Getting a Shearwater week through an RCI
exchange was a dream come true for us. We
toured the resort a few years before and
loved the units with their full ocean views.
We loved Shearwater! There isn’t a bad unit
in the place, so we didn’t bother to call and
make any special requests, even though we
are owners at PAHIO at Bali Hai, the resort
down the road.
When we arrived at The Shearwater (named
after a bird) at about 1:00 a.m., after picking
up our keys at the Ka’Eo Kai office nearby, we
were very pleased with our unit assignment.
We were in unit 110, a beautiful ocean view
from the bedroom, living room and lanai. Each
of the two bedrooms is a suite, with its own
master bath, complete with separate
showers. Both had whirlpool bathtubs, the
larger master had a whirlpool tub for two. We
had a king bed, while Rick’s mom had two
queen-sized beds. She was very pleased
with her private area for sleeping and
bathing.
Shearwater looked so much better in daylight
that first morning after the long trip from the
mainland. The kitchen was well-equipped,
with every conceivable dish, pot and gadget
you might need. The JennAire range was
great, though I would hate to clean those grill
inserts all the time. We used the grill only
once, for steaks. We used the oven for frozen
pizzas a few times. The washer/dryer unit
was in a closet by the kitchen and was larger
capacity than most. This is a necessity when
coming back from a long hike in the mud.
We had free wireless internet at Shearwater,
a welcome luxury because I had some
wedding gift shopping to do on the net, plus I
wanted to keep in touch with the world,
especially my friends and with our kids. I
hope free “Wi-Fi” becomes a staple for all of
our exchanges, as normal as having a phone.
We enjoyed watching DVD’s in the living area.
We brought several from home and were
happy to see the player under the TV, with a
nice stereo and speaker system. The breeze
from the lower louvered windows and the
patio doors, plus the ceiling fans, really kept
the unit cool. I was worried that Kauai would
be too warm in July, but it was very similar to
their winter, with hardly a difference in
temperatures. It rained late at night but only
sprinkled during the daytime.
The resort offered many activities and we
enjoyed participating in them. Most were at
Bali Hai. We didn’t use the pool or hot tub
during our stay. We had the whirlpool tubs in
the unit, which we used daily. The pool area
was just beautiful and had an ocean view.
There was a stream by the clubhouse, a small
pool and a nice hot tub that was refilled every
day. The area was landscaped with lots of
beautiful flowers and plants that would never
grow in Colorado. I am so jealous that
houseplants can grow outside in Hawaii.
There were craft classes and activities galore
and we had to choose which ones to attend.
After all, Kauai has many sights and we
needed to leave the resort sometime. My
mother-in-law and I both wanted to make
leis. We received orchid leis at the welcome
breakfast, which was a very nice touch, but
the lei class just seemed like an appropriate
use of our time on Kauai. The cost was $5.00
and was taught by a local who was very
patient with me when my thread kept getting
tangled.
Many of the activities at PAHIO were about
creating something that you could take with
you. My mother-in-law really enjoyed the
coconut painting postcard class, the cost was
only $10. Her coconut was the best in the
class: a dark purple sky with palm trees and
crashing whitecap waves. We drove to the
Hanalei post office so she could mail it back to
herself. What a great souvenir of a wonderful
island.
There was an owners’ lunch, with free
burgers, hot dogs, chips, salad, beer and
soda. It was a big hit and there were great
door prizes of cash certificates to PAHIO-
preferred restaurants and activities. This will
be a new tradition for PAHIO, according to the
activity director. We met several owners who
shared their experiences with PAHIO and
asked questions about our Shearwater unit.
Everyone was jealous of our ocean view. One
of the Ka’Eo Kai owners had been coming for
many years and never exchanged her unit.
All three of us attended the free bingo night,
with some nice prizes, but we didn’t win
anything, once again. There were mai tais as
well, provided by PAHIO, and refilled often by
a nice young man who made them way too
strong. About 100 owners attended the
bingo activity and it was lots of fun. It was
great to talk to other PAHIO owners from the
varied resorts.
The only thing that Shearwater lacked was
floor-sized, artificial plants that you usually
see in timeshare units. Pictures were scarce,
far fewer than in other places we have stayed
on Hawaii and in Florida. The décor is usually
very similar in Florida as in Hawaii, but
Shearwater was definitely understated. The
resort is still the nicest on Kauai, if not all the
islands, specifically for the ocean view from
every unit and the large whirlpool tub.
PAHIO at the Shearwater is Gold Crown all the
way. The resort is everything we
remembered. Aside from the lack of greenery
and pictures in the unit, we had no complaints
at all. The staff and concierge were excellent,
no one even asked if we are resale owners
until the owners’ update (which is a sales
pitch), the activities were many and appealed
to a wide variety of interests.
