Weddingbee Blog

Well, we have officially booked our honeymoon, and I am so excited! As I’ve mentioned before, we have been looking forward to the honeymoon for a while. It will be my first real break after finishing graduate school, and will be the first time that we will have time away and will have nothing to worry about. With that in mind, we really wanted to go somewhere that was beautiful, where we could relax, and still have lots of options if we wanted to go do something.

Well, our criteria brought us to Hanalei Bay Resort on the North Shore of Kauai. We love Kauai because it is so beautiful and is not overly populated or developed. Now what’s the “scoop”? I want to share the awesome deal we found, and hopefully it will help if you are also planning a honeymoon on a budget. But first, I have to share the view from our shower!!

Yes this is the view from the shower alone! Amazing! And don’t worry, it’s not a full exposure window, but you can make it fog, so people can’t see in and think they are getting a show! Ha ha. Anyways, I just thought that it was funny that the shower has such a great view!

When we started looking into different resorts and hotels, we were finding that a lot of the rooms started at around $300 a night for a view of a garden or a mountain, and then the ocean view rooms were through the roof. This would be great if we could afford that option, but we are on a budget, and didn’t want to use all our money on just the hotel.

We next turned to looking at privately owned timeshares and condos.

Specifically, we looked at the Hanalei Bay Resort, where my family has rented condos from before. The facility really is a resort with a full lobby, concierge services, restaurant, bar, pool etc., but some of the rooms are privately owned, and listed on various websites. In our experience, the privately owned ones have better views than the rooms you would get booking through the hotel! The resort shares a private beach with the gorgeous and soon-to-be reopened St. Regis Princeville Hotel. This means you can also use their facilities if you want to get drinks or walk to some other yummy restaurants. The beach is down a private beach path, and if you are tired after a day in the sun, they will shuttle you back to your room. The staff is really friendly and helpful.

After doing lots of research and price comparisons, we found a newly renovated studio with an incredible view for $160 a night! You think this is a good deal? After the owner found out we were honeymooning and on a budget, he lowered our rate to $120 a night! How is that for “aloha spirit”? I guess it shows you that it never hurts to ask, and you never know what people will do to make your honeymoon extra special!

Here are some pictures of place we are staying, so that you can get an idea of what it looks like:

View from the private patio in our studio:

It is just perfect for what we need, and allows us to save a lot of money for some of the fun excursions we are planning. We thought about maybe spending a few nights at one of the resorts, but after getting such a great deal, we decided to spend our whole stay at the Hanalei Bay Resort. I just wish we were going sooner. I’m looking forward to enjoying the beautiful scenery, and of course, spending quality time with Mr. Ducky.

The gorgeous and secluded beach! You never have to worry about getting a spot down on the beach, since only 2 resorts share the area. It also has some great snorkeling!

If you are interested in looking for your own condo or rental, I’ve listed a few of the websites that we used. Some of the websites have rentals anywhere you can imagine! Now, an important thing to keep in mind is that because they are privately owned, the interiors are all decorated differently, and some have been recently remodeled. Mr. Ducky and I found a remodeled one, so the shower, bathroom and kitchenette have all been upgraded. There are all types of rentals, from ultra-fancy and upgraded places, down to ones that have never been updated since the resort was originally built. It just kind of depends what you are looking for, but I’m sure there is something will appeal to everyone. Just spend time looking at all the websites and checking out the different pictures.

These are links specific to the Hanalei Bay Resort, but you can figure out how to get back to their main pages.

Summit Pacific Kauai Vacation Rentals

VRBO: Vacation Rentals By Owner

Aloha Condos

All Pictures from Summit Pacific, VRBO, and Aloha Condos.

If you are specifically interested in the Hanalei Bay Resort, use this map as a guide for where the rooms are relative to the resort layout.

What have you done to save money on your honeymoon? Do you have any recommendations for fun excursions, activities, or restaurants in Kauai?