I was a little nervous about staying on the west side since I had heard so much about Poi pu. We stayed 5 nights in Waimea and 4 in Kapa'a shores. Staying in Waimea kept our trip on budget so we jumped, and we are so glad we did!! The house is charming and fit the needs of our family of 5 wonderfully. The very first day we went to the beach at Poi pu. There were a million people on a small beach--total combat beaching--so much so, you could barely throw a Frisbee. That was the first and last time we went to Poi pu. Instead we walked out our door and walked a few blocks and had the entire beach to ourselves. We also loved Pole hali beach. It was our favorite, although don't attempt unless you have 4 wheel drive. My singular issue was the roosters at 5:30 am. There isn't air conditioning, which wasn't a problem at all. We opened the windows and turned on the fans and it cooled the house down nicely. But with the windows open, the roosters can't be ignored. This was our first trip to Kauai, so I didn't realize that the roosters are really a thing. They run around everywhere and are like the mascot of the island. So bottom line, I'd embrace the roosters, and make the jump to stay in Waimea. We loved it, and Kendall was awesome.