Nestled cliffside at Princeville, 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay redefines luxury with its $300 million makeover. It’s an idyllic getaway at one of the world’s most picturesque spots. We mull over the delicate balance between luxury and authenticity trying to find some essence of Hawaii.
I am a 23 year owner at Hanalei Bay Resort, which shares the beach with Hotel One in Princeville. My tour of Hotel One was very disappointing, gone is the beautiful lobby where I remember high tea in 2001. Gone are the restaurants that outsiders such as ourselves would enjoy popping over for a meal. I saw lots of successful millennials working on their laptops, and I suppose that is who the hotel was designed for. No local support or patronage that I could see. I won’t be recommending it.
Big bucks for rooms without a lanai? We’ll stick with Pu’Poa next door; fantastic lanai’s (most privacy on 4th floor).
Go to the Cook Islands. See the real Polynesia, at a fraction of the cost. It is what these resorts are trying to be.
I worked on the remodeling there doing the finish work. I was reassigned when the gc got removed. Nice to finally see it complete. The spa, bar, restaurant, and pool areas look alot different now that the hotel put their finishing touches on it. Went to the bar there a week ago with some friends, and as they were admiring the atmosphere, all I could do was look at the ceiling and kept remembering how much of a pain it was installing all of the fixtures. It is nice though glad it’s finally complete.
You were obviously not fans of the original hotel. I strongly disagree. The original lobby was breathtaking, both in being ornate, and providing a drop dead panoramic view.
The panoramic view was lost in the St Regis because the spa was carved out the lobby.
It is unfortunate Princeville did not allow a new building foe the spa.
Then the gym and pool building were sold to a billionaire and has been under utilized for years.
Princeville as a community peaked after the Hotel’s last renovation before the St Regis fiasco. 1 Hanalei is more of the same. So sad.
My 2 cents is similar and of the strong, pleasant memories of the Princeville Resort after the rebuild post-Iniki. Memories of the “piano bar” with its chanteuse and the Hawaiian gent with full head of wavy white hair & Nehru jacket who was her accompanist. Saw them featured in a travel mag ad later, and the spell they made with their music while the moon played on the water, “Bali Hai” beyond, was unforgettable.
We have great memories with our family from multiple stays when it was the Westin Princeville Resort and then the St. Regis. We’ve stayed in that large room overlooking the grassy area and puff the magic dragon. It and the seating area for breakfast look the same.
It’s unfortunate that as property taxes and other expenses increase, hotel have to keep increasing their rates and forcing them to rebrand to justify the rate. At some point, you won’t be able to go any more upscale, then what?
It was originally a Sheraton, it was never a Westin. There is a very nice Westin Villas property in Princeville where you could have had a room overlooking a large grassy area.
I miss the Princeville resort. This place feels so pretentious and unauthentic. Makes me really sad what they have done with the property.
Hello..
I was very disappointed by the new 1 Hanalei Bay. So sorry it is not still St Regis.
Lynn
You fail to answer the basic question about any tourist business venture. Would you pull out your own hard earned dollar to go back again, or does the competition give you about the same personal value by paying fewer of those dollars? Tourism is not a one shot business, as one shot will not survive for the long run.
I stayed there when it was Princeville. and that was spectacular. This natural look is attractive, but one I can not afford, at least today. But, it is on my vision board….sooo…. I just Kauai and the Princeville area. For those that can afford it, good on you, and enjoy every minute while you can!
Great story you two !!
Saves us all 2-5 K right out of the gate !!
And especially fine fotos !! Exceptional !!
& Aloha Jeff, it’s Jim S , Dick W’s friend in Tucson !
The big dog & myself are angling to return to Kauai but I’ve had major heart surgery etc etc !!
But we shall see you soonish & thanks for the work !!
Bows —
James Sullivan
Aloha,
I guess “value” is perceptual; I recall sitting at the pool bar at the Grand Hyatt perhaps ten years ago, drinking a margarita from a small plastic cup for the princely sum of $14 and I thought “I’m done…”. I much prefer a ground level oceanside condo for $300-$500 per night, and strangely enough it’s free pour…
Mahalo.
