Welcome To FYI KAUAI
The Hideaway Cove Blog |
|
|
 |
May 13th, 2013
If you’ve made the decision to visit the Garden Isle for your romantic escape, you probably already know that the breathtaking isle is often referred to as the best when it comes to a tranquil, romantic setting filled with spectacular scenic wonders. From awe-inspiring sunsets to cascading falls, translucent freshwater pools, picturesque beaches and emerald colored-mountains that dip dramatically down to turquoise waters, the scenery is hard to beat.
When it comes time to choose the idyllic place to stay, there is no doubt you’ll want accommodations that meet or exceed the best of what the island has to offer for the ultimate Kauai romantic getaway, including a blend of the ultimate in relaxation as well as romantic activities and more thrilling adventures.
We believe Hideaway Cove is the ideal answer for honeymooners, those who are celebrating an anniversary, or any type of romantic holiday – here is a look at just four of the reasons why.
 Concierge Services
A special vacation deserves special treatment and the ultimate in pampering. We’ll go out of our way to ensure each guest has an unforgettable, fantastic experience by providing the services that will help you to do just that.
Looking for the best beach to view the most gorgeous sunsets on the island? Do you desire an intimate, upscale dining experience? Want to know where the best tours or activities can be found? Our concierge services will make recommendations based on your needs and even make the reservations for you so that you can spend your time enjoying each other’s company and your ideal Kauai romantic getaway.
Private Chef
Have you ever fantasized about having a private chef? You can make that dream come true at Hideaway Cove – what better time to utilize this incredible amenity than on a Kauai romantic getaway? Concierge Services will make all the arrangements while you indulge in Hawaiian-inspired cuisine featuring fresh, local ingredients without having to leave the comfort of your home away from home.
In-room massage
A couples’ massage is an especially enjoyable way to spend time relaxing together, allowing your cares to melt away in the presence of each other’s company. If you don’t want to head out to a spa, an in-room massage is another option you can choose at Hideaway Cove. A side-by-side massage is a wonderfully romantic experience.
Luxurious rooms
Of course, your ultimate Poipu Beach romantic vacation must include a luxurious room to come back to after a day of enjoying what the island has to offer. Elegant furnishings here are top of the line including four-poster carved pineapple, canopy and sleigh beds with high thread count Egyptian cotton linens. Baths offer Jacuzzi tubs and rainfall showers, just right for two.
Enjoy the endless sunshine by dining outdoors in your covered lanai, or cuddle up together indoors and enjoy the entertainment center featuring a large cable television, cable radio, CD player and DVD player.
We think you’ll agree that Hideaway Cove is the best choice for a romantic getaway on the Garden Isle.
Posted in Kauai Poipu Beach Accommodations, Kauai Romantic Vacation, Kauai Travel | No Comments »
|
|
|
|
May 13th, 2013
What better way to show the Jacuzzi tub in our Beachcomber Studio than a video that shows it bubbling away? Kind of makes you want to jump right in. Also new is the very large HDTV and entertainment center. Same cozy comfort love seat, out door dining and stainless steel barbecue with side burner. Check it out by clicking here.
Posted in What's Happening at Hideaway Cove | No Comments »
|
|
|
|
May 13th, 2013
The Poipu Beach area, where Hideaway Cove is located, has always had a large concentration of restaurants. Several years ago I would mention to potential guests that there were 10 restaurants within a mile of our property. Although not all of the new locations are within a mile, they’re probably within two miles. That’s because the majority of them are in the new Kukuiula Village Shopping Center. Here’s a quick run down of what’s new on the fine dining front.
FINE DINING
 Josselin Tapas Bar and Grill-808-742-7117. Owned and operated by Jean Marie Josselin of Pacific Cafe fame, this is a fun, well decorated restaurant with a full bar. Don’t miss the sangria, which is served on a cart that is wheeled to your table.
Merriman’s Fishhouse- 808-742-8385. Merrimans became pretty famous on the Big Island as one of the first pioneers of the farm to table movement in the Hawaiian Islands. Peter Merriman located his restaurant literally out in the middle of no where and it required a 45 minute drive from Kona to get there. His Kauai location has struggled, changing from the original steakhouse (with locally sourced beef, of course) to the present fish house. The decor is plantation style, you have any ocean view and the food is fabulous. The only caveat is that the prices are high, even by Kauai standards. We have foodie friends who come to Kauai twice a year and rave about their experience there. See Casual Dining for the downstairs cafe.
Tortilla Republic Grill-808-742-8884. Located upstairs from the Margarita Bar and open only for dinner. This is not your traditional Mexican restaurant, with tacos, tamales, rice and beans. The chef trained in New York and brought back with her a variety of recipes that are sure to delight anyone who likes good food. Some of these tables also have ocean views. Be sure and try one (or more) of the margaritas.
