Grand Hyatt Kaua’i Resort & Spa, Kaua’i Marriott Resort & Beach Club and Princeville Earn Distinction, Reinforce the Garden Isle’s Reputation as a Top-Line Golf Destination
(Kaua’i, Hawaii) – Travel + Leisure magazine’s discriminating readers have spoken again – and again Kaua’i is a well-sung theme. The magazine’s “World’s Best Awards Readers’ Survey” results were recently announced in the January 2009 issue and three Kaua’i hotels were cited as among the 500 best hotels in the world.
Grand Hyatt Kaua’i Resort & Spa, Kaua’i Marriott Resort & Beach Club and Princeville Hotel garnered this distinction. What’s particularly impressive for Princeville Hotel is it is currently undergoing a multi-million dollar renovation and is scheduled to emerge rebranded as the St. Regis Princeville Resort this summer (accepting reservations beginning in July).
The characteristics Travel + Leisure readers considered when voting for top hotels were rooms/facilities, location, service, restaurants/food, and value. For islands the subjects included natural attractions, activities/sights, restaurants/food, people, and value.
All three of the Kaua’i hotels honored are frequently acclaimed resorts with highly regarded golf courses. They, along with award-winning standalone course Puakea – rated by Golfweek Magazine as one of “America’s Best Courses You Can Play” – offer a collection of unforgettable playing experiences and resorts under the tagline “Kaua’i: Discover Golf’s Ultimate Island Green.”
Grand Hyatt Kaua’i proudly offers Poipu Bay Golf Course as an amenity. This intoxicatingly beautiful course – also a RTJ Jr. design – hosted Tiger Woods and other top PGA TOUR stars in the PGA Grand Slam of Golf from 1994-2006.
Princeville is home to two courses with a combined 45 holes – the 18-hole Prince (rated No. 1 in Hawaii by Golf Digest Magazine) and the 27-hole Makai (currently closed for renovation until Fall 2009). Both are designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr.
The Kaua’i Marriott Resort & Beach Club includes the Jack Nicklaus-designed Kaua’i Lagoons Golf Club among its many activity options. Currently 18 of 36 holes are in play. The back nine ocean holes of the Kiele Course are currently closed and in the process of receiving extensive upgrades, including the addition of one new ocean hole which will create a mile-long stretch of oceanfront golf.
“Kaua’i is always honored to be recognized, and is especially excited because of the source – Travel + Leisure readers – people who are experiencing first-hand what each resort has to offer and then sharing their informed opinions with others,” said Sue Kanoho, Executive Director of the Kaua’i Visitors Bureau.
For more information about the Garden Isle, visit www.kauaidiscovery.com/activities/golfing/ or call 800-262-1400.
About “Kaua’i: Discover Golf’s Ultimate Island Green”
Kaua’i is colored by lush, numerous shades of green – flora and fauna blanket the mountains and serve as a painter’s palette and beacon highlighting nature’s unspoiled wonder. Surrounded by the turquoise waters of the Pacific Ocean and buffeted by soothing trade winds, Kaua’i offers more than 50 miles of white sand beaches – more beach per mile than any other island in Hawai’i. Only four percent of the island is developed for commercial and residential use.
The unique attributes of the golf destination cooperative “Kaua’i: Discover Golf’s Ultimate Island Green” include a plethora of scintillating holes and the following.
1. Poipu Bay Golf Course (www.poipubaygolf.com, 800.858.6300)
* Along with Grand Hyatt Kaua’i Resort & Spa rated No. 16 in GolfWorld’s “America’s Top 50 Resort Courses, 2009”
* Four closing holes play atop a 150-foot sea cliff
* Home to the PGA Grand Slam of Golf from 1994 through 2006, it has frequently hosted players like Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh and other major champions
2. Princeville Golf Courses (www.princeville.com, 800.826.1105)
* Princeville Resort rated No. 22 by GolfWorld’s “Top 50 U.S. Resort Courses 2009”
* Home to Golf Digest’s No. 39 rated course in “America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses” (Prince Course) and the No. 1 rated course in the state
* 45 holes of golf – the 27-hole Makai course (currently closed for renovation until Fall 2009) and the 18-hole Prince – all designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr.
3. Puakea Golf Club (www.puakeagolf.com, 866.773.5554)
* Rated the 7th best course in Hawaii – Golfweek Magazine
* Golf Course Architect Robin Nelson used the natural layout of the land when he planned this layout, testing golfers of all levels and treating them to beautiful views of Mt. Ha’upu and deep lush ravines on several holes.
* Owned by AOL co-Founder Steve Case
4. Kaua’i Lagoons Golf Club (www.kauailagoonsgolf.com, 800.634.6400)
* Voted one of the “Top 50 Resort Courses” worldwide by GolfWorld magazine in its “2009 Readers’ Choice Awards”
* Currently 18 of 36 holes designed by Jack Nicklaus are in play consisting of the Maile nine (former Mokihana holes) and the Kiele nine (former Kiele front nine). The back nine ocean holes of the Kiele Course are currently closed and in the process of receiving extensive upgrades, including the addition of one new ocean hole which will create a mile-long stretch of oceanfront golf.
* The Kiele Course front nine holes feature the par-3 fifth green encircled by a tropical Mango and Guava tree forest
Contact:
Dan Shepherd, Buffalo Communications
703-891-3320, dshepherd@billycaspergolf.com