Beat of Hawaii, thank you from Oahu for this review of Kauai’s 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay. Your readers (and you) might also be interested in the recent “In Depth Graham Bensinger” episode called “Hotel mogul Barry Sternlicht tours (and critiques) his Kauai resort.” It is about eight minutes long and can be found via a YouTube search. The description: “Co-founder and CEO of Starwood Capital Group, Barry Sternlicht, takes us on a tour of 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay on the island of Kauai. He opens up about transforming the once sad hotel into what it is today by showing off the garden, the ballroom-turned-gym, and sharing all of the details for upcoming projects and renovations to be done at the hotel.”
We were there last summer. I agree with every comment, with one more based on our experience. With the price point here, we were advised over a month before our trip when trying to book dinners for our upcoming stay that the main restaurant was fully booked for our entire stay. They were able to eke out two seats at the lobby bar but that was literally it. A month beforehand. While I absolutely loved the resort, this continues to be a sore point to this day. One of the main reasons for booking was that restaurant. Anyone thinking of staying there consider yourselves warned as they don’t reach out to advise of this either when you book or before you stay. We just happened to try and be proactive with our bookings.
We come to Kauai twice a year for two weeks. Stay at our home resort Ali’i Kai in Princeville. Have walked to the 1 hotel (and previous iterations) many times over the years. Just three weeks ago enjoyed a mimosa on the small beach bar. A very beautiful setting. However, the price to stay at this hotel is totally out of reach for most people. You can stay a week at many nice resorts for the cost of one night here. It is strictly for the wealthy. I am not sure how they can fill the rooms at these ridiculous prices. But if you have money and can afford $2000 a night I am sure it is hard to beat!
While I can’t imagine ever spending that kind of money for 2 nights at any Resort, I do like the idea of sustainabillity (garden on the roof) but is the A/C in the indoor gym powered by solar? Not that I would use it. After all, Hawaii has enough outdoor activities that guests could enjoy….
I have tried to enter my experiences One Vs Hyatt but your server keeps disconnecting. One Hotel rooms are worse with no soaking tubs in all rooms and pricing is not good value for money. However Welina Terrace is one of the best restaurants in Hawaii. The chef came over to chat and he clearly knows his business. You must go. Not cheap but not astronomic. I will keep renting an oceanfront luxury condo and walking across to eat at Welina terrace.
There have been concerns about workers not being paid on time and properly. Also, there is scuttlebutt about he property being for sale.
I would love to know more about either or both of these issues.
Was the 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay a Sheraton operation at one time as wife ʻO Diana and I stayed there many, many Mahina’s ago?
When it was owned by Suntory. Then it becom a lucury collection the sT Reis and now one.
Now with spellcheck disabled..
Yes, When it was owned by Suntory. Then it became a luxury collection the ST Regis and now One. I was told they could not call it Princeville as the IP for that is not owned by the property.
Yes. It was a Sheraton back when Sheraton was part of IT&T. Then when Barry Sternlicht put together Starwood Hotels & Resorts he made it part of the Luxury Collection around 2005 after he acquired a core group of European palaces from an Insurance company. Somewhere in the takeover of Starwood Hotels by Marriott the property (after he had left Starwood Hote l s) was sold to his investment company Starwood Capital (unrelated to the now vanished Starwood Hotels). He is responsible for 1 Hotels. I believe he suffers from guilt over his wealth and that’s why he destroyed Princeville’s European heritage and replaced with this ersatz Hawaiian royalty sustainable kitsch.
100%. He is not solely responsible for creating cookie cutter tropical resort. The St Regis remodel destroyed the charm of the hotel.
We’ve visited Kauai every 4 years 3 times… Now we ( from Michigan) head over again onay 3-10…. Staying at Bali Hai, we’ve ventured over to the once Regis Hotel to enjoy beautiful sunsets… We used valet parking and gone in for a meal and a sunset… Is this still possible?
Yes, if you are going to spend money they welcome you.