Posted in Kauai Travel, Restaurant Guide | No Comments »
|
|
|
|
April 22nd, 2013
 I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay.
Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is a little like expecting the bull not to attack you because you are a vegetarian.
Dennis Wholey
Thousands of years ago cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this.
Unknown
A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments, soccer games, romances, best friends, location of friend’s houses, favorite foods, secret fears and hopes and dreams.A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.
Matt Groening
I was at a wedding recently and the DJ asked, “All the married women please stand next to the one person who has made your life worth living.”
The bartender was crushed to death !
Although golf was originally restricted to wealthy, overweight Protestants. Today it’s open to anybody who owns hideous clothing.
Dave Barry
My Grandmother is over eighty and still doesn’t need glasses. Drinks right out of the bottle.
Henry Youngman
The short fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.
Don’t join dangerous cults! Practice safe sects.
Posted in Jokes and Quotes | No Comments »
|
|
|
|
April 22nd, 2013
 The vacation rental business on Kauai has changed dramatically in the last twelve months. Prior to the tourism downturn in the Hawaiian Islands in 2007/2008, which coincided with the great recession, it was possible to reserve accommodations at Hideaway Cove 30 days prior to arrival. Those days may very well be gone. We started to see a change about six months ago, when our reservations for January, February and March accelerated dramatically. We had to reluctantly turn away past guests who traditionally booked 90 days prior to arrival and were successful. When we ended 2012 with our highest revenue in 14 years in business, I knew the downturn was officially over.
Our average occupancy, over the past seven years, has been: January-83%; February-85% and March-85%. This year those months were-January-94%; February-95% and March-97%. Prior to these three months, we’d never experienced mid nineties occupancy for more than a month a year. Looking ahead to this summer beginning June 21st, two of our three two bedrooms and our three bedroom are booked. There is one Seabreeze Two Bedroom week left in June (6/21 to 6/28, out the 29h). In July all that remains is one Oceanview Three Bedroom week (7/3 to 7/9 out the 10th) and our Royal Palm Two Bedroom (7/13 to 7/19, out the 20th). The first week in August, just the Seabreeze remains available. By the 10th of August, availability opens up again.
It looks like holiday season, which this year is December 21st to the 27th for Christmas week and December 28th to January 3rd for New Years week, will also book up sooner than usual. Four of fourteen weeks are already gone. Plus we’ve booked four weeks in January and February of 2014 with more inquiries for 2014 coming every day.
So if you are planning a trip to Kauai to see us this year or in January, February or March of 2014, this is not too early to make a reservation. This is especially true if you have a special occasion like a family reunion, anniversary celebration or honeymoon where dates are specific and can not be changed. I had a young woman call me yesterday planning her wedding for November, 2014.
It makes me feel really bad when I have to turn someone down that wants to stay at Hideaway Cove. I feel even worse when they are returning guests. So please plan ahead this year and don’t put off making your reservations until the last minute!
Posted in What's Happening at Hideaway Cove | No Comments »
|
|
|
|
April 19th, 2013
 For some time we’ve been told by our Hideaway Cove guests that stayed with us that their accommodation was even nicer than they thought it would be. Although we always took that as a compliment, a friend of ours commented in passing “Did you ever stop to think that maybe your photos don’t tell your whole story”. Well we hadn’t ever thought that because we had one of the top two or three photographers on the island, Ken Posney, do all of our interior and exterior photography. We were pretty confident that those photos did as much as they possibly could to convey the comfort and quality at Hideaway Cove.
Her comment did cause us to stop and think, however, that in this age of YouTube, videos might do a better job of giving our potential guests a sense of what we’re all about. With that thought in mind, we found two talented videographers Derek and Kat, willing to take on the project. Their concept was to do a combination of still and video photography with captions to convey key facts to the viewer. When I saw the finished product, I thought something was missing but didn’t really know what it was. Then I realized that a voice over introduction to “set the scene” was the missing link. Derek convinced me that my voice was better than his, so that’s who you hear in the introduction. We also found that the ending of the video was vastly improved with another voice over, so that’s what we did.
I’m very happy with the results! Hats off to Derek and Kat for a great job! From time to time we’ll be featuring another of the videos we produced but without all this explanation.
I hope you enjoy watching this first video of our Dolphin Studio as much as we enjoyed making the videos and that you’ll come away thinking of Hideaway Cove as a very special place. I know it is for us. The Dolphin Studio is a studio vacation rental in Poipu Beach Kauai – view the Dolphin Studio video now.
If you don’t want to wait for future blogs to see all our videos, click here to go to our website.
