POIPU -- Outrigger Kiahuna Plantation, a full-service, 35-acre
resort condominium on Kauai, recently opened the Kiahuna Swim and
Tennis Club, adding more activities to the popular Poipu resort
area.
A waterslide and sandy bottom area in the 82,000-gallon pool
will keep kids busy while adults relax under 10 hydrotherapy jets
in the Jacuzzi.
A tennis shop where guests can rent racquets and arrange for
lessons was completed along with 10 courts. The club is
complimentary to Outrigger guests.
"Kauai has become more and more conducive to family travel, to
longer stays, to things that seem to go well with condo-type
occupancy," said Margy Parker, executive director of the Poipu
Beach Resort Association.
Only 38% of accommodations on Kauai are hotels, said Parker,
compared with 85% on Oahu.
The competition encourages condominium owners and managers to
keep up their properties and maintain their grounds, said Perry
Sorenson, chief operating officer of Outrigger Hotels &
Resorts, which manages Kiahuna Plantation.
Even the historical gardens surrounding the resort are a visitor
attraction, he said, adding that it does not hurt that the property
is "sitting on the best beach on Kauai."
A restaurant at Outrigger's club also has been rethemed.
Overlooking the tennis courts and gardens, CasaBlanca at Kiahuna
restaurant now serves healthful Mediterranean and American food.
Favorites include Spanish lobster ensalada and Moroccan chicken
crepe. Currently open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, a full dinner
menu is anticipated for late fall.
Plans are in the final stages for a new health spa to be located
on the front five acres of the club site by late 2004.
Outrigger Kiahuna Plantation has one- and two-bedroom
condominium suites with living and dining areas, complete kitchens
and private lanai. Located on a sandy swimming beach, across the
street from upscale dining and shopping at Poipu Shopping Village,
Kiahuna also is close to two golf courses.
Its primary market -- families and couples -- originate largely
from the West Coast, said Sorenson. For more information, call
(800) 688-7444 or visit www.outrigger.com.
To contact reporter Katherine Nichols, send e-mail to [email protected].