Hanalei Dolphin Cottage

My husband and I ate here on our last night in Kauai.
We are so upset that we didn’t discover this restaurant earlier on our trip. We had a the Rainbow poke for an appetizer. I had two different sushi rolls for my entrée.
These were giant and some of the best sushi I’ve ever had. My husband ordered the grilled swordfish and he could not stop talking about how delicious it was. It’s on the pricier side, but we are happy to pay for quality food.
We only wish it had been clear that night (we had a lot of rain when we were in Hanalei) so we could have ate river side.

My wife and I went to the Hanalei Dolphin twice during our stay. The first time we went to the restaurant, the second, we made the smarter choice to go to the back to the fish market. The restaurant is a bit pretentious and overpriced, but when you go to the back you get a great experience. They have sushi rolls, fresh fish, fresh meat you can grill, and delicious Poke bowls. I had never tried a Poke bowl but I loved it. We then took our food and ate it next to the Hanalei river. So good.
Go to the back, skip the restaurant. They are open until 7 and open up at 10.

We’ve been renting homes ever year for over ten trip to the islands. These cottages are the best value by far. That is until the price goes up after my review! Walking distance to a top ten beach in the world!!! food kayaking paddles boarding adjacent and easy to find off the highway yet completely silent. Guests who share the 4 houses were the quiet mellow older types who probably, like us wanted to walk to the beach but not hear the car traffic. Gladly give ten stars!

First of all, I LOVED Hanalei Bay. I have been to Honolulu/​Oahu twice and found Hanalei to be more of «THE Hawaii» experience. Kauai is known as the garden island, it is significantly more tropical than Oahu and you have a fraction of the tourist, populations, etc.
The cottages location was superb, we were looking for something more intimate for our honeymoon. We wanted to avoid the resort type setting (though you get service, you also are interacting, sometimes interrupted, etc). I was impressed by the photos online but when we actually arrived — we were stunned. Large indoor space, immaculately clean, unbelievable views from both the front and the back. LARGE open windows for you to look out of in the livingroom (we had cottage #3).
I also have to say, Lucas thought of everything. Fully stocked (not food) kitchen, they even had sun screen, beach towels, basic cooking staples and one morning we stepped outside and there were fresh Papayas and Mangos on our door step. He had been trimming the trees and cut some down for the guests. We were also greeted by a batch of delicious peanutbutter cookies.
The location has the Hanalei river running just behind it with Kayak Kauai just 2 properties down, we were able to easily get to local kayaking. This location is also just a short walk away from lots of shopping, restaurants and the actual bay.
You can also drive to the east to Princeville for groceries and Queens Bath.
All in all I would say this was the best vacation space we could have choosen.