Beloved Kauai resort unveils update in time for milestone anniversary

It says something about a resort when its big anniversary gesture is to install split systems in its bungalows.

Others might unveil an uber renovation, a new pool, perhaps a new spa. But Waimea Plantation Cottages is content to celebrate its 40th anniversary with a 20 per cent off best available rates offer – and air-con.

It’s the sort of low-key approach that has kept guests coming back since 1984. That, and a stunning location.

Waimea Plantation Cottages is on the west coast of Kauai, Hawaii’s fourth-biggest island, and to many, its most authentic, with unspoiled landscapes, townships that time seems to have forgotten and no high rises.

It’s become a retreat for the rich and famous – Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg has a bolthole on the island and a host of Hollywood stars either have their own hideaways or stay in luxurious digs there to enjoy nature away from the crowds (though the island is far from untouristed).

Many have worked here, too. The “Garden Isle” as it’s known due to the lush vegetation covering it, features dramatic cliffs and awe-inspiring coastal stretches that have starred in many movies including the Jurassic Park series.

The cinematic interpretation of Australian author Colleen McCullough’s blockbuster novel, The Thorn Birds was shot here in the early 1980s, just before Waimea Plantation Cottages opened – but the property was used in the series that substituted Kauai’s sugar fields for those of Queensland.