Grand Hyatt Kauai & How to Book it with Chase Points
One of the best hotels you can book with Chase/Hyatt points on Kauai & step by step instructions on how to book it with your points.
After Maui, our second favorite Hawaiian island is Kauai. It is the perfect mix of striking nature (ranging from green mountains to large canyons!) and beautiful sandy beaches where you can see dozens of sea turtles lay out in the evenings.
There are two main tourist/resort areas of Kauai worth visiting - Poipu and Princeville. I recommend that you stay a few nights in both areas and you will really experience everything Kauai has to offer. Princeville has amazing house & condos rentals as well as the stunning 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay (you can view my review of it here). Princeville is also very green & lush (fueled by year round rainfall) while Poipu has more consistent sun and is a great mid-point to visit other areas of the island from like Waimea Canyon.
We started off the first 4 days of our Kauai trip by staying in Poipu at the Grand Hyatt Kauai. It’s a grand resort that has been around for several decades now & it is only a 30 minute drive from the main Lihue airport so you can get your vacation started as soon as possible once you get off the plane.
How We Booked Our Stay (for less)
Booking Method: Hyatt Points - Transferred Points from Chase Ultimate Rewards to Hyatt (35k Points a Night)
(1 Chase Point = 1 Hyatt Point)
Credit Card Used: Chase Sapphire Preferred
The Chase Sapphire Preferred card is my favorite card to earn points for stays in Hawaii specifically. Chase points transfer over to Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio and Hyatt has an amazing portfolio of properties in Hawaii to book with points. On Maui, they have the Andaz in Wailea (35-45k points a night), the Hyatt Regency (& timeshare rentals) in Kaanapali (25-35k points a night), and the Hana-Maui Resort (25-35k points a night).
When we checked in, I chose my Sapphire card to put all our charges on because hotels code as a travel on the CSP at 2x points per dollar. I also made sure that my World of Hyatt membership number is on file at check in so I can earn Hyatt points on top of our Chase points.
If you want to learn more & apply for a Chase Sapphire Preferred card, my referral link is HERE.
Mer’s pro tip: Do you have a corporate job? If so, check your company’s leisure travel page and see if they offer an elite status trial with Hyatt. You could easily achieve mid-tier Explorist status with only a few nights stay (& points booking count towards status!). You could be enjoying late check-out, room upgrades and more.
Nights stayed: 3
Total Cost: 105,000 Points (35k points a night)
Cost Analysis (aka was it worth the $$$?)
I do not think this property is worth the cash price or points price. It recently went up a category in Hyatt going from 25-35k for a standard room. While the property is expansive and feels very private compared to the other resorts in Poipu, it is on the older side and there weren’t a ton of activities. The Andaz on Maui is the same points price (35-45k points a night) and that property is much nicer & newer, has many water sports & daily activities, and better dining options.
If you are a couple traveling to Hawaii, the Andaz Maui is a much better use of your Chase/Hyatt points. However, if you have a family and are traveling with kids, this property is likely a great fit for you as the pool & beach scene here are set up for young families in mind with a zero entry lagoon pool, water slide and lazy river. Plus, many kid friendly dining options.
Hotel Review - Grand Hyatt Kauai
My Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Arrival: We had an early flight in from the west coast and when we arrived to the Grand Hyatt around 12pm, we were able to check in right away. This an extremely large resort with lots of rooms so if it’s not high season (January-April), you have a good chance of checking in early without issues. We were celebrating our anniversary this trip & when they found that out at check in, they gave us a complimentary bottle of champagne. The bellman helped bring our luggage up to the room which was much appreciated as the hotel can be hard to navigate at first due to its large size.
Our Room: We booked a standard double queen bed garden view room as that was the last room type available when we booked. The aesthetics & furniture are definitely on the older side but everything was very clean & well-maintained. Our view did look out somewhat onto the parking lot but we didn’t mind it as it was very quiet in the evenings and mornings. The room also came with a lovely terrace (lanai) with two chairs & a dining table and we ate several meals out there.