Posted in Kauai Poipu Beach Accommodations, What's Happening at Hideaway Cove | No Comments »
|
|
|
|
April 15th, 2013
 Congratulations to Holly Grimm, from Fairbanks, Alaska, our latest Sweepstakes winner. She wins a seven night stay at Hideaway Cove and missed an eighth night free by not being subscribed to our newsletter, FYI Kauai. Since we added the option to subscribe to our newsletter for a chance to win an additional free night, one winner received eight nights and one did not. (It’s o.k. to say boo hoo now for Holly.)
Our new Kauai Aloha Sweepstakes for another free one week stay at Hideaway Cove began April 1st. So, if you haven’t already, so be sure and click here to enter the Kauai Aloha Sweepstakes. Good luck to everyone!
Posted in And the Winner is.... | No Comments »
|
|
|
|
March 18th, 2013
 Nearly 1.8 million pieces of luggage were lost, stolen, or damaged by major U.S. airlines in 2012 — and that’s just on domestic flights. While it sounds staggering, mishandling 3.09 bags per 1,000 passengers actually represents an 8 percent decline since 2011.
“The rate of mishandled baggage reports filed by carriers is at an all-time low,” says Department of Transportation spokesman Bill Mosley. (The problem reached crisis level in 2007 when U.S. carriers lost or damaged more than 4.5 million bags.) “A number of factors are helping to reduce the rate,” he adds, including improved on-time performance and new baggage-tracking technologies.
Of course, the airline you fly also affects your chances of sticking with your bag. Regional airlines like SkyWest (ranked a lowly 13 out of 15) tend to have the poorest records, while budget carrier AirTran comes in at No. 2.
Before you book your next flight, find out which airlines are best and worst for lost luggage. And if you don’t have a choice and need to book one of the airlines in the “worst” category, be sure and follow the tips in our last newsletter to help speed your bags back to you if they’re misplaced.
The Airlines below are ranked from worst to best based upon statistics compiled by the Department of Transportation.
15. American Eagle – 5.80 baggage reports per 1000 passengers
14. ExpressJet (a SkyWest subsidiary) – 5.52 per 1000
13. SkyWest – 5.26 per 1000
12. Mesa (operates as Go!, United Express, U.S. Airways Express) – 4.68 per 1000
11. United – 3.87 per 1000
10. Southwest – 3.08 per 1000
9. Alaska – 2.93 per 1000
8. American – 2.92 per 1000
7. Hawaiian – 2.88 per 1000
6. Frontier – 2.22 per 1000
5. U.S. Airways – 2.14 per 1000
4. Delta – 2.10 per 1000
3. Jet Blue – 1.88 per 1000
2. AirTran – 1.58 per 1000
1. Virgin America – 0.87 per 1000
How does Virgin American obtain a rate so much lower than everyone else? They are a relatively new carrier (six years old) and they’re small, only 52 aircraft to 17 domestic destinations.
This was a continuation of the article by Joe Yogerst from Travel and Leisure Magazine. I hope it helps with your travel planning.
Posted in Kauai Travel | 1 Comment »
|
|
|
|
February 28th, 2013
 One of the unpleasant facts of life when traveling by air, is that sometimes airlines lose or damage baggage. Although the overall percentage of lost baggage is going down, airlines can’t take all the credit. Changing passenger behavior has played a key role: as airlines have zealously adopted baggage fees, there’s been a dramatic drop in the number of checked bags.
Punishment has also helped. “Airlines face potentially greater liability for lost baggage today than in years past, giving them greater incentive to prevent baggage problems,” says Mosley. Since 2009, the DOT has increased baggage liability limits to match rising consumer prices; the domestic limit is now $3,300 per passenger.
Compensation is surely on the minds of those who still have the unpleasant surprise of arriving without their luggage. To avoid that fate, Sarah Schlichter, editor of IndependentTraveler.com, has these tips:
1. Whenever possible carry on your baggage and don’t check it.
2. If you can choose a non-stop flight, rather than one that requires changing planes, that’s a plus.
3. Arrive at the airport early. Baggage handlers will not be rushed and are less likely to make a routing mistake.
4. Always display your contact information on your luggage.
5. Purchase a permanent baggage tag rather than using the paper ones provided at the ticket counter.
6. Put a copy of your travel itinerary inside your baggage. Should it be lost, the airfare will know where to send it.
7. Invest in high-tech luggage tags with radio frequency microchips, such as the SuperSmart Tag and Rebound TAG. While both devices make it easier for an airline or airport worker to match a bag with its owner, they rely on the bag actually being found and reported.
Posted in Kauai Travel | No Comments »
|
|
|
|
April 12th, 2011
Enter our new Sweepstakes to win a free week’s stay at Hideaway Cove. The prize has a value of $1225 and
can be applied to any accommodation at Hideaway Cove. Certain dates are excluded.
See contest rules for details. You must be a Facebook fan in order to enter.
Posted in And the Winner is.... | 1 Comment »
|
|
|
|
