I recently had some avid golfers come to visit me for their dream Kauai golf vacation. Lucky for them, I live on the North shore, within close proximity to two of the world’s top courses. The small resort enclave of Princeville is home to both the Makai and the Prince Golf Courses with the surrounding area of homes and luxury Princeville condos built around these top rated courses.
Not a golfer myself, I learned from my friends that Golf Digest rated the Prince Course number one in the state for multiple consecutive years. It’s an 18-hole course designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr. on some very hilly terrain that definitely challenged my golfing buddies. They loved every minute of it!
Princeville’s other range, the Makai Course has three separate 9-hole courses, Oceans, Woods and Lakes. The “Ocean Nine’s famous 7th hole” borders the cliffs that overlook the Pacific Ocean. These Prince and Makai courses combined make up 45 holes of golf in the midst of the regal beauty of Kauai’s lush North Shore. My friends were thrilled to get their fill of golf on these beautiful, world-class courses.
Even though I didn’t play with them on the links, I did meet up with my friends at the Princeville Golf Clubhouse afterwards to take in the view of Hanalei’s Mt. Namolokama and watch the sun dip into the ocean. This huge facility (about 60,000 square feet) overlooks the Prince course and offered us a gorgeous backdrop for some comical golf stories. The clubhouse is also connected to the Princeville Spa. On a few occasions, I scheduled a yoga class at the spa (they offer a myriad of exercise classes) slipped into the steam room and then met my friends for a cocktail at the clubhouse. A couple of my golfing friends also took advantage of the nearby spa and scheduled massages for themselves, post-game.
When my visiting friends had initially contacted me about their Kauai golf mission, they wondered about places to stay on Kauai. A vacation rental right in Princeville seemed their best bet. With plenty of options, they ended up getting a great house with plenty of space for everyone and a nice sized kitchen for cooking up some delicious evening meals (nothing like fresh caught Ahi!).
Conveniently located between Kilauea and Hanalei, Princeville is the hub of the North Shore’s largest grocery store and shopping center, with gift shops and restaurants. My golfing buddies could walk here from their rental and regularly visited Lappert’s ice cream shop for freshly made waffle cones. CJ’s restaurant is also in the Princeville Shopping Center, and when my friends weren’t on the course or at the Princeville Clubhouse, they were enjoying cocktails and the salad bar at CJ’s.
Another mainstay of Princeville is The Princeville Hotel, which recently closed for renovation. My friends were a bit disappointed to learn that they would not get to admire the ocean view the hotel’s restaurant offers. Hopefully they can come back in the spring, when the hotel plans to reopen as The St. Regis Princeville Resort with all the same great views.
My friends have gone back home now, but their visit gave me a view of Kauai from the golfer’s perspective. I realized that for someone passionate about golf, nature and Kauai, Princeville Resort is the place to be.
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