Aston Kauai Beach at Makaiwa

After two nights here I couldn’t take it anymore. The hotel is musty, the rooms don’t have fans, and the «view» I paid for only allowed me to see the ocean if I hung my head over the balcony and looked 90 degrees.
Perhaps the worst issue is the rooms air conditioning. In an effort to save energy, the room shuts off the air conditioning when no one is inside moving around. Sounds great except when you’re sleeping.
I woke up 3 – 4 times each night in a hot musty room. I had to get put of bed and «dance» around till I was able to trip the motion sensor.
When I checked out the next morning I found about 20% more in my bill then what I agreed to on line. It was hotel fees, resort fees, parking fees…

I like it! I’m here on business and it’s location is very nice. Beach access … Ok bar with GREAT staff. Basically it’s convenient … It won’t make you feel pretty but it will make you feel needed and at home. Again, REALLY good people here.

I’m pretty surprised that this got a low rating on Unilocal!
We got this place as part of our flight/​hotel package. It was actually pretty nice hotel. The only bad thing was that it’s on the eastern side of Kauai, where the beach has really rocky paths and terrain and really rough waves. The sun doesn’t come out as much on this side. But other than that, this was a pretty nice place to stay.
We got a partial ocean view. Our hotel room was nice and spacious and clean. Hotel pool was nice to swim in, although a little bit dirty. You can sun bathe on the beach on the lounge chairs there.
There was one day they had a cocktail night for free, so you get free maitai’s. The maitai’s are realllly weak, but that was ok with me because I’m not a big drinker.
The hotel staff was pretty nice. We couldn’t get our internet to work in our room but they were able to come in to our room and help us out.
I asked the activities lady for info about activities to do in Kauai. She was nice and helpful even though I didn’t book anything through her.
There is a mandatory $ 15 resort fee, though. This fee pays for your parking.
Overall, not bad at all!

I’m surprised that the reviews are so low! Then again, only a handful of reviews so it’s not really representative of the average experience.
Stayed here in early August for 3 nights and it was AMAZING. Our room was spacious and was definitely nicer than your average hotel in Waikiki (where we had stayed for 3 nights before coming to Kauai). Cherry on top: a view of the pool & ocean! The workers are all very nice and helpful, and the hotel was quiet, which added to the relaxation factor.
Didn’t really utilize the facilities, except for the pool. Small pool, but nice to lay out and get a tan comfortably, and still get the ocean breeze and hear the waves. There are also chairs on the beach so you can walk out and lay out there if you’d like. To maximize your beachside experience, hit up the bar and order yourself a piña colada or mudslide :)

I’m shocked that the reviews for this place are so low. I did a LOT of research before booking my stay here and spent quite some time looking at the 360 tour on their webpage. This place was wayyy better than I expected.
First, I picked up a great online sale and got the rooms for super cheap — I was happy because otherwise we couldn’t afford four nights on Kaua’i. I was concerned that I sacrificed comfort for cost — but it was great. The beds were just as comfortable as the Sheraton — I slept fine and I am super picky when it comes to bed squishiness. Had a little balcony — good enough to see a bit of the ocean and the mountain and watch little birds and trees as the sun rose over the water. They had a coffee machine in the room and laundry facilities on the 2^nd and 4^th floor. Costs like $ 2.00 in quarters, but they give you free soap and dryer sheets at the front desk. Lots of room inside and since I brought a lot of luggage, that was nice. I was absolutely satisfied that I picked the best hotel for the dollar.
Second, the location was great — granted you cannot (or are not supposed to) swim at the beach on site, but it’s really pretty beach to walk and there are nice swimming spots nearby. Plus, there was a Monk Seal sleeping on the beach one night! The hotel was close to everything — a perfect in-​between location so you aren’t spending your whole day driving to the north or south shores. Lots of nearby stores and restaurants — Coconut Marketplace outdoor vendors sold fresh ice cold coconuts and pretty leis made while you wait! For like $ 5!!!
Third, the hotel itself was really nice. You walk into that large front lobby and are like wow. It had ample convenient parking with it’s own giant lot, a GREAT pool with a little waterfall and a nice hot tub. There were two restaurants on site and a bar — note that the food is the same and service is slow. I liked the ambiance at night — tiki torches near the pool. But the staff was INCREDIBLE! I felt so welcomed the whole time I was there. They were so helpful and pro-​active when it came to guests. I really remember how friendly everyone was — they really took notice of each guest and helped out with itinerary, maps, towels, advice, etc.
Great experience and will stay here again — hopefully soon! :D

I stayed here about a year or two ago and enjoyed it so we booked it again for this trip. The location is pretty central to the island which is a major factor in why we chose this hotel. It’s in the coconut marketplace in Kapaa which is in between poipu and hanalei. The rooms are whatever, but that’s what you get for paying $ 100/​night. There is a small pool and a jacuzzi which comes in handy after a long day of hiking. The beach isn’t for swimmable but they put beach chairs out there and its a nice place to enjoy a mai tai. We hardly spent any time at the hotel except to sleep (come on, we’re in hawaii!) On our last day our flight didn’t leave till 10pm so they kept our bags for us and let us come back and use a courtesy room to shower and change before our flight. Awesome. Bottom line is, you get what you pay for. Don’t expect 5 star service and accomodations when you are paying $ 100/​night.

