posted 08-17-2001 09:13            

I suspected March would be more pleasant temperature-wise (or maybe too cold for some).

Now the surprise...rarely do we turn our air conditioning on in the Poconos, generally we have a breeze on the hill others don't. As an asthma sufferer, it's a constant battle between my wife & I. She likes fresh air. I do too. I wish it didn't bother me at times. The winter is also a problem around our
household. My wife wants the windows open when we're running the heating. That's why some of my heating bills are $500 month in the cold winters.

Such is life...

posted 08-17-2001 10:04         

If your wife is that intent on fresh air, she is going to love Kauai. To me, part of the ambiance of Hawaii in general and the north side of Kauai in particular is that everything is open air. It starts at the Honolulu airport (open air), continues through the activities on Kauai (all outside), most of the shops and restaurants are open air (or, at worst, open window). Personally I get a kick out of staying in a unit that has neither heating nor air conditioning. Does that mean the temperature is always ideal? No. There have times I've had to throw on a sweatshirt, or, draw the shades in mid-afternoon, but, to me, to have heating or air conditioning to bridge these times would spoil part of the ambiance of staying in the tropics. (In connection with my love of no climate controls, and I'm probably going to start a civil war between the north side and south side Kauai crowds, but when I see people comment that they wouldn't stay up near Princeville because it can rain a lot, I've often wanted to respond, "Yeah, but we don't need air conditioning." It does get hotter on the south side and thus, most the timeshares down there have it.)

Having said all that, I do worry a bit about your asthma. I am very ignorant about what sets asthma off and am afraid of causing absolutely needless worry, but you should know that this is a tropical area and there are lots of molds and smuts in the air. If Florida is okay for you, then I would suspect that Hawaii would also be okay.

posted 08-17-2001 10:25            

I don't know much about my "asthma" either (as strange as that may sound). I do know it's at it's worst in dry, dusty areas. Actually, I developed, or my "asthma" came out of hiding in my last two trips to Puerto Vallarta. Damn...and I like it there.

We've been to Kauai before and stayed at the Cliffs Club. I don't remember being bothered by anything we had little rain (and it was March), but I love Kauai (especially the green, north side).

posted 08-17-2001 11:51            

I always thought they were the hard plastic things that my dad used to use when he swam. Not so. One night, while staying in an apartment in Madeira Beach, I was beside myself. Our bedroom had sliders that gave out onto the main highway that runs up and down the coast. Everytime a car with a noisy muffler would go by or with a radio blaring rap, I'd be wide awake. This went on the entire the night. I, like Steve Nelson's wife, am a very light sleeper.

So, bleary-eyed, went off to Eckerd the next morning. I found soft, foam plugs that you compact, put into your ear canal, and they puff up and conform. They are not uncomfortable at all. Now I use them all the time when we travel. They are remarkably effective at blocking out any noise that would cause sleep disturbances. Look for ones with the highest decibel rating (33 or higher).

When we stayed at a studio at Kahana Falls, my husband could even watch TV quietly, (the TV was next to the bed) and I slept through it.

Additionally, I started using recently a mask that blocks out early morning light, as well. So when it's time to sleep, it's in with the plugs, on with the mask, then I retreat to my private "sensory deprivation tank" for a fabulous night's sleep every time. Won't do much for the humidity, but at least you can handle a noisy, roadside unit.

posted 08-19-2001 02:36            

Before we lived here, we lived in Eastern Contra Costa county California and my daughter Sarah, now 5, had to be hospitalized for asthma. It was a horrible experience, but she's fine now.

Apparently we were living in one of the worst areas in the country for asthma sufferers. Once we moved here, she hasn't had a single problem. The air here arrives fresh off the pacific. It's really wonderful in that respect .. there's no pollution and pollens or allergins in the air when it arrives here off the ocean.

On the North shore, because its so wet there is a lot of mold and mildew and if you have a rental or exchange into a unit that isn't well maintained and aired out regularly, your unit might be musty. It's amazing how 'wet' my clothes are when I pack up and travel back to California. The stuff gets into mattresses, pillows and everything, if they aren't maintaining the units well. Those who have stayed here or own here should be able to tell us if they do a good job of maintaining these units and if they've ever had a musty unit or not. All in all, I can't say how you will do with the allergins here, because I don't know what you're allergic to. I do know that the ragweed, pollens, chemicals and pollutants are not a problem here at all.

I think you'll probably be fine here, and won't need A/C at all in March. I really did have to wear socks and sweats a couple of nights in the winter.

-David

posted 08-19-2001 02:59            

I agree with you .. the North Shore isn't for everybody. That's part of what keeps it nice here. Since it isn't for everybody, we don't get overrun either. If you liked it here, you might try the Princeville Hotel next time. Does anybody know if HBR has A/C? However, from what you said, it doesn't sound like you really liked it much here at all. No, there isn't much nightlife or shopping on the North Shore once you've gone through Hanalei. Did you go to Ke'e beach at all? Did you like it?

There's another reason why we don't have A/C. Kauai Electric had to rebuild the entire system after Iniki and charges 25 cents per KWhr. There are no underground gas lines here, so gas is delivered by truck by The Gas Company (that's actually the name), which is also owned by the same company that owns KE, so rates aren't much cheaper for natural gas either. There's obviously no refineries on Kauai, so everything has to be barged over from Honolulu or elsewhere.

