would also not comment on any settlement money his client may have received from insurance companies for damages the property sustained during 'Iniki. Whether or not this new information will render moot a lawsuit the Knudsen sisters filed against CTF to compel the company to rebuild and reopen the hotel remains to be seen. The current trial date is in February 2004, in Lihu'e.

The Poipu Beach Hotel sits on the beach between Kiahuna Plantation units to the west, and Marriott's Waiohai Beach Club to the east. Nearly all agree that what remains of the Poipu Beach Hotel remains an eyesore not only to visitors and residents strolling the Po'ipu shoreline,
but to guests at neighboring properties as well. "I think it's great. We need to have that property operating again," said Roy Thompson, general manager of over 100 Kiahuna Plantation units for
Castle Resorts, some abutting the Poipu Beach Hotel parcel. "That's something that we've known all along, that something needs to be done with that property, for the good of the community and our industry," said Thompson.

Edgar Gum, Waiohai general manager, is "very excited" about the rebuilding plans. "It's good for the area, removes the last sign of Hurricane 'Iniki on Po'ipu Beach, good for the island's economy," he said. "Providing more employment is always a good thing." He said some guests complain about the condition of the Po'ipu Beach Hotel and the ongoing reconstruction at the Waiohai, but are informed of the ongoing construction before arriving. "People understand that it is not our property, and are hopeful that it will change in the future," Gum said of Poipu Beach Hotel. "Vacation ownership is a lifetime purchase, so they have a long-term perspective," he added.
"That is absolutely wonderful" news, said Jim Hill, manager of several other Kiahuna units for Outrigger Hotels and Resorts. It would have been nice if the Po'ipu Beach Hotel and Waiohai
reconstruction could have happened simultaneously, said Hill, but "we know how to deal with it (construction noise) now." "This is excellent news, and it's about time," said Margy Parker,
executive director of the Poipu Beach Resort Association. "This is long overdue.

James T. Paul, Honolulu attorney for the Knudsen family that owns the land under the Po'ipu Beach Hotel, said a lease between his clients and CTF calls for the hotel to be rebuilt and reopened in the event of damage inflicted by a hurricane. Distressed Knudsen family members filed suit to compel CTF to rebuild and reopen the hotel, and for now a trial date remains set, Paul said.
But Paul confirmed that some settlement discussions have taken place, and that his clients' wishes are to have the hotel rebuilt and reopened. "And we're hopeful that in fact that's what they're going to do. "My clients and family have owned that property for a very, very long time, and they very much want to have that place look nice, and be rebuilt," said Paul. "That's what they're trying to do. "It's a disservice to the community out there that this thing isn't rebuilt, and my clients don't like it. They're very distressed about it," he said. "They want to fix that, but they can't do it without the current lessees doing it because of their lease. It's either going to be rebuilt, or we're going to go forward with the trial and ask the court to enter various judgments," Paul said. The latest in a series of legal filings since the initial suit was filed in 2001 was a motion filed by Paul and granted by Circuit Court Judge George Masuoka compelling CTF to produce certain information,
 

Sierra Club organized Kauai hikes are now published online at www.hi.sierraclub.org/Kauai/kauai-hikes.html

A new Kauai tour company has found a way to recycle former sugar fields:  Send tourists tubing down the irrigation ditches.  The two-mile trip is through tropical foliage at the old Lihue Plantation in Hanamaulu is a leisurely activity for families.

A note to the claustrophobic:  You'll float through several tunnels, one of which is more than half a mile long and takes eight minutes or more to pass through.

The three hour tour includes about an hour on the water; a picnic lunch; time to splash in a swimming hole; and a 40-minute van or Jeep-style trip with scenic overlooks of the Wailua Valley.

Kauai Backcountry Adventures
$88.54 per person
888-270-0555
www.kauaibackcountry.com