Pool & Beach set up: If you have kids, this really is the perfect water activities set up. There are multi-level pools and even a large saltwater lagoon. We had a lot of fun floating down their lazy river and even going down the 150-foot waterslide a few times. There is even water volleyball and basketball. We didn’t really sit down by their beach as the ocean is pretty rough & unswimmable but there were plenty of chairs and it was easy to access from the resort. We didn’t love the adult pool as there weren’t a lot of umbrellas and being high up over the other pools, it got really hot in the middle of the day.
Large multi-tier pools, saltwater lagoon pool, and lobby views at sunset Amenities: We did not attend any of activities that the hotel had going on (Kukui nut bracelet, lei making, ukulele lessons, etc) however they do offer a good range daily. One major downside of this property is that there are not a lot of ocean water activities (paddle boarding, snorkeling, surfing etc)
Food & Beverage: Honestly, the food here can be skipped. It wasn’t horrible but it wasn’t good either. It was on the pricier side for resorts in Hawaii (expect to pay around $60 for poolside lunch for 2). The drinks at the Seaview terrace though were the highlight of our stay, we loved heading down there after dinner & catching the sunset while listening to the evening’s local musician. We ended up eating the majority of our meals outside of the resort, prioritizing small local eateries.
Departure: We checked out at 9:30am as we were heading to the 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay on the other side of the island but if you have Discoverist status or higher with Hyatt, you can request 2pm late check out (upon availability).
Overall Thoughts
While this hotel is expansive and has beautiful grounds & ocean views, it wasn’t a perfect fit for us as a couple traveling on an anniversary trip. It would be a better for a family vacation with kids. One highlight of the property that we missed out/didn’t take advantage of was the resort’s club lounge. You get free access with Hyatt Globalist access or if you book a club access room type (more points required per night though) and it serves continental breakfast daily, snacks & drinks throughout the day and dessert in the evenings. Since there were only two of us & we don’t have globalist status, we found it to be cheaper to eat off property rather than book a club access room for more points. I would return someday with friends & family but the Grand Hyatt Kauai is not a property that we are rushing to stay at again on Kauai as a couple.
Step by Step Instructions on How to Book with Points:
You can earn points for Hyatt through the Chase Sapphire Preferred & Reserve cards. You will need to create an account with World of Hyatt if you do not have one already to book with points.
First, find availability for the nights you want to stay.
Go to maxmypoint.com, and search for “Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa”
Click onto the hotel and you will see a month by month calendar view of available nights to book with points. You can also filter by room type (standard room, standard or premium suite, club room) and payment type (points and cash, points only, cash only)
Select your room type (standard room is the cheapest points rate) and payment type (points only).
You will now see all the dates available to book with Hyatt points.
Second, validate the availability directly on Hyatt’s website (or app).
Once you’ve selected the nights that you want to stay, head to Hyatt.com and enter your stay details (Grand Hyatt Kauai, exact days of stay, number of people, and click on use points).
From there, you will be taken to the resort’s booking page & see rooms available & points cost per night. (If you don’t see the room type you want available, there is no points availability left for those exact dates and you will need to go back and find alternate dates)
Now all there is left to do is transfer your points over from Chase to Hyatt (instructions below) and once you see the points deposited into your Hyatt account, you can follow step 1 & 2 again but proceed to final booking.
Third, transfer your Chase points over to Hyatt.
How to transfer points over from Chase Ultimate Rewards (Chase Sapphire & Ink cards)to Hyatt on the Chase App
Login into your chase account on your Chase app and click on the Benefits & Travel tab and then click on More (circle with 3 dots).
Click on Transfer Points to Partners and then click on Hotels.
Click on World of Hyatt and add your World of Hyatt membership number.
Once you’ve added your number, you can enter the amount of points that you want to transfer from Chase to Hyatt.
Once you’ve clicked transfer points, you should see the points in your Hyatt account within the day or up to 7 days (in my experience, the points transfer over within a few hours)
Thank you for reading this review & guide, if you have any questions at all, please feel free to comment below!