Some people have a window unit in one room of their house for those unbearable still, hot and muggy nights. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) my house isn't really conducive to adding a window unit to one of the bedrooms.

We moved here in June 2000. It took us some time to get used to the no A/C thing. I have three fans in my bedroom. One ceiling fan, and one on each side of our bed. Our bedroom is the entire upstairs of the house, so it's also the hottest room in the house on those hot nights. The living room, which is the lowest part of the house, is always the coolest room.

-David

posted 08-19-2001 17:59         

We did enough hiking to find Queen's Bath,(located in the Princeville complex) as someone emailed me to be certain that I didn't miss it. Well, after I fell down that path, my friend turned around and headed back up. (We just happen to be city girls.) I decided to be brave and continue on until I found that bath. I had not traveled 5000 miles for nothing!!! And so, I climbed down that path like a girl scout. My mother was waiting for me up at the top and was very nervous. I sent word that I was ok, but going to continue until I made it to Queen's Bath. I found it and continued climbing down to the ocean. What a beautiful view. The water there is extremely rough, but I was able to take some beautiful pictures.

So, please do not take my previous messages the wrong way. We thoroughly enjoyed the island. We do not do the nightlife scene, so we were fine being in the resort at night, just hot.(Smile all of you!)

You are also right about Princeville. It is in an area where few people venture to unless they are staying in the area. If anyone is looking for the nightlife, I guess that they will have to drive to Kapaa'a or one of the other towns. We ended up in Hanelei one night trying to find some Chinese food that my friend from New York wanted so badly. Well, that was the first time we drove into Hanelei at night. It was pretty scary driving down and around that mountain. At least I knew the road from travelling it during the day a few times. We never found a Chinese restaurant.

Yes, we did enjoy Kauai. Anyone who goes there will simply love the island. The only thing we absolutely won't miss is the $2.15 a gallon for regular gas. I certainly will not complain when I go to the gas station here in NJ, where regular gas is $1.38 a gallon. Wow, what a relief.

My thanks to all ever so much for your postings. It's been an education. And so, on to the next adventure.
Hajjah

[This message has been edited by hajjah (edited 08-19-2001).]

posted 08-21-2001 09:51            

What are you going to do - you are in a tropical paradise and there are bugs, lizards, and birds. We were not thrilled with the lizards in the unit - but there were only 1 or 2 and they were crawling on the cathedral ceiling and left us alone.

Obviously, there must be weeks where the trade winds don't blow and you must have hit those weeks Hadjah. We hit one of them in the San Diego area where most of the timeshares don't have a/c as well. But we thoroughly enjoyed our week at Ka Eio Kai - and are returning next year becasue we did like it so much - so there is 2 sides to every story.

BTW, Trish, don't be too picky unless you have a really great trader. There are few TS in Hawaii that have A/C and your list is pretty short if you just list those - thus filling in a muptiple week vacation there was difficult. We do own GC HH weeks that trade well - but we own 1 BRs - thus we would automatically match 1br instead of 2BRs in ongoing searches. Thus, it was hard to get those 2br units with a/c unless you own a great 2br unit to trade with. The Pahios do bulk spacebanking and it made it easier to get the 2br units - otherwise, it will be difficult if you looking for a 2br. There are units out there for summer 2003 already - did you know that Kahana Falls has bulk spacebanked their summer units for 2003 already - I think I saw them there in June - even then, there were only about 3 or 4 2br units online and all the rest were smaller units. If you are looking only for 1br units - it will be easier.

posted 08-21-2001 10:11            

quote:

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Originally posted by hajjah:
On another note, I had the map of the resort with us that was included on this board from a fellow Tugger. It helped us so much upon check in. We checked in at the airport at 4:00 p.m. We were able to tell the person at the desk what we did not want. I had those units closest to the main road crossed off. I was able to get unit 7B, which was not on the main road, but near the garbage dumpster.
Hajjah

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Hajjah:

Did they actually let you pick the unit that you wanted at the AP checkin? They did not have everyone pre-assigned to specific units? Were you in Sect I, II, or III - does this depend on your confirmed week or did you have a choice??

We have 3 units confirmed for the same week next summer and was wondering of the likelihood of getting them assigned together. You know, what bothered me about our penthouse unit last year, there were stairs directly to our balcony from the common area and this was a security issue when you are sleeping with the sliding glass doors open - whatever, we are still alive!

Joyce

posted 08-21-2001 20:06         

Now, we had been assigned a unit for two weeks, but it was one that was along the main road. This was in Phase II. I informed the person of those units being noisy based upon what I had read on TUG. I threw in the part about me travelling with my 75 year old mother, who would not be able to stand the noise from the vehicles. The reservation clerk then moved someone else who had not yet checked in and put us in the unit for two weeks. Now how's that for making things work? Be sure to download the map prior to your trip so that you can make a request.

posted 08-22-2001 05:49            

quote:

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Originally posted by AE:
The Embassy at Poipu has air-conditioning in the bedrooms but this is adequate for the whole 2-bedroom unit.

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Then, of course, the master suite is larger than many resorts complete units!