We stayed here for seven nights. The room itself was standard but it had vaulted ceilings. I don’t know if that is because we were on the top floor or if all the rooms are that way. We had an ocean view room. While our lanai was the size of a box with two chairs (and how they could manage two was beyond me) the view was spectacular. We could see the mountain and the ocean.
The room was clean, nice size and served its purpose. We didn’t eat at the restaurant but it didn’t seem like anyone was eating there. The pool was ok, nothing special. There is a beach off the property but it is not a swimmable beach.
The staff is polite and friendly but nothing about this hotel really stands out. It doesn’t have a wow factor but you pay for what you get. I don’t know what the cost is per night since I booked my trip with a travel agent. But knowing the cost of the total trip with flight and hotel, I’m guessing it wasn’t too much a night. You do have to pay a $ 12/​day resort fee which includes high speed internet, mai tai party, and other things. We had to pay that directly to the hotel and noticed that there was a tax on that too. So really it was $ 12.50/day.
The location is close to Foodland, Safeway, restaurants and stores where you can rent gear for the water. If you don’t have a car, these places are within walking distance.
I think Kapaa is an area that is starting to develop as a touristy location. There isn’t much around, especially after driving to Poipu, Princeville and Hanalei. I would be interested in seeing what it would be like in a few years.
I probably wouldn’t come back to this hotel just because I would like to try another. It didn’t wow me although it was a comfortable stay.

The room we had here was the only highlight… we had an oceanfront room, which despite a kind of funky smell was spacious and fairly nice. The housekeeping folks deserve props as well, as they were the most helpful employees to be found at this place.
Otherwise, the service here, if you can call it that, is absolutely atrocious. To put this in perspective, the Quality Inn I stayed at in Merced over the summer ran circles around the Aston as far as customer service and general attentiveness.
For example, the digital safe in our room broke down, and we found out the lock mechanism engine had died (thus trapping a needed prescription medication inside) when we returned to the room at about 11:30PM one night. I called down to the front desk, and after having to call TWICE to even get an answer, I was told that no one was around to who could help me and that there wouldn’t be anyone available until morning. After being quite insistent that a manager of some type (I don’t think they have one on duty ever, as I asked to speak with one the next day during normal business hours and was again given the run-​around) contact me to fix the situation, I received a call from their maintenance guy who basically asked me if I REALLY needed him to come out (I assume he was at home and wasn’t feeling getting out of bed) and if this couldn’t just wait until the morning. Not the kind of customer service or response that’s gonna leave a guest feeling super happy, eh? The guy came out and replace the safe door about an hour later, but it was pretty obvious he wasn’t happy about it and it was a rather uncomfortable interaction. The next day I left my phone number at the front desk, asking a manager to call me to discuss what had happened. Yup, you guessed it… I never received a callback. Surprise, surprise.
In any case, this isn’t about bad or rude employees, but a lack of management presence and guidance for these employees. The place was at half capacity at best, so I think they must be hurting and perhaps have done some draconian staff cutting to get by. If so, it shows. Given the fact that they rent their conference center out each Sunday to some type of ministry, and that they had booked some type of youth conference as well (there were like 200 kids who checked in yelling and screaming the second day we were there), I’d imagine this place is trying to find any type of income they can grab.
Bottom line, there are better places to stay. With vacant condos all over the island at great rates, you have better options on Kauai than this place. I’d look elsewhere if I were planning a trip.

The gool ol’ Aston at «Musty-​iwa», oh sorry, I mean to say at «Makaiwa.» The Aston rooms here in the Kapaa have a very musty smell and it is very evident the moment you walk into your $ 97/​night room (don’t forget the $ 12/​day resort fee). I’m glad it wasn’t my honeymoon or anniversary because it would have been a very musty experience and something that would be hard to air out for a very long time. We even went to an adjacent room to see if there was any difference, but to no avail, it wasn’t any different.
The second strike for Aston at Makaiwa was the fact that there was no fan in their restrooms. What kind of hotel has no fan in the restroom? None that I’ve been to before this experience. We called down to the lobby people and they said that the fans come on «automatically at certain times of the day.» That was just grand because I only really care to have the fans turn on when I’m taking a shower, not go off during the day when I’m at the beach or something… very annoying.
On the flip side, this is one of the more affordable hotels I found on Kauai for my $ 100/​night price range and they are nicely located near the beach and grocery stores. The people who work here are extremely helpful and quick to get you what you need. Wireless internet worked very well and they also provide a free safe to lock valuables in the room at no additional charge.
Secret tip: They provide a courtesy guest room to shower and use for half an hour on a day that you check out. This came in very handy when we checked out on a Friday and spent the whole day at the beach and needed a place to shower before our Friday night flight. I didn’t know this service was available but luckily we found out about this